Brother's Keeper Scroll 16

Scroll Sixteen

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A/N: Edited on 1/13/16

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"INUYASHA!"

InuYasha bolted upright and scrambled out his bed, frantically looking for the modern priestess that had screamed out his name.

"Kagome?!" InuYasha shouted. He jerked the flap back from the doorway to his room and frantically sniffed the air for her scent. When he came back with nothing but dog demons, he groaned when he realized her voice was only a dream. "Damn it." InuYasha slowly walked back to his bed and plopped back down, crossing his legs and arms and puffing out a breathe of air that shot one of his bangs up.

He still wished this were a dream. He was not here in his father's castle, not here with a child Sesshomaru, not here with hundreds of full-fledged dog demons roaming around, and not here being pampered by a bitch. InuYasha fumed. Kagome's voice sounded so close, so real. Why hadn't it? InuYasha shivered when he realized he had nothing on his arms and chest. In his frantic wake up call, the thin white top had slipped off. Groaning, he grabbed the top and placed it back on.

There was no getting sleep now. Therefore, he decided to get up and walk the castle again. InuYasha still felt the tug to go back to the well and try again. Although the tug was also covered in dread if, once again, the well did nothing but land him in a pool of water.

InuYasha finally went out to the front of the castle and at last saw the night sky that hovered above them in the heavens. InuYasha glanced up at the stars wondering if his friends were seeing the same ones he was. He remembered in Kagome's time he could barely see any stars. She said it was because of something called 'smog'. InuYasha cut his hair down from the ponytail again and ripped off the foot padding's once more. His hair and feet felt free as a slight breeze blew through his toes and strands of hair. His ears twitched with glee as the wind whisked by their tiny, sensitive furs.

He leaned down and crossed his arms as they rested on the wooden rail. A few guards had passed, though none said a word to him. Some eyed with curiosity others just ignored him as if he was child trying to revolt against his parents. InuYasha curled his claws in his hands, feeling a small trickle of blood as one of them pierced his skin. The wound on his side was still throbbing, but it was dull and for the first time since he got here, it was not bleeding. InuYasha opened the flap of his top and glared down at the bandaged wound. Curiosity got the best of him as he unwrapped the bandages, carefully, so it would not bleed again, and finally looked at the scar that stretched across the left side of his chest. It was odd. The mark looked like a hand-print on his side, as if whoever planted it only had to touch his side and let out the devastating blow. InuYasha could tell the wound went deep, probably to his lungs and not one inch of his new body was healing it.

InuYasha slowly re-wrapped the bandages back on the wound just in case his curiosity decided to make it bleed again. It didn't. InuYasha straightened his back and began to walk back towards the room he came from. The guards he passed only eyed him in silence. Just as he was about to enter the sliding door that would lead him back in the maze of hallways, something the size of a ball came flying at him with strong velocity.

"What the hell?!" InuYasha jumped back cracking his claws when the object made a sickening thud at his feet. Liquid had coated his face, and InuYasha frantically began to wipe it off. It was blood. The stench was hard to miss. Tow guards ran towards him when he had shouted out his comment.

"What is it kid?" One asked. InuYasha stopped wiping the blood off his face and pointed to a…dog demon head. He felt the two guards stiffen behind him and InuYasha felt his mouth gap open.

"What…?" InuYasha started, but was cut off when one of the guards grabbed him roughly by the arm and hauled him inside the castle without a word. The other guard stayed outside with head. InuYasha was confused, but finally came to his senses to get the guard off him. "I can walk!" InuYasha snapped, jerking his arm out of the vice grip.

"Then follow me without question." The guard simply replied. InuYasha actually decided to obey. Probably because he wanted to know who's head that belonged too. He followed the guard to…his father's room.

"Lord Touga." The guard bowed as he entered the through the sliding door. InuYasha stood in the doorway, still covered in blood and not paying any respects. His father rose from his bed along with Sesshomaru's mother. Luckily they were both clothed. "I apologize for the hasty intrusion, My Lord. But the Children of God demons have sent another one of our soldiers…back." InuYasha looked at the guard as he said the last word as if his father knew how the dog demon was sent back.

