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Sesshoumaru made his way through the darken woodland in silent steps, drawn by the unmistakable scent of filial blood permeating the air. It was but a subtle trace, barely enough to warrant the notice of nocturnal predators, even in the densest corners of the forest. Still, he was intrigued by it, and unusually restless.
He found the hanyou nestled between the roots of a bloodgood tree. The pattern of his breathing suggested alertness, despite his seemingly relaxed posture. His ears flicked in acknowledgment of Sesshoumaru's presence, but he didn't bother opening his eyes.
"What you want now?" he asked dryly, forsaking any form of greeting.
Sesshoumaru halted right beneath the tree crown, a mild crease of his brow betraying irritation. He could sense, in some inexplicable way, that something was amiss. The hanyou's insolent dismissiveness had been a persistent affront once, but not in recent times. His harsh manner now was meant to conceal, though Sesshoumaru could not yet ascertain what. The scent of blood that clung to his half-brother only fueled his discontent.
Sensing the scrutinizing stare, Inuyasha, at last, opened his eyes to peer up at him. "Cat got your tongue?"
No reply was offered, as was often the case. The hanyou shifted his position then, wincing faintly as his wounds were aggravated. Sesshoumaru's eyes darkened.
"Rise," he said, his tone brooking no debate.
For a long moment, Inuyasha seemed to hesitate. Eventually, he scowled but relented, getting to his feet with a rare caution. He narrowed his eyes at Sesshoumaru—ever belligerent, even when compliant. "There. Satisfied?"
Sesshoumaru's mouth curled subtly downwards as moonlight revealed to him the extent of the damage. Dried blood smeared Inuyasha's wounded lip, his left eye throbbing purple as the tender flesh strained to heal. A distinctive mark of claws crossed his left cheek. Sesshoumaru's hands twitched at his sides.
"You reek of defeat," he noted, without a trace of feeling. "A pathetic sight, even by your standards."
Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly, as if he gave no importance to the cruel remark. He failed to conceal a subtle flinch, though.
"Eh, you should see the other guy." He tried for a smirk, but his lip was too swollen to cooperate. "Caught me off guard. It's nothing."
The pretense of airiness left Sesshoumaru reeling, but he refused to let it show. "Tell me who," he said, grasping Inuyasha's jaw—an unusual carefulness to an action often performed.
The hanyou grimaced as he ran his fingers over the injured skin, but he made no attempt pull away. For a brief moment, the facade of bravado crumbled under Sesshoumaru's penetrating stare. Then he grunted and turned his face away stubbornly.
"Ah! Like I'd tell you," Inuyasha muttered, a bitter edge slipping into the words. "It's none of your damn business."
Sesshoumaru only allowed himself a quiet hum of dissatisfaction. If the name he sought was not freely given, he would simply have to decipher it on his own. Stepping closer, he placed an arm around Inuyasha's waist, his hold unyielding as he pressed his face to the wild mane of silver hair.
"Hey!" Inuyasha protested, a tremor wrecking through his frame as Sesshoumaru nosed at his head. He tried to move away, but the grip around him was ironclad. "What the fuck are you doing, man?"
The scent of wolf flooded Sesshoumaru's senses, and irritation flickered within him. An individual he had encounter before, and who'd already aggrieved him once in the past. Measures would have to be taken. Satisfied with his findings, he pulled away, just enough to look at his brother in the eye.
"Your foolishness is only matched by your obstinacy," he reproached, before running his tongue along the scratches that scored Inuyasha's cheek.
The hanyou went completely rigid against him. Undeterred, Sesshoumaru licked at the wound, his mouth overflowing with a raw, metallic taste. A strangled noise escaped Inuyasha as he tongued at the deepest cut, attempting to free himself yet again.
"Eww, stop that!" he sputtered, finding his voice. "You're acting even weirder than usual!"
"Leave them unattended, and the scars will only add to your already unsightly appearance," Sesshoumaru replied evenly, unwilling to let go. "You'll do well to avoid further degradation."
Although meant to rile up, there was a sliver of truth to his warning. Unlike him, Inuyasha possessed features that were neither sharp nor severe, but rather mild and rounded. Prone to easy smiles when his mood was favorable, although it rarely was. Sesshoumaru found the notion of him forever bearing such marks displeasing.
Inuyasha tried to step away again, but the movement tore at his wounded side and he scowled, desisting at once. He huffed in frustration, realizing that he was well and truly trapped.
"Get your paws off me! I don't need a fuckin' nursemaid," he grumbled, his gaze averted as Sesshomaru continued his ministration. "Sides, maybe I like the scars. They'd make me look badass, don't you think?"
"Hardly." Sesshoumaru made no attempt to conceal the contempt in his voice.
