Inu Insanity by Rinku

Chapter One: A Daiyoukai's Duty (EDITED)

Inu Insanity

-By ForgottenHero-Rinku

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Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and am making no profit, what-so-ever, from this fan fiction. Any InuYasha related items are respectfully owned by Rumiko Takahashi and her producers.

WARNING: Sexual Situations [Lemons, limes etc...], Violence/Gore and strong Language.

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My Corner:

Hey guys and welcome to a fan fiction I wanted to add. Yes I know I have a lot of unfinished ones. Yes I am aware I have way too many but this is how I deal with stress - writing. I'm stressed lately so you are all just going to have accept tones of new chapters and new fan fictions :P. Thank you to everyone who nominated me for my fanfiction A Debt to be Paid. I'm honored to be nominated for the Best Canon section :) Good luck to everyone and I really hope you all enjoy this story ^.^

Anywho, onto the story...

Don't forget to Read, Rate, & Review!

EDITED: Dec. 1, 2017.

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Chapter One: A Daiyoukai's Duty

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A wolf howled, its baleful call echoing in the night. Golden eyes that bore the striking resemblance to a hawk's stared forward, their honey depths cold and steely. They were set in an angelic face; its elfin features were flawless and intimidatingly aloof. Sesshoumaru, daiyoukai of the West, stood atop a hill in the midst of night, regarding his domain apathetically. The demon Lord had been patrolling his borders for a fortnight, preparing for an event he had long ignored and avoided. The daiyoukai stiffened as a repercussion of such procrastination made itself known.

The ever present heat sparked inside from the burning ember alit in him. Sesshoumaru's body tensed. His very blood burned in his veins. The rising inferno within was as molten lava. Inside of him it slithered, like a serpent of fire, coiling ruthlessly around his abdomen and pelvic region. The heat gathered there; a scorching pool of need boiling in his core. A deep growl resonated in the demon Lord’s chest as he waited for the symptom to fade. It reluctantly did. But the after effects of the season-induced curse left his body feeling odd and agitated. His finely shaped jaw clenched.

'The dishonor of this season; the disgrace of it all.' He lamented in disgust.

Sesshoumaru stared up at the dark sky silently, surveying it shrewdly as he awaited the inevitable.

As if on cue, a bush twitched and shuffled as something muttered from its twiggy confines. With a growl, Jaken, the loyal retainer of the mighty daiyoukai, emerged from the foliage. He plucked some twigs and leafs from his person nervously. His bulbous yellow eyes fixed on the glowing visage of his Lord. The retainer's wary gaze slid to the two swords that were strapped to his Lord's hip. His throat clenched as the reminder that all three of the weapons could kill him in very gruesome ways. He did not want to approach his Lord - especially when he was still armed and already agitated.

But then again, his Lord was never unarmed so this confrontation was inevitable. The toad demon rubbed his scaly green claws together, clicking his beak in fear. He was most hesitant on approaching his Lord while he seemed so... unsettled… yet the news he held was of utmost importance. Jaken felt the volatile shift in his Lord's youki, the immense energy like a bitter winter's breeze, and shuddered. Perhaps it could wait until morning and he could feign that the news had just been passed along to him...

"Is there a reason you are here, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru’s baritone voice, though not loud, cut the tense air like a hot knife through butter.

Centuries of serving the being before him forced the toad too straighten up, ignoring his sincere wishes to run away into the dark. Instead he stepped from the shadows of the forest, though hesitant, his head bowed in respect for the demon Lord. Jaken felt the sweat on his flesh trickle in rivulets. He would be a good servant. He chanted that mantra in his head.

"H-hai Sesshoumaru-sama." He managed to squeak.

The pale inu youkai paused for a moment, letting the silence grate the poor servant's nerves, before replying, "Then state your purpose.”

Jaken grimaced. Clearing his throat, he stammered, "M-My Lord, it is Fall… the time of... mating. It is when-"

“I am well aware of the season or do you think I am ignorant?” His Lord cut in icily.

Sesshoumaru continued to gaze at the sky disinterestedly. Silence met his double-edged query. Jaken mentally weeped. This was going very poorly now. He glanced at the path. If only he could go back...

“O-of course not Sesshoumaru-sama! You are all knowing, all beautiful, all powerful and this lowly servant is-“

“My patience is thinning.” Sesshoumaru interrupted, his tone ominous.

Before he could think of a reply, Jaken froze as his Lord then glanced at him from over the thick fur pelt on his shoulder, pinning the trembling servant with one icy golden eye. He stared into that lethal stare and gulped. He should have known to speak much faster but his Lord was most unpredictable at this time of the century. He must tread softly and carefully yet it seemed by doing so he was irking the infamous dog demon.

"What do you have to tell me, Jaken, or are you here to gawk at this one?" Sesshoumaru demanded, his frozen eye flashing with impatience.

Sesshoumaru watched Jaken's face fall. He looked most unflattering with the ridiculous "hurt" expression on his already unattractive face. For a moment the daiyoukai considered kicking the toad into the woods. He had no need for a mute servant much less a useless one. Jaken tried to put on what he thought was a brave face, unbeknownst to him he looked more like a rebuffed pup. He watched the demon Lord turn his face forward again. It was a silent demand for an explanation.

"The four Lords are searching for their required mates to bring to the Spring Festival that your family and ancestors have so graciously hosted once every five centuries."

