For the Honour of My Family

Life with a pregnant Inuyasha, Sesshomaru decided, was not something he wanted to repeat again any time soon, if ever again. If he'd thought the hanyou had been ornery and irritable before, Inuyasha had become a thousand times worse in the days that followed the initial announcement of his pregnancy. No one could say anything to the boy without some kind of clipped and harsh response back from the hanyou. It had nearly everyone, including Sesshomaru, on edge and dealing with frayed nerves. The only one who seemed to handle Inuyasha's sudden mood swings was NatsuMaru. How, Sesshomaru couldn't even begin to guess. He'd heard some of the harsh things Inuyasha said to the guard and they were far worse than what he told anyone else.

'How does he do it?' Sesshomaru wondered as he witnessed yet another heated exchange between the two. Inuyasha's cheeks had flushed a rather cute shade of red as he hurled insult after insult at the inuyoukai warrior. Yet NatsuMaru said nothing in reply to Inuyasha's harshness. The guard merely gazed at the hanyou, waiting for him to finish. 'If it had been myself or the miko, he'd be on the ground by now.'

And painfully so, Sesshomaru knew as well. He knew of the values behind the strange rosary that Inuyasha wore around his neck. He knew all too well of what it could do to the hanyou should the miko get angry enough with his behaviour. It had been a while since Sesshomaru had heard her use her little command and it would be a great while for her to use it again.

The night of Inuyasha's announcement, Sesshomaru had pulled the girl aside. He hadn't been joking when he said he'd kill anyone who harmed either Inuyasha or his pup. That included the ningens. It would distraught Inuyasha, he knew, so Sesshomaru felt it prudent to let the miko know first what would happen if she used her charm on his brother. The other ningens weren't so much of a worry as the miko was to Sesshomaru. They didn't have any control over the rosary. Just her.

Of course, when he'd confronted her, she'd been insulted by his insinuations. Genuinely insulted.

"I would never do that to someone in his condition!" she had declared, her stormy blue eyes flashing. "I can't believe you'd even say that! I care about Inuyasha! I would never do anything to hurt him like that!"

'I had to be sure, though,' Sesshomaru told himself as he caught the scent of fresh tears. They were coming from his brother and he brought his attention back to the hanyou and the inuyoukai guard. Tears rolled in rivulets down his brother's cheeks and NatsuMaru held the boy in an embrace. As if he knew that Sesshomaru's gaze was upon them, the guard turned his head towards the daiyoukai, a strange fire burning in NatsuMaru's golden gaze. Sesshomaru knew at once what burned in the guard's eyes, having had that same look in his own eyes before.

'He wants Inuyasha . . . he wants Inuyasha in the same way that I wanted him that first night and how I still want him. But why? He knows that Inuyasha is mine . . .'

For a moment, Sesshomaru found himself puzzling over the guard's behaviour until it hit him. It wasn't just lust in NatsuMaru's eyes. It was genuine affection and love, a love that would go so much deeper. If NatsuMaru were to be forced to choose between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, the daiyoukai knew exactly who the guard would choose.

'He sees Father in Inuyasha . . . as do I. And he was loyal to Father. He would have been the head of the army here, if Grandfather had given NatsuMaru the choice. But there's something else there . . . something I cannot identify . . . what is it?'

Tentatively, the daiyoukai approached the two, NatsuMaru nodding his acknowledgment and respect. Inuyasha didn't even bother to look at him. He just clung to the guard as if for dear life.

"Is everything all right?" he inquired smoothly. NatsuMaru nodded.

"Hai, my Lord. Everything is fine . . ."

"Yeah . . . just excellent," Inuyasha grumbled, finally pulling away from the guard and wiping away the tears streaming down his face. "I should kill you for this."

"I know, otouto," the daiyoukai murmured, resisting the urge to sigh. They went through this at least three times a day. Inuyasha cursed him out for getting him pregnant, though Sesshomaru had no idea at the time of their mating that it was possible, and Sesshomaru letting the boy get everything out of his system. He'd retorted back once . . . and had instantly regretted it. The anguish and pain that had reflected back at him had been almost more than what he could bear. However, because he had refused to back down, he'd spent the night alone, or something close to it. Inuyasha refused to touch him and refused to let the daiyoukai touch him. It had driven the youkai lord to the brink of insanity, not being to touch his mate the way that he wanted to. After that, despite his irritation at his brother's behaviour, Sesshomaru had done his best to not rise to Inuyasha's baiting.