His eyes were then drawn to Inuyasha's wounded lip. Although he knew he was crossing a dangerous boundary, he did not hesitate as he leaned forward. Feeling neither disgust nor unease, he licked delicately at the scabbed cut.
Inuyasha quivered as a warm tongue grazed the lenght of his bloody mouth. Through trial and error, Sesshoumaru had instilled in him the knowledge that having another care for his wounds in such fashion was not something he should recoil from, if he didn't wish to cause offense. They both knew he could have fought harder, had he truly wished to set himself loose. Even now, the pretense of contempt clung to their every interaction
This was unprecedented, though. Despite his dismal understanding of their customs, Inuyasha must have known that even for dog demons, this was unusually intimate behavior. With a flustered glare, he mumbled, "This is like... super creepy, man. You're acting like some damn house cat cleaning her brat."
Sesshoumaru bared his fangs in a displeased snarl, affronted by the comparison at an almost instinctive level. He suppressed the need to retaliate with a nip, only on account of the hanyou's unfortunate state. "Contemptible," he whispered against the warm, throbbing flesh.
Inuyasha grunted in response. His fingers clutched at Sesshomaru's garments, grasping the silken fabric as if he couldn't decide whether to shift closer or away. "Cut it out already! It's-"
His words were interrupted as Sesshomaru's tongue flicked over the sensitive cut once more. Inuyasha inhaled sharply, and his cheeks acquired a faint blush. "You're torturing me," he breathed weakly.
With the blood, at last, cleared away, Sesshoumaru lifted his gaze. Inuyasha stared back with a certain caution, his right eye half-lidded. The swelling had reached its peak, and he could barely keep it open. Sesshoumaru felt something within his breast shrivel, and as he pressed his lips to the heated bruise, he silently vowed to tear that presumptous wolf to pieces.
"Damn you," Inuyasha said, although he offered no struggle as Sesshoumaru's mouth lingered over his eye. "Why you gotta treat me like a wounded puppy? It's fuckin' humiliating."
"Those words are yours alone. I've made no such comparison." Despite the impassiveness of his expression, a subtle glint in Sesshoumaru's eyes hinted at amusement. He took a step back and released the hanyou, ignoring the pressing, but unseemly urge to linger. "There. Now scars will not remain."
Inuyasha blinked as he was finally let go. He touched his cheek gingerly, an almost mystified gleam to his gaze. Sesshomaru regarded him coolly, betraying no sign of regret or self-consciousness.
"Whatever. Thanks, I guess." Inuyasha shrugged lazily, a flimsy attempt at nonchalance. His words were swiftly cut short by a pained hiss, his face contorting in a grimace as as he gripped at his side.
Sesshoumaru advanced a step, but refrained from reaching out—very aware that he'd taken enough liberties as it was, and Inuyasha's ego was a fragile thing. "Your strenght wanes," he said, his lips pressed into a thin, unhappy line. "Recover it."
Inuyasha scoffed weakly, but his usual fire refused to burn as bright as it had come to be expected. Rather than satisfying, Sesshoumaru found it grating.
"Tch, it's nothing," Inuyasha replied, scowling as he pressed down at the wound. "I'm fine."
In spite of his words, the hanyou leaned slightly onto the bloodgood to hold himself upright. Sesshoumaru's gaze shifted to the forest thicket, towards the human settlement his half-brother frequented. His brow furrowed as he quietly assessed how long the journey would take him, in the state he was in. Perhaps that was the reason he had chosen to spend the night here.
"It is a long distance to your village," Sesshoumaru noted, apropos of nothing.
Inuyasha bristled at the suggestion, his pride rearing its ugly head. "I can make it on my own," he shot back, though the tremble in his knees gave him away. He pushed off the tree with purpose, only to buckle under his own weight.
Sesshoumaru did reach for him then, struggling not to roll his eyes as he prevented the fall. The hanyou's unyielding nature was certainly refreshing, at times, but it could also be an affront beyond belief.
"Cease your pathetic defiance," he scolded, conveying an insurmitable amount of contempt through the arching of one eyebrow. "Or I will cripple you, then carry your broken form."
Inuyasha openly glared at him, appearing mortified and furious in equal measure. "Fine," he hissed through a clenched jaw, gripping Sesshoumaru's sleeve with a death-like hold. "But no one, and I mean no one, hears about this! You got that?"
As much as he despised having to rely on someone else's assistance, the hanyou must have realized he was in no condition to go it alone. He acquiesced far more easily than Sesshoumaru anticipated. The prospect of being carried like a petulant child was, it seemed, far too degrading for Inuyasha to consider refusing.
Knowing better than to pour salt on the wound, Sesshoumaru allowed silence to linger as he walked his brother back home.