Sesshoumaru's elegant form visibly stiffened.

"And why do you feel the need to remind me of that, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru queried frostily.

Jaken sputtered, "You see Mi'Lord... I know of your er... needs... during this time. So the council and I have... ah... thought of your situation and..."

The toad felt his throat tighten and he trailed off. He was so uncomfortable with this subject.

"And?" The daiyoukai prompted.

The toad felt the sweat pooling down his back. His robe was sticking to him like a glove. He felt his body beginning to shake and the urge to flee into the forest was becoming more desirable every second. He glanced at the tree line almost sobbing. He wouldn't make it. His wonderful, beautiful, perfect Lord was much too fast.

Reluctantly, he continued in a tight voice, "We thought that perhaps a harem would benefit you, Sesshoumaru-sama. All of the other Lords have done it before so it should not raise a fuss so to say..."

His suggestion hung in the air. Staring at his Master's back, torn between fear and reverence, he watched his Lord for any sign of aggression. It was of course a very probable outcome. His Lord's youki was riled and had been since his heat that began a century ago. No demon could usually handle the physical and mental toll of not mating when they had matured. But his wonderful daiyoukai had. Sesshoumaru had ignored his baser urges, had forgone even his harem he had kept since first reaching physical maturity, and even more surprising, showed no signs of strain.

That is until recently.

The Western court and he, Jaken, had finally began to notice in the last decade that their Lord was indeed not as impervious to nature as they thought. Sesshoumaru's youki was tense, volatile and unstable - something that was very odd for the usually stoic and in-control daiyoukai. Now his immense aura was sporadic at the best of times. Thus the whispers and gossip began to flow through the castle and now, to his servants' and governors' horror, to the other realms. Talk that their Lord was unable to find a proper mate for the Western throne. It didn’t help he rejected countless female youkai much to everyone's confusion. The fact that no female had been claimed by the daiyoukai in his almost seven hundred year life span caused more than a few brows to raise.

Thus how he came to be here. He stared at the daiyoukai’s back fearfully. How he hated the council for putting him up to this. He had argued that no one should breach the subject with the dog demon especially during his... ailment... but the council had insisted that Sesshoumaru-sama had to be notified of the festival and the mating season. Jaken grimaced.

'Why did those awful councillors make me tell Sesshoumaru-sama? Can they not see that even I, his beloved and most trusted servant, can be punished for bringing up such a thing?'

All the while, ignoring his crumbling retainer who was about to have an aneurysm, Sesshoumaru considered his situation, his pointed face placid despite his irritation.

'A harem... I have had such when I was naught but a pup. But now my beast craves for companionship.'

He was now several centuries old. The last Festival that had been held was when the Great Dog General and Western Lord, his Father, had revealed his human mate much to the council's fury and the entire demon population's shock. The scandal still burned their memory. The council now looked at Sesshoumaru, their gazes hopeful that he would not follow his Father and produce an abomination such as InuYasha. His upper lip curled in disdain.

Yes, he knew the council would provide the harem but with disappointment. They would much rather a permanent mate for their Lord and a Lady for the West seated at his side.

The Festival was an announcement; an introduction feast for the demon Lords of all the lands. It was the time for them to introduce their mate and to prove they would fulfill their duty to produce heirs. His family had hosted such for the last three generations. It occurred every five hundred years since demons bodies grew much faster than their minds. It took a very long time for a demon to become mature in both mind and form because of a youkai's slow aging process. A normal demon at a hundred years old would still be a child. InuYasha for example; he was two hundred and fifty years old and was considered to be around eighteen-nineteen in human years. 

The demon Lord's sensuous pale lips turned downward very little at their corners, an almost imperceptible frown on his otherwise emotionless face. It was the duty of a Lord to have a mate. It was necessary to ensure an heir for the Lands. Had his Father not done so? He, Sesshoumaru, had been produced after the very festival when his mother had been introduced. His empty gold stare slid to the moon. The pale orb was naught but a slender crescent in the sky; much like the one on his forehead. It was a mark he had inherited from his mother and her bloodline, proof of his heritage to the House of the Moon.

The image of a female inu youkai flashed in his mind. Sesshoumaru had recently visited his mother. She proved to be most difficult about giving him the information he needed. He glanced at his three swords. He had acquired much of his father's strength but it seemed he had managed to acquire some of his mother's attributes such as coveting powerful objects. Sesshoumaru's face intensified in severity. Yes, his father had been his mother's most prized powerful object she had managed to collect. But that was a matter that did not concern him. He had other issues than his for-bearer's dalliances. Overall, the young inu youkai felt trapped and that did not bode well with him. He was far too used to having things his way and having nothing and no one to answer to.

But this time he had to answer to something - his own self.

The demon Lord eyed the constellations. He did not want a mate. He had no desire for one. Besides, even if he did want one, the timing was completely troublesome. Even with the hanyou Naraku gone (something he had played a part of), there were many issues left, unsettled or arising, even with his demise. Lands had been wasted, youkai tribes had turned on one another (many of their leaders had died over the years by Naraku’s hand and his armies), allegiances were failing and his own lands, the West, was secured but only because of his diligence of patrolling and fortifying his claim by shedding blood. Mercilessly.