"I see." His father stood up and straightened his top. "Show me." The guard did not need to be asked twice as he began to lead his Lord to the blood scene. InuYasha crossed his arms as they passed and looked up at his father when they came close to one another. "I see they aimed it at you." The Dog Demon Lord turned to InuYasha.

InuYasha actually snorted and wiped some more blood off his cheek. "They missed."

"No, they didn't." With that, Lord Touga and the guard disappeared around the corner to investigate the head. InuYasha was tempted to follow, but for some reason it was almost like, they had silently told him to stay where he was.

"You shall find Aisuru and go fetch my son." The order cut through the air like a blade of ice. InuYasha turned to female dog demon that had stood from his father's bed. InuYasha had never really envisioned Sesshomaru's mother. She stood up gracefully, her hair in two long ponytails, and fur that had been on the floor was now wrapped around her shoulders. Unlike how he felt towards his father, InuYasha knew he had no advantage with this women. He straightened his back and turned away without a word, but was stopped when he felt her hand grip the back of his neck with extreme precision. InuYasha actually froze, and then his own brash instincts kicked in.

"Let go of me." InuYasha hissed at her.

"If I hear that you harm my son again, I will not hesitate to make you suffer." With that, she released his neck and swiped a claw, leaving a small gash in the back of his shoulder blades. InuYasha jumped away and hissed at her. He felt his demonic aura rise to the level of when he was transformed and then he slowly relaxed. He was not going to argue with her and he wanted to get as far away from her as possible. InuYasha quickly disappeared around the corner out of her eyesight and began looking for Aisuru's scent. Her scent was not far off after he turned a few corners and slowly stood in the doorway. He smelled a male dog demon also in the same room, and he was hesitant to intrude.

Suddenly, movement could be heard in the room and Aisuru came out, took one look at him, and frowned. "I see you found yourself in another mess." She bluntly stated.

"Who is there my daughter?" A male voice came from the room. InuYasha actually relaxed somewhat, knowing the male in the room was her father and not a lover.

"Tsueesenshi." Aisuru answered.

"My name is not…" InuYasha started.

"He does not know that." Aisuru quickly interrupted him. "Now come, we need to wash that blood off." InuYasha grudgingly followed her to an area which appeared to be a nice, warm hot spring. InuYasha actually arched an eyebrow and gave her a look.

"You know, if you had told this was here, I wouldn't have fought you for taking a bath." InuYasha crossed his arms.

"Really?" Aisuru crossed her arms back. "Well make it quick. I'm already hearing the whispers around the castle about another…"

"Head?" InuYasha interrupted her. She flinched. "It kind of almost hit me. That's why I'm covered in blood."

"Just clean it off." She snapped. "I'll be outside when you're through. I'll have clothes waiting." With that, she left him and the hot springs alone together.

It had taken a good thirty minutes to get the blood off, but at least InuYasha actually felt relaxed for the first time since he had gotten here. The hot springs had relaxed his muscles enough to close his eyes for a moment and think clearly. Kagome's cry of his name came back to him and he whispered "Kagome" back.

Drying off, and wrapped a cloth around his hips and looked outside for Aisuru. She was gone, but a pile of clothes and armor was ready for him. He grimly noted the hair band and shoe padding. However, if he were going to check on Sesshomaru, he would have to wear it or face the wrath of his father or Sesshomaru's psych-o mother.

Getting dressed and mindful of his wound, he quickly dried his hair to the best of his ability and fiddled with the hair tie. Walking down the hallways again, InuYasha immediately belayed it to Sesshomaru's room, dreading the meeting already. As InuYasha slide open the door to Sesshomaru's room, the young demon prince was still on his bed fast asleep. InuYasha actually let out a sigh of relief that he didn't have to talk with his brother. InuYasha stared at Sesshomaru as he sat down next to his favorite pillar.

Sesshomaru's golden eyes were shut, his small ear flicked at his movement. InuYasha looked at his older brother's face more deeply. He was seeing a child. Sesshomaru's face was relaxed, even contempt, something InuYasha thought he would never see. He remembered back when he was a child, a face of innocence. Sesshomaru saw that in him when they had first met. Sesshomaru did not care about how innocent InuYasha's face had looked. Sesshomaru had grabbed him by the throat and had begun to choke the life out him. InuYasha vaguely remembered that meeting, but the feeling of Sesshomaru's hand on his throat was hard to forget. InuYasha stared at his older brother, his neck easily in reach. InuYasha actually snapped his hands into tight fists, causing all of his claws to dig into his skin.