"I'm serious," the boy stated. "I should kill you for this."

"I know you are," Sesshomaru replied, kissing the tip of Inuyasha's nose. "You keep reminding of how serious you are every night. I'm not about to forget."

To that, Inuyasha snorted and turned his head away, his amber eyes glittering as if he were still angry. Still, despite his brother's reaction, Sesshomaru knew that he was mollified, if only for a little while. It was a tiny victory over the hanyou, to be sure, but Sesshomaru wasn't about to take any little victory for granted. He graced the boy with a tiny and rare smile and reached up to stroke a furry ear.

"Could you please excuse us, Inuyasha? I wish to speak with NatsuMaru privately."

"Why?" Immediately, the hanyou's eyes narrowed and his lips drew into a thin, tight line.

'Suspicious are we, little brother? And why is that?' Sesshomaru wondered, noting it to be odd. He'd had private conversations with NatsuMaru many times over the last few days and Inuyasha had never once acted quite like this.

"It is a private matter, otouto," he began when he noted the boy's injured expression. However, it was replaced quickly with a cold and stoic expression, something unbefitting the boy.

"I see," came the clipped response. "Very well then. I'll leave you two alone."

With that, Inuyasha turned and stormed away, his aura radiating distress and anger. Sesshomaru blinked when he saw it. Before he could call Inuyasha back to him, though, the boy disappeared around a corner. Next to him, NatsuMaru let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. The daiyoukai glanced sharply at him. Was he just as exasperated with the boy as everyone else?

"NatsuMaru . . ."

"Yes, my Lord?" the guard replied.

"What is going on?" Sesshomaru demanded quietly. "I have never seen him like this."

"Do you really wish to know, my Lord?"

Something in NatsuMaru's tone sent off a warning bell in Sesshomaru's mind. He didn't like the soft tone the guard spoke with. It meant that there was something going on, something that had yet to come to his attention but had somehow found its way to NatsuMaru.

"Yes, NatsuMaru. I wish to know. How foolish of you to ask."

To that, a hint of a smile graced NatsuMaru's features. Why, Sesshomaru couldn't even begin to guess. The guard's behaviour was certainly baffling.

"Yes," he murmured. "How foolish indeed . . ."

"NatsuMaru . . ."

"The boy is troubled, my Lord," NatsuMaru answered. "Deeply troubled. Part of it is due to his pregnancy. Breeding females go through the same thing. The unborn pups demand so much of them before they are even birthed. He's tired all the time and he hates it. He hates the feelings of helplessness that have arisen within him."

"And the other part?" Sesshomaru prompted. He knew what NatsuMaru said to be the truth. For as little as he was around Izayoi when she carried Inuyasha, he still recalled her being ornery enough to bring his father down a few notches. Sesshomaru had found it odd and annoying that a mere human female could bring the great daiyoukai down like that and had asked . . . only to be told it was complicated. That he would understand when his own mate was going through the same thing. There was more to Inuyasha's behaviour.

"He is insecure, my Lord. Justifiably so."

"What . . ."

"Inuyasha has heard the talk of various servants, my Lord," NatsuMaru explained, his tone still soft and quiet. "He has heard them say that, once the pup is born, you will cast him out once more. They have not said such things directly to him but when they think he is not there to hear them. Given the history you two have shared, he believes it. He needs to hear it from you that you will do no such thing."

"I see," Sesshomaru nodded, his lips drawing into the same tight, thin line as Inuyasha's. "Thank you, NatsuMaru."

"It was nothing, my Lord."

'To you, perhaps,' he told himself as he followed after his distraught sibling, 'but to me, it is something. I will not lose this boy. I will not lose the last vestige of my father that I have.'

He trailed Inuyasha's scent throughout the palace, idly noting that his sibling had a strange habit of going outside when he was upset. Sesshomaru caught hints of sakura blossoms and jasmine as he drew closer to where Inuyasha had gone.

Sure enough, the boy had gone out to the gardens, the only place outside Sesshomaru allowed him to be. He knew that greatly restricting Inuyasha's movements was not a good idea, especially since Inuyasha had always had a habit of disobeying him and pushing him to the extremes, but Sesshomaru also knew that he had to. It wasn't just Inuyasha he was thinking of now but their unborn pup as well.