All because of this tension and talk of war, Sesshoumaru had retrieved Rin back from Edo. He had not planned on Kohaku, who had been living with his sister and her monk, to return with them under the agreement that he would train the boy. It had caused more than a few harsh comments from his advisors which they only uttered under their breath. To think a daiyoukai would accept an exterminator as a ward was unheard of and unusual for youkai. Much less a prominent demon Lord. But Sesshoumaru had felt pressured by both Kohaku's deep respect for him and an unwecolmed development in his original ward.

Rin was beginning to flourish into a woman. The change was noticed by him when he saw her glances that once held child-adoration had begun to look at the taijya with attraction. After such a realization the daiyoukai felt it was safer to have Rin and Kohaku around, or in better terms, under his thumb. Rin's rapid growth confused and startled him. The child he had taken in was no longer that - she was becoming a woman. Sesshoumaru's lips thinned with disapproval. He had taken responsibility for her by accepting her as pack for three years.

He would not let her become a typical human woman. Married by fifteen and becoming a village housewife that catered to an unimportant male. Although Kohaku had managed to gain the daiyoukai's approval as a human warrior, his credentials as mate material for the child he regarded as his, were not well received. Something he made very clear. But it seemed to spur Rin on even more. Women, especially of the human species, were tiresome beings set upon males.

‘Females… what troublesome, wearying creatures.’ Sesshoumaru thought to himself.

Sesshoumaru snorted. His lust for the female form was hardly present and hadn't been for a long time. He reasoned it was due to always traveling for answers, for wisdom, for power. Yet it might have also been because he found bitches tedious. They demanded things he did not desire to give and was incapable of. A bitch would want attention, affection and numerous things that made his lip curl in disgust. He was not one to coddle anything. He could not imagine having a simpering female clinging to his arm, demanding to be held and pampered with affection. 

Inu bitches were notorious for demanding such attention. A mating made between two inu always consisted of such courting rituals between the pair. But Sesshoumaru felt no interest in allowing a female even near him much less let the bitch touch him. The idea of the entire situation and what was demanded of him annoyed him to a severe degree. The demon Lord slowly blinked, thoughtful. He could not even remember the last time he had bedded a bitch.

How long had it been?

His swift mind quickly calculated. At least three centuries. He had never placed women on his priority list. Power, conquest and knowledge were the only constant partners he needed by his side. But now he was in a predicament. The same position he continuously trained and grew more powerful for now demanded he take a mate. The festival was coming and due to his age and his role as the daiyoukai of the West, it was his final duty to ensure his place as the reigning Lord of the West. It seemed his only choice was apparent.

"I will not be needing such services this season." Sesshoumaru admitted with reluctance.

Jaken visibly froze. "M-my Lo-Lo-Lord? You… won’t be?” 

Had his Lord already found a mate?

The retainer reeled, instantly shaking his head at the notion. No, it could not be! His Lord would have told him! Jaken regarded his master shrewdly. Lord Sesshoumaru could not have possibly found a mate. His Lord, though he tended to wander from their group, did not ever display any sign of having mated. Too many signs that would be apparent, no matter how discreet a youkai tried to be, would make it evident that he had. Jaken gazed at his stunning demon Lord in awe.  Perhaps the dog demon was going to forsake women all together? Such a scandal that would cause! Well, then again, there were demons who preferred their own gender. Jaken blushed at the thought. It was not uncommon in demon society. Actually it was probably more popular in demon society then in human.

"It is time I find a mate." The demon Lord announced, his tone more annoyed than optimistic.

Jaken stood there for a moment dumbstruck. He almost cleaned out his ears to make sure he had heard what he had. Glancing around for signs of some sort of black magic and realizing this was not an illusion, the retainer blinked at his Lord in shock. He had not expected his Lord to actually acquiescence to the demands of the court. His Lord was notorious for being independent and a rogue; especially for a demon that was from a pack lineage.

"Y-yes my Lord. The council were... concerned."

Sesshoumaru sniffed derisively through his nose at the information. He had known such. The council did not exactly hide their intentions or concerns well – the old youkai had made more than a few pointed remarks to him over the last century. Something that hadn’t gone unnoticed or unpunished by him. He turned on his heel and faced Jaken in a smooth, fluid movement. His long white-silver hair fluttered around him as he peered down at his servant languidly.

“Then let me set their concerns to rest before they try and devise a scheme.” He announced, mockery lacing his deep voice.

Jaken felt his throat catch at his Lord's beauty. He truly was the most divine of all Lords. His heart swelled with pride. No demoness would refuse his master. Lord Sesshoumaru would find a mate within a matter of days while all the other Lords would have been looking for the last century or more to prepare for the festival. His Lord's power, beauty, and status insured he would find the most promising and wonderful of mates. His Lord’s father, Inu no Taisho, certainly had had a gift with those of the fairer sex. In fact, he had wooed many a great demoness and even the inu youkai princess, Inu no Kimi, with a proficiency that was still sung about in their halls.

Although, the dog General’s last mate had been…

The toad flinched. He would not think of that human wench that had almost destroyed the Western Lands. She and her abomination InuYasha. That alone made her a horrible witch in Jaken's books. He snorted in contempt at the memory of the human princess. A common human; she had held no personal strength, no royal blood of notable regard, no lands or titles to offer to the Inu no Taisho since she was the youngest of several children. All she had was her face and even that had not been so uncommonly beautiful.

