The Sinful by Aloria

Sloth

AN: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to their respective owner. Only the plots are mine.

Chapter Rating: T for language

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It had been weeks since he had joined their rag tag group. Yet nothing of interest had happened as of yet. Oh, there was the occasional squabble here and there. But nothing really caught his interest. More often than not he would just let his mind wander. Now and then he'd shift an amber hued gaze to check on Rin, but that was all. There hadn't been the slightest hint of Naraku. Even the lesser demons had become scarce. Though, he was used to it. Most beings of lesser power scattered when they felt his presence. He was a Tai, the strongest of his species. The mighty blood of the Inu no Taishou ran through his veins. Any creature with the ability to feel his aura either submitted, or fled.

Therefore Sesshoumaru was bored. This stagnation was..annoying. It left him with nothing to do but play the chaperone to his brothers group. The only reason he had joined them was to assure that the Shikon Miko did not end up slaughtered before the final battle. Kami only knew that his brother was inadequite as a protector. He had proven more than once that as the girl was wounded or hurt. Slipping his gaze to land on the girl that occupied his thoughts he pondered further on their situation.

All but a scant few of the shards had been gathered. Three hung around the girls slender throat, encased in a glass vile. She had shown no signs of detecting any of them for hours, even days. His pace slowed further as he chewed over this bit of knowledge. The others noticed, glancing back at him, but he cared not. What was the point of their endless searching for shards that were in all probability no longer there? If they didn't have them that foul hanyou probably did. And being the cowardly creature that he was he would not come forth until he was ready.

So it was with that logic that he came to the conclusion that it was senseless to continue this endless walking. He by far did not need rest as the humans and his half-brother did. Yet he felt no desire to continue on. "We are stoping for the night." Inuyasha predictably was not happy, and protested loudly. "Oi! There's several hours of daylight left. We can cover a lot more ground!" For once, the others seemed to agree with the half wit. If he had been any less of a youkai, he may have sighed. Instead he gave them all a lack luster look.

"Miko, have you felt any shards?"

Blanching at being put on the spot, Kagomi shook her head. "No, nothing. Not for the last few days." She frowned, frustrated. The slayer piped up after thinking a moment. "We haven't even heard of any rumors about them for the past couple of weeks either." After a second, the proverbial light bulb went off over the monks head. "Maybe there aren't any left to collect."

While the others continued to debate on how many shards were left, if any at all, the Western Lord had already settled down at the base of a large tree. He'd folded one knee and was idly resting a hand over it, sightlessly watching Jakin fuss with the beginnings of a camp fire ring.

Not too far away Inuyasha was watching him, his ears pinned back. Something wasn't right here. He might not be a full youkai but even he could sense that his bastard of a brother had ulterior motives. He continued to glare at him, even through dinner. But the hanyou didn't catch on until he noticed Sesshoumaru staring off into space. That asshole! He was just being lazy!

Standing up and pointing at him he made a series of sounds that sounded suspiciously like those of a constipated monkey. He'd gone red faced and looked like he was about to explode. In return, the Tai shifted a lazy look in his direction and slowly hiked up a brow, as if daring him to say anything. But at this point Inuyasha was just too angry. He snarled, cursed at him a few times, then turned and ran off into the near by woods.

Meanwhile Sango and Kagome looked at each other, then to the monk. "What was that all about?", the miko inquired. Miroku shrugged and the slayer mimiced the movement.

But behind them Sesshoumaru just continued to stare off into space. He was in no hurry and in no rush. The final battle may be approaching but he would not chase after the filthy spider monstrocity. No, he would come to him and that was all there was to it.

A/N: Whew! I hope I portrayed the characters at least some what correctly. I'd appreciate any feed back. Let me know what you think. I hope you all enjoyed this so far!

 

INUYASHA © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000
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