'Something Inuyasha's accepted . . . so far.'

As he entered the gardens, he found his half-brother sitting on a stone bench, the boy's eyes closed. Sesshomaru paused as his eyes landed on the hanyou, his breath nearly stopping at the sight before him.

The sun shone high above them but the bench's location put Inuyasha under one of the sakura trees. However, some of the sun's light had managed to filter through the branches, bathing Inuyasha in its light. His silvery-white mane shimmered, giving him an angelic appearance. Even the violet and blue kimono the boy wore added to the effect.

Cautiously, Sesshomaru approached. He didn't want to break the spell that seemed to have fallen around them. After all, his brother's beauty was breathtaking.

It was also in that moment that Sesshomaru understood how NatsuMaru, and the miko, could have fallen for his brother. Inuyasha had a charm to him, a charm that he didn't even begin to realize that he possessed. It was the same charm his father had possessed.

'Now I understand,' he thought idly. 'I understand why Father died for him. I would die for him. Anything to keep him safe.'

Sesshomaru reached Inuyasha and knelt before him, one hand reaching out to touch a porcelain-hued cheek. With that one touch, the rest of the world was forgotten. Golden eyes opened, revealing a sadness so great and so deep that nothing else mattered to Sesshomaru, other than erasing that sadness away.

Pale lips parted.

Perhaps to ask a question. Sesshomaru wasn't quite sure. He was only aware of the distress that radiated from his brother, how the distress slowly evaporated with a touch and a kiss . . .

Fangs grazed against his lower lip as his tongue plundered his brother's mouth, exploring every inch. Sesshomaru found himself amazed, as usual, at how sweet his brother tasted. No matter how many times he kissed the boy, he never tired of Inuyasha's taste. Nothing compared to his brother's taste.

Slender, wispy arms made their way around Sesshomaru's neck the longer he held the kiss and his brother's distraught and angry state began to evaporate. Golden eyes hazed over as they became thick with emotion, with undying love and passion. Sesshomaru felt himself becoming heady, drunk from seeing the emotions lighting and hazing his brother's eyes. It was enough to nearly make him lose control and to take his brother right there in the gardens. However, he was still quite aware of his brother's insecurities. Hot and furious was not the way to go. Not this time.

Tenderly, Sesshomaru wrapped his arms about his brother's waist and lifted him up. Inuyasha moved compliantly with him, the boy's form pressing against Sesshomaru. Already, the daiyoukai could feel a slight bulge in the boy's belly, an indication that the pup growing inside him was going to be a healthy one. However, Sesshomaru wasn't interested in feeling the pup's life beat against his fingers. Not yet, anyway. He wanted his brother, needed him in a way he'd still had yet to describe.

Words weren't important, though. The only thing that mattered to Sesshomaru at that moment was the boy he held in his arms . . . and the very obvious fact that Inuyasha no longer had his arms around the daiyoukai's neck. Instead, they were creeping into the folds of his silken haori and pushing the fabric back, fingers touching whatever flesh they could find. Sesshomaru felt himself quiver under his brother's touch and he knew what he wanted.

He wanted more. He would never be able to get enough of his brother. Not this day. Not for the rest of his life and Sesshomaru knew it.

His own fingers began to move, traveling down the boy's back down to his buttocks. They slipped in between the hakama and Inuyasha's flesh, gliding along smooth flesh until they reached two firm globes. Sesshomaru gave them both a squeeze, delighting in the muffled gasp that came from Inuyasha. He had yet to release the boy's lips from his own and the boy's gasp opened his mouth further, allowing Sesshomaru to explore and plunder in earnest. One hand moved to tickle the seam of Inuyasha's anus as the other kept caressing the boy's firm ass.

At some point, his haori and yukata had slipped away. When, Sesshomaru wasn't sure. He just knew that his bare flesh soon brushed against the silk clothing his brother wore. Sesshomaru broke the kiss he held his brother in. He needed to breathe, as did Inuyasha. He did not, however, waste any moment in keeping his lips away from his brother. The moment he felt he'd gotten enough air into his lungs, Sesshomaru latched himself onto his brother's neck, nibbling and suckling the flesh there.