The dog General’s numerous demoness conquests were all famed beauties. Some to this day still insisted the inu youkai had managed to woo goddesses. Thus all of their society had been baffled as to what attracted the dog general to the human princess. She had been nothing special, especially considering the expenses that had been paid in both blood and honour for her. Jaken scowled. Even to this day none in the West would refer to her by her name.

‘My Lord is nothing as his sire. He will bring honour and power to his lands as he always has. Sesshoumaru-sama will find a female that is worthy to be the Lady of the domain. But is there anyone truly worthy of him?’

Jaken pondered that, trying to imagine what type of youkai (he assumed inu youkai as his Lord was very much about keeping the bloodline pure which Jaken wholeheartedly agreed with) his Lord would mate and what kind of woman she would be. Would she be strong? She would have to be, he reasoned. Sesshoumaru’s youki was unprecedented; his energy an immense, overwhelming element that very few creatures could handle being bonded too.

"Is there anything this lowly servant can do for you, Sesshoumaru-sama?" He asked as he basically prostrated himself before the daiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru ignored his servant. He was too consumed with the uncomfortable experiences in his body. Although his expression remained impassive, the demon Lord had hid his discomfort for the last decade. It had steadily become worse as each mating season passed, the fevered symptoms plaguing him irritably so. He masked it well yet he knew even he could not evade the frenzied instincts for much longer. The daiyoukai tried to ignore another painful stab in his chest and rush of heat in his stomach. The urge to procreate was deeply ingrained in a demon's genetics.

Demons were a war-thriving species; they lived to fight and die. They needed to mate to keep species of demon going. Cat, dog, wolf... these species were most active during mating season since their species were the most aggressive. They were the species that created the most and lost the most of their population. It did not help that demons lived on violence. They were constantly killing and being killed. A female dog demon was known to have up to five pups in one pregnancy with the weakest one doomed to die. Any weak pups or even weak demons later found in their adult life were destroyed. Stronger demons felt a compulsion to kill them. Anything weak did not have a need to exist. For what purpose or what use is a weakling? They could not do anything and had weak genetics - they would taint any future generations and thus were killed off. It was normal for demons to see anything weak as inferior.

The species of demons most known for destroying weaker creatures were dog demons.

Even common dogs, the ones owned by humans (as disgusting as it was to Sesshoumaru to think humans owned the creatures) loved hunting birds, rabbits, frogs, even other dogs... whatever was smaller and weaker. The compulsion to destroy those weaker than them ran thick in dog demons. Their instincts thrived on being dominant and insuring stronger, more survivable offspring. From the moment a pup was conceived he must fight. Fight for the food his mother provided against his siblings; fight to prove his worth when he was born. He must earn his name - no pup was given a name until they earned it.

It was how he had earned his own name, Killing Perfection, by the age of a hundred and ten years. Even as the future Lord, Sesshoumaru had to earn his status and title. From his first breath, it was impressed on the only heir of Inu no Taisho he had to be the strongest of all demons - especially dog demons - to prove his worth and his right to live. Sesshoumaru felt the nagging feeling dissipate. His youki calmed and with it, the tightness around his jaw and lips relaxed. His stoic expression had become rigid – even for him. However, his gaze had sharpened, his slitted pupils elongating. Already his nostrils had flared a bit as he took silent, evaluated sniffs of the air. His senses were ringing with need. It was as if his acceptance of the inevitable had unleashed a chain reaction.

He was ready to begin the tedious ordeal of mating.

Stepping towards the side of the cliff, his gold eyes burning in the dark, he ordered over his shoulder, "In my absence, you will be in charge of Rin and Kohaku."

The toad stilled. Rin’s obsession with Kohaku was notorious. And he very well knew his Lord did not agree with the idea of a relationship blooming between the pair. The task would be indeed arduous. Rin was now eleven, on the cusp of the human “teenage” years, and a handful. She had become quite spirited (which he partly blamed his Lord’s tolerance of the girl and her oddities) and rebellious. Even now the child was confined to her room for the day. She had caused quite the disruption on the practice field where Kohaku had been training.

She had shown up in a lovely kimono their Lord had gifted her and, to everyone’s horror, had done the unspeakable – kokuhaku. To say in the least the rudeness and exhibitionism of the act, all directed to the blushing and star-struck looking Kohaku, had caused a stir was an understatement. Rin had received quite the verbal lashing from their Lord and been sent to her private apartment for the day. The girl had made a further fool of herself by crying and running away. Even now all those who had been present talked about it. She had brought shame and disgrace to their Lord who had generously become her protector.

‘And now I must deal with the hormonal brat.’ Jaken mentally wept.

"O-Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama. I will eagerly wait for you to return." He forced himself to say even though he could think of no worse of a task.

And with that, Jaken scampered away into the darkness, thanking the gods and whatever fortune had blessed him. He had actually survived the meeting with his Lord! Shuffling down the hill, the toad demon paused for a moment and looked behind his shoulder at the white silhouette of the demon Lord. He was the most beautiful and powerful demon in all of Japan. His strength and abilities surpassed even the great Inu no Taisho's and were beyond that of any youkai before him. Jaken frowned thoughtfully.

With all his wonderful Lord had to offer what female could possibly be worthy of such an alpha male as Sesshoumaru-sama? 

Sesshoumaru kept his sharp eyes on the forest before him. He raised his elegant nose and delicately sniffed the coming breeze. It blew across his face like a cool gush of breath. He inhaled it slowly, his eyes closed, thoughtful.