Why am I thinking like this? InuYasha thought in dread. I'm not a cold-blooded killer, even if it is Sesshomaru. InuYasha looked at his brother again and closed his eyes. The feeling for revenge burned deep in his veins, but he couldn't take it out on something that was much weaker than him. Even Sesshomaru didn't strive that low. Sesshomaru could have killed him as a child, but he didn't. He waited until InuYasha was grown, able to fight back, and then promised to take his life.

Suddenly a strange scent hit his nose. InuYasha's ears perked up and he sniffed trying to pinpoint the exact location of what he was sensing. It was poisonous whatever it was. Why couldn't he place it? It smelled extremely familiar.

Suddenly Sesshomaru's eyes popped open and he snarled in InuYasha's direction. "What are you doing here again?"

"Your mother ordered me to check on you brat." InuYasha spat.

"Get out of my room!" The same argument all over again. Suddenly the child Sesshomaru stopped the tirade he was about to go into and sniffed the air.

"You smell it too?" InuYasha eyed the dog demon child.

"Yeah." Sesshomaru sniffed the air. "I've smelled it more than once."

"Oh? Have you told your parents about it?" InuYasha actually wanted to laugh at his statement.

"I can protect myself!" Sesshomaru boasted.

"Yeah right." InuYasha taunted him. "I bet I can easily kill you." He cracked his claws and barred a fang to prove his point.

"Bring it on nomad!" Sesshomaru jumped up on his bed and cracked his claws, anticipating the battle. InuYasha stood up and started to walk over to the brat, when the scent of poison began to become extremely close. InuYasha stopped his advance and turned towards the door. A green aura was leaking under the sliding door trying to get into the room. Sesshomaru turned away from InuYasha and actually backed into the wall. "What…what is that?"

Green, poisonous, and deadly. It was Sesshomaru's poison. That's what was missing from Sesshomaru's scent. His poison claws. InuYasha turned towards the boy and sniffed his scent to confirm his suspicions. The poison was not laced at all with Sesshomaru's scent. So he wasn't born with it? So what was this…?

The door was broken in before InuYasha could finish his thoughts. There stood a phantom black dog, laced with the green aura. The saliva dripped down from its mouth, burning the wooden floor with the poisonous fumes.

InuYasha barred his fangs and stepped in-between Sesshomaru and the phantom dog. Where the hell was everyone?! "What do you want?" InuYasha snarled at the poisonous dog. It didn't say a word. It charged hitting InuYasha with its paw sending him smashing into the wall farthest away from Sesshomaru. InuYasha's left side exploded with pain as his wound reopened. "Shit!" InuYasha wasn't done yet. He charged and swiped his claws at the dog, but his hand went right through the specter and he crashed into the floor.

"Get away from me!" He heard Sesshomaru cry. Sesshomaru let out the light whip from his small hand, but it did the same as InuYasha's claw attack. It went right through. This dog was a phantom of some sort. Though it somehow hit me, InuYasha mused.

Before InuYasha could get in front of the dog again for another attack, it charged at Sesshomaru. "No!" InuYasha yelled, but he was too late. The dog specter engulfed Sesshomaru's body and began to merge with him, sinking its poisonous aura with the young dog demon prince's. "Stop!" InuYasha hoisted his body up and grabbed Sesshomaru's arm and pulled him up. Sesshomaru's eyes had turned bloodshot red and his mouth was open in a silent scream. Whirlwinds of air pulsed around them as the dog specter disappeared into Sesshomaru's body.

"Sesshomaru?" InuYasha started at the limp body of the child.

"It is done." The female voice entered the room before InuYasha realized it was not one he recognized. He looked up and out the open window starting at a red haired women demon with devilish green eyes. He body was laced with white clothes and golden armor and she smiled at the sight of Sesshomaru's child body limp in InuYasha's arms.

"What did you do to him bitch?!" InuYasha snarled.

"The Lord Touga's son has been defiled. The Great Dog Demon will have to come to me now." With a sweep of her hand, she was gone. Leaving InuYasha with an unconscious Sesshomaru, barely breathing in his arms.