He would have to sniff her out.

His mate would be defined by her scent. When he found the right scent, it would trigger an immediate reaction in his senses. He considered this. To think he would not choose his own mate but have it chosen by his youki was annoying and something that stung the demon Lord's pride. His eyes narrowed in irritation. He would not chose a mate based on his personal opinion of her but had to rely on the ancient magic of his youki and an unexplainable genetic instinct that was undeniable. A slender brow arched with scepticism. 

While he was not impressed with the method, its success rate was undeniable. The age-old instincts had insured many prosperous and well-matched matings for demons since the dawn of their existence. His father had ignored the instinct and had mated his mother, which who he had no connection to as regular mates did, in an attempt to fulfill his duty to create a full-blooded inu youkai heir. His mother had not objected to being used as such. In fact she had been delighted to add another strong, beautiful treasure to her list.

Sesshoumaru was on her list - he was her greatest accomplishment or at least so she claimed.

The daiyoukai brushed away those thoughts. Now was not the time to linger over his creation. He had his own mate to find. He opened his eyes, the amber pools glowing like two suns in the darkness. He then disappeared in thin air. In a blur of white, he reappeared on the lands below the hill top that now hovered above him a mile high. Without a sound the demon Lord launched forward with an untraceable speed. The trees flew by him as if the world flew backwards as he progressed forward. His long legs flew across the land gracefully, his moon-kissed hair flowing behind him, creating a silver glint to his blurred form. His face porcelain features neutral but his golden eyes oddly bright and feral, the inu youkai’s predatory gaze slanted dangerously.

The hunt was on.

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"Uuuuhhhhhhgggggggg."

The long, low moan caused the three people hovering over the trembling figure to shake their heads in bewilderment. A boy with silver hair held his chest, his eyes scrunched in pain, his body shaking with agony. Above him three of his comrades lingered by him, their faces etched with confusion and concern. Among the three who witnessed the boy's nameless torture, a young man with violet eyes and black hair sighed and threw his hands up in defeat, utterly astounded at the ailment his friend was experiencing. Miroku, the houshi of the inu tachi and most knowledgeable, had wracked his mind for the last day and night, watching all the while his friend's condition worsened, only to come up empty handed.

A pretty woman beside him with doe-brown eyes and chocolate-brown hair shook her head wearily. She too had tried her best to come up with an answer only to fail. She rubbed her lover's back comfortingly, trying to placate him. His nerves were shot with stress and she understood he was now at a complete stump. In fact they all were. InuYasha, their leader and friend, had fallen ill a few days ago. What had started as a simple head ache and occasional chest pain had flourished into a full out illness that was unexplainable. Bottles and countless vials from the future lay strewn around the hanyou, empty and proven useless. They had been provided by the miko of their odd group, Kagome, in an attempt to aid the ailing boy.

Bottles with names like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Advil and a very odd one named Midol lay empty around the half-breed. Yet there had been no sign of improvement in the boy despite guzzling them down in large gulps. His pain had driven him to accept what he usually deemed as "future posion" from Kagome who had exhausted her entire medicine cabinet much to her Mother’s confusion. Kagome wracked a trembling hand through her stress-tangled hair. She had used everything she had to help him – even her menstruation medicine as desperate and ridiculous as that was.

"Someone... kill me..." InuYasha pleaded, his fangs clenched in a snarl as he shook with another tormented tremor.

Miroku pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation as he retorted to the prone boy, "InuYasha we’ve told you several times that isn't an option. Stop asking – none of us will do it."

The half-breed tensed. His yellow-gold eyes opened a crack for a moment to glare at the monk.

"Then fuck off! Leave me alone if all you’re going to do is stand there like the useless purple shit bag you are!” InuYasha barked.

Kagome admonished the volatile half-breed wearily, "Don't talk to him or any of us like that, InuYasha. For the last time, Miroku is trying to help you - we're all trying to help you."

The boy turned his attention to her and hissed, "Well stop wasting your time! You guys don’t understand what the fuck is happening or how to fix it! Keh! If it was any one of you bakas going through this then maybe I'd listen to ya. But you aren't so get lost! I don’t need any more of your stupid “help” that doesn’t do shit all anyway!"

His tirade stopped when another violent shudder rippled through him. The waves of burning agony were scalding him from the inside out. The half-breed pitifully curled back into the foetal position he had lain in for the last day and some. He turned away, presenting his back to the group, blatantly rejecting them. Miroku pulled back and stood beside the miko, his face a picture of worry and confusion. His fiancée, Sango, stood beside him as always.

But she glared down at InuYasha with evident irritation. If he wasn’t as sick as he seemed she would have knocked his head a few times with Hiraikotsu – she didn’t let anyone talk to her fiancé like that usually. But she didn't. Simply for the fact there was no denying the hanyou was very ill. InuYasha was pale, clammy, and shaking like a leaf in a storm. He kept complaining of a searing pain in his heart and burning in his body despite not having a fever. The group had watched helplessly as his condition continued to worsen.

Hearing him growl again, they backed away, leaving their friend by the campfire when he threatened to tear their intestines out through their asses. None of them even attempted to berate him for his hostility since they knew he was in a pain-induced frenzy. It wasn't exactly uncommon for InuYasha to be rude either but his illness seemed to amplify it more. Reluctantly the trio gathered together near Kirara and Shippou who slept unaware of the dramatics.

Kagome looked at Miroku beseechingly. "What is wrong with InuYasha?" She asked him for at least the hundredth time.

Miroku couldn't restrain the tell-tale frustrated twitch in his eye. He wasn't used to not knowing or deducing situations. 

"As I’ve said before, Kagome-sama, I haven’t the faintest idea. For the last two days his conditioned has increased dramatically. I have looked him over every hour. Every time I appraise him there is no evidence of anything wrong. There are no physical wounds or ailments. I check his spiritual energy and there was nothing wrong with it - in fact it was stronger. It doesn't make sense. His human spirit is pale in comparison with his demon which is odd but not bad. I think his human spirit is lessened because he just finished a New Moon cycle. I have never really examined his spiritual energy before so it is probably normal for InuYasha's demon energy to be stronger since he has more demonic qualities."

The priest sighed. It was the sound of defeat.

"I can’t find anything wrong with him. No wounds, no sickness, no ailments... He hasn't eaten, drank, or touched anything that could have caused this. Nothing is in disarray with his body or spirit. This is utterly frustrating. I have never seen anything like this before." The monk stated tersely, his violet eyes showing his puzzlement.

"Is it a demon thing?" The miko suggested with a strained look.

Miroku shrugged wordlessly then glanced at his fiancée though he suspected her answer. “Sango can you think of anything that might be triggering this from your demon training or studies at all?"

The slayer gave them both a helpless look.

"Nothing. Any knowledge of demons I have isn't focused on their daily lives - taijya focus their studies mainly on how to destroy youkai and what their weaknesses were. I only know their abilities and how to counteract them. Basically, my knowledge is centered on destroying demons - not curing them much less helping them with random illnesses." She admitted, a grimace on her pretty face.

As if on cue another groan cut the tense air. They looked back at the shivering boy.  They could only hope it went away or perhaps the oddly elusive Myouga would appear. He was the only demon they ran into often enough to inquire about InuYasha's sudden illness. But strangely the flea youkai had stopped coming by a few months ago. The group had agreed it was definitely suspicious that the blood-sucking leech that was basically a stalker of the inu tachi hadn’t paid them a visit by now. Shippou had suggested he had finally been eaten or squashed which had been immediately disregarded. Myouga was nearly invincible - like a parasite.

Kagome’s sapphire eyes flickered to where InuYasha lay curled up. Her heart twisted at the pitiful image he made. His face was glistening with sweat, his eyes scrunched closed as he snarled like a caged animal. The miko shuddered. She had never seen him look this bad which said a lot. The guy had suffered countless injuries over the years, some of them almost fatal. But never once had InuYasha complained and looked so near to agony as he did then. 

“I’m going to go sit with him guys. Thanks again.” She whispered to the couple as she stood.

The pair nodded and watched her make her way to the hanyou. They were wary of him and how he would react to the girl’s presence. He was snippy lately and didn’t like any one around him especially Kagome. Which was abnormal; InuYasha always wanted Kagome by him, usually suffocatingly so, but since his illness it seemed he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. Everyone had noticed the oddity, especially Kagome, yet didn't voice it. When anything that delved or hinted into the nameless relationship of the pair everyone tended to let it go. Just as Kagome and InuYasha. It was known amongst them all the relationship was at a stalemate; they weren't officially a couple still.

But even now, despite the grey area between them, the miko continued to try and help him.

Kagome approached InuYasha. The whole time she mentally berated herself. If only she had taken up Kaede's offer of training. If she had perhaps she would have learnt something to help InuYasha's situation. But school had been too close to examinations and they were still travelling across Japan, killing off any youkai InuYasha deemed a hazard. Even though Naraku was destroyed and the jewel returned to her body, Kagome still had no time to spare to go to the elderly priestess to learn how to be a proper priestess.

All she had ever needed too know in the last three years was how to treat physical injuries, archery, and to trace the shikon no kakera.

Presently, the inu tachi were a youkai exterminating group part time. They usually stayed around the village but whenever InuYasha started to feel “cooped up” as he put it, they’d venture out and go exterminate demons around the area and nearby villages. Kagome frowned. She hadn't thought to really expand her talents since Naraku had been defeated. But now that InuYasha was ill and she hadn't a clue what to do, she felt rather stupid for not being more studious with Kaede.

She sighed. Well, there was no use crying over spilt milk as they said. She could not undo the fact she hadn't taken up Kaede’s offer and that she presently could not help InuYasha. Sitting down on a log near InuYasha's head, Kagome nervously waited for him to acknowledge her. He didn't and her heart sank. She had noticed the distance growing between them. To add insult to it all she knew everyone else had seen the way InuYasha now rejected her. They were also unaware that she had noticed their comments and glances. Kagome's throat tightened. Why was he pushing her away? Weren't they best friends if not more? If so, why did he seem to hate her now? The miko shoved those thoughts away, unable to cope with the burning questions that plagued her since Naraku's demise.

“InuYasha, its me... Kagome." She greeted him hesitantly.

She waited for him to reply. Instead he visibly tensed, his shoulders bunching. Kagome felt her stomach roll. Even now he seemed like he couldn't stand her presence. The miko swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. The tears she held back were fighting their way out of her watery stare.

"D-Do you need anything? Can I get you something?" She pushed, a little desparate to be acknowledged.

She craved for some semblance of their friendship to be shown.

Finally, the hanyou glared over his shoulder at her. The sick feeling in her stomach intensified when she saw the fury in his gaze when he saw her.

"I don’t need anything for the last time, Kagome! I'm stronger stuff than you weak humans. So get lost - you're pissing me off."

Kagome froze. Her face blanched as the blood rushed from it as InuYasha growled and then turned away again. Kagome knew it was rejection. He was telling her to go away. He didn't want her or anything from her. Her heart felt like it had been stabbed with a knife and the girl didn't know how to handle it. InuYasha never forced her away like this before. He'd never been so cruel. So why the sudden change? Why now when everything was supposed to be better? Kagome slid off the log and slowly crawled towards him.

She felt Miroku's and Sango's eyes watching her. She could feel the disapproval and warning in their stares. But she ignored it, her focus on the boy who had been her priority for three years. They couldn't understand her devotion. Or the fact that her bond with InuYasha told her he needed someone, particularly her, with him right now. She stopped right beside his head, kneeling there, tears gathered in her eyes. Seeing him like this hurt. She always hurt when he was in pain. It was part of their bond.

"Don't try and act like a hero InuYasha." She pleaded her voice trembling. He tensed. "Just please... talk to me. Stop blocking me out this isn't like you."

A strained, heart-breaking silence fell between them. Kagome waited for something, anything, from him. Finally, the hanyou turned his head and looked at her, his feverish eyes catching hers. She stiffened when she saw a flash of red flicker in them. Her heart stopped as the crimson red met her disbelieving stare.

“Go… away… Kagome. Get away from me!” He hissed.

Then all horror broke lose. A demonic howl roared from InuYasha as he started to tear at his chest. His screams pierced the night, the sound something that none of them would ever forget. Kagome immediately jumped into action. Forcing the boy down with her own body weight, she felt his back snap as she tackled him down flat onto the ground. InuYasha released a howl that left no doubt he was being tortured. Kagome quickly looked over at him and immediately wished she hadn’t. He was tearing the flesh from his chest in chunks, blood pouring from the wounds like a river of red. The miko watched in baffled terror. 

"Miroku! Sango! Help!" She screamed over her shoulder.

Her hands shot out instinctively. She tried to wrestle InuYasha’s curled talons away from the deep gouges he had already inflicted on himself.

“Get away from him Kagome-sama! He’s-” She heard Miroku but it was too late.

InuYasha’s blood red eyes focused on the small miko and without any hesitance, he hit her in the stomach. Kagome felt the punch like a truck had collided with her gut. She gaped, her breath leaving her, the world spinning backwards in slow motion. The miko went reeling backwards like a tumbleweed across the forest floor until she stopped a good meter away from the snarling half-breed. Kagome choked and gagged, clenching at her chest as she immediately curled into a ball holding her stomach, trying to gasp for air. She couldn’t breathe! He had actually knocked her breath from her!

“That’s it!” She heard Sango snarl.

Kagome couldn’t look up and see what was happening. Her vision was doubling as her chest heaved with the need for air. She heard some choice swear words and the sounds of a struggle before someone came to her side and lifted her up. They pushed the hair that clung to her face and all she saw was purple and black.

“Kagome-sama look at me! Relax and try to breathe! Sango go get some water now!” Miroku’s deep voice sounded strangely frazzled for the usually jovial, calm monk.

She lay in Miroku’s arm, catching her breath. It felt like forever until it finally came back to her, Miroku calming her aura and using his ki too relax her shocked lungs. When Kagome could finally inhale and exhale she stared over at the hissing half-breed, torn between shock and hurt. InuYasha had never touched her aggressively before. Even now, his back facing her as if to block her out, he continued to snarl like a caged animal. The miko moved to sit up as Miroku helped steady her. She waved him off and shakily stood up. Sango and Miroku hovered by her, their concerned gazes watching her for any sign of a more grievous injury.

“That bastard. What is wrong with him?” She heard Sango hiss.

Miroku scowled. “Kagome-sama, are you well? Do you need anything else?” He urged.

Kagome waved them away. She felt sick to her stomach. Not just because she had had a demon-crazed hanyou punch her there. The knowledge that the boy she loved and had been friends with for over three years had attacked her made her queasy. Something wasn’t right at all. That was not InuYasha over there. Or at least, not her InuYasha, who she had known and cared for since first beginning her journey in the past. Ignoring their comments, she slowly made her way to her bag.

Sango followed after her, a scowl marred her pretty face. The taijya was incensed. She had been prepared to knock out the bastard but Miroku had stopped her. The monk argued they did not know how he would react to a threat especially since he had lashed out at Kagome who had posed none. Something they both knew was frighteningly abnormal for the half-breed they knew. She watched the miko shakily rummage through her odd yellow bag, her head bowed down so her thick onyx-navy hair hid her pale face.

“Kagome.”

Kagome winced when she heard Sango’s stern tone but could not meet her brown stare. Instead, she hid beneath her black bangs. She felt like she was going to cry and that’d only make Sango’s anger worse.

Biting her bottom lip, she whispered, her throat sore, “It wasn’t him, Sango. He didn’t mean to-“

“That’s no reason to touch you, Kagome!” Sango cut in hotly.

Kagome paused. Staring down at her shaking hands, she considered her words. The taijya continued to stand over her. She could see Sango’s tightly curled fists at her sides shaking.

“The InuYasha we know would never do that.” Kagome stated firmly. Finally meeting Sango’s furious stare, she continued. “I’m going to go clear my head for a bit and try to find some herbs to make something that might help InuYasha’s pain - I saw Kaede make it once when he was injured.”

Sango sneered. “Really? He doesn’t deserve anything from you right now Kagome! For days you’ve stayed by him and traveled to and back from your time, exhausting yourself in trying to cure him. And for what?” Sango’s demand met silence. Her scowl deepened. “To be attacked? He is unstable and a threat. We should leave now before-“

Kagome stood up quick, her expression mutinous. “Before what exactly?” She demanded, her voice terse.

Sango growled back, “Before he really hurts someone!”

The miko and slayer stared each other off before Miroku, sensing the impeding argument, materialized at their side.

“Now, now ladies we-“

“Shut up.” Sango snapped at her fiancé which he actually did. She then faced Kagome again, pinning her with a glare. “And this whole idea of going off by yourself into the woods to look for something to help him is ridiculous. He doesn’t deserve it. It’s dangerous in these woods. Even with Naraku gone the demons in all the regions are hyped up about something. We’ve all heard the reports of women going missing and men being found dead. Do you really think it wise to go off on your own?”

Kagome flushed. There was truth in Sango’s words. They had in fact heard from many of the villages they visited that for the last few weeks, human women were disappearing and any men that wandered away from the safety of their village were later found dead. And most times, they were impossible to identify because of the state of their bodies. The inu tachi had recently happened upon one of those unfortunate souls a few days ago. A headless male torso, obviously human, had been found in the path they had been following to make camp. Miroku and InuYasha had buried the nameless man as the monk had said prayers over his last resting place. They had never found the head. The miko frowned and straightened her back stubbornly.

“I am eighteen years old, Sango. You’re not my Mother. If I want to go into the woods, night or day, I will.” She announced.

Sango snorted. “Your Mother would not agree with any of this if she was here and you know it.”

Kagome shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly much to Sango’s annoyance. “Well, she’s not here and I am. I’m going Sango whether you like it or not. I will be back soon,” She raised the tools she had taken from her bag specifically for extracting any herbs she could find, “and we can figure something out for InuYasha then.”

Sango scowled and, preparing for another argument, opened her mouth only to feel Miroku’s hand land on her shoulder. She paused and glanced at the monk. His violet orbs silently insisted she let the miko go. They all knew Kagome was stubborn. They also knew she could handle herself. They saw the bow and quiver strapped to her back. Sango reluctantly closed her mouth and gave one sharp nod before turning away from them both and heading to her Hiraikotsu. She could at least distract herself by polishing it. Miroku watched the slayer storm away and sighed.

“She is only worried for you, Kagome. Please don’t go far.” He murmured under his breath so only the miko could hear him before following after his scowling lover.

Kagome took the chance to escape and hurried into the forest. She didn’t want to continue to argue with Sango or be around InuYasha. Her nerves were shot enough as it was. She stumbled into the woods, her stomach burning and aching but still she pressed on. If Sango actually knew how much pain she was in there'd be no escape from her. The pair watched the small miko disappear into the shadows of the night, both uncomfortable with the situation. Miroku glanced at his lover hesitantly. Her brown stare was almost black with anger as it settled on the moaning hanyou. Her upper lip curled with disgust.

“I don’t understand what she sees in him.” She muttered.

Miroku sighed. Running a hand through his thick black hair, he shrugged his broad shoulders wearily.

“Kagome has always seen a person’s potential and good traits before their actual state.” He answered. His frown deepened. “Yet I can not say that I do not agree with her reasoning, my love. InuYasha’s demon energy is severely agitated. He isn’t aware of what he is doing.”

The taijya growled, “That’s not an excuse-“

Miroku raised a hand to stall the slayer's angry words. “I do not condone violence against women, Sango, but considering the level of animosity in his youkai, Kagome-sama is very lucky he did not do more than he could.” Seeing the slayer’s look of shock at the notion the hanyou could have done worse, the priest continued. “We need to give InuYasha space until we can find a way to fix this illness he is plagued with.”

The pair looked over the hanyou. He continued to growl and hiss as he curled into a ball by the fire, the ground around him soaked with his sweat. Sango regarded the small deer trail Kagome had escaped through. The girl was powerful enough to protect herself. She had in fact destroyed Naraku and reabsorbed the jewel. That thought calmed her a bit, her over-protective instincts still in hyper-drive after witnessing the attack. She glanced at InuYasha warily, noting how his silver hair stood on end as his body shook.

They were right of course. This was not the InuYasha they had known for the last three years. Yet Sango never trusted any creature with demon blood in them; she was a taijya. It was against her nature to fully trust in a youkai, half or not. Such suspicion was cemented when she saw the half-breed hurt Kagome. Sango felt tense as a realization dawned on her.

How much worse could he get and what was he capable of when he did?

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A/N: Are the characterizations good? Is it too descriptive? Please let me know :)

Translations:

Kokuhaku: The act of declaring feelings for someone; a statement of love. In Japan, especially feudal Japan, it is a social faux pas to declare strong emotions in the presence of others. It was considered too "personal" to make public i.e Rin shouting it in a practice field.

Houshi: Monk

Ki: Spirit

Miko: Priestess

Hanyou: Halfbreed

Taijya: Demon slayor (exterminator)