While he did that, Inuyasha let out a soft yet deep moan. Nimble hands continued to explore Sesshomaru's chest region, slowly working lower. Sesshomaru's belly tightened as his brother worked a magic on him that he knew Inuyasha wasn't aware of him. A fire had been lit in Sesshomaru's blood once more, something that always happened the moment he touched his brother. He normally kept it under control. His father's empire wouldn't run itself without him, after all. There were times, though, that he gave into it. Times like now. It hurt to deny himself the sweetness he had come to know as Inuyasha. He wouldn't deny himself that sweetness any longer.

With only one hand, Sesshomaru began to undress his brother, all the while suckling and nibbling Inuyasha's throat, and working his way lower. Once the intrusive fabrics were out of his way, Sesshomaru stretched them both out so that their flesh could be even closer. Instinctively, Inuyasha's legs spread for him, ready to accommodate him in whatever he, Sesshomaru, wanted to do. Already, the boy's skin had become flushed, the blood rushing through him like liquid fire. Inuyasha's breathing became laboured as Sesshomaru took the time to worship, and to torment, the boy's body.

As he did so, he managed to drag another moan from Inuyasha, this one deeper yet. The boy's hardened member rubbed against him as the hanyou squirmed against him. It enticed Sesshomaru, the feel of that organ so hard yet so tender pressed against him. The daiyoukai smiled against his mate's . . . yes, his mate's . . . fevered flesh. It pleased him to know that Inuyasha enjoyed his ministrations. There was no denying it. Yet Inuyasha never pleaded with him to hurry. Not even the first time he took the boy did Inuyasha plead for him to hurry and take him.

'Perhaps we are of the same mind, ne, little brother?' Sesshomaru wondered, finding one of Inuyasha's nipples and licking it. 'Or are you just enjoying yourself so much you're not even aware of what you're doing?'

Inuyasha writhing underneath him seemed to answer that question . . . as did the claw lightly caressing his member. Despite himself, Sesshomaru let out a moan of his own at the sensations that shot through him. His length, which had become hard shortly after he'd started kissing his brother, hardened even more, to the point of pain. A tongue licking the stripes on his right cheek added fuel to the fire that burned throughout him. Sesshomaru felt the flames as they licked at him, urging him to do something. Take his brother, taste . . . anything. As long as the pleasure continued, the flames didn't care.

And neither did Sesshomaru. The nub that he had started to tease had become hard, like a pebble. Using his tongue, the daiyoukai trailed from that nub to the other and gave it the same treatment, this time giving it a loving nip, planting kisses along the boy's ribcage and belly.

All the while, Inuyasha's body trembled and shivered as Sesshomaru lavished attention upon it, moans and gasps escaping the boy. His own tongue kept licking at the stripes on Sesshomaru's cheek as his hand attempted to work on Sesshomaru's member. It was all in vain, though, and they both knew it. The moment Sesshomaru inserted his fingers into Inuyasha's passage, the boy simply melted.

He lay on the ground, whimpering and moaning. His head tossed about as his chest heaved, his body flushed and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Sesshomaru marveled at the sight as he pleasured his mate and decided he quite liked what he was seeing. Before Inuyasha's release could be triggered, though, Sesshomaru removed his fingers, expecting Inuyasha to whimper in protest, as usual.

That was not to be, much to Sesshomaru's unexpected delight.

Instead of whimpering and moaning at the loss of contact, Inuyasha growled and pulled the daiyoukai to him, bruised lips smashing against hungry lips. Sesshomaru found himself sheathed within Inuyasha and abruptly at that. He had to stop his brother from doing more just so he could catch his own breath. White spots had flashed in front of his eyes as Inuyasha had moved, the feel of that hot passage nearly stealing away the rest of Sesshomaru's self-control. The walls of Inuyasha's entrance constricted around the daiyoukai's member, suffocating it and trying to resist against its intrusion. It felt heavenly to the youkai lord and, the moment Inuyasha thrust against him, Sesshomaru began to move, his mouth still locked with Inuyasha's for the longest time. Then the need for air became known once more and they tore away from each other to continue with their mating.

For his part, Inuyasha remained compliant with what Sesshomaru wanted from him. As Sesshomaru thrust in and out of his lithe form, Inuyasha moved with him, their bodies moving together like the tides of the ocean. Occasionally, though, the hanyou licked one of Sesshomaru's facial stripes, nearly causing the youkai lord to black out from the immense amount of pleasure surging through him, or his hands would wander across Sesshomaru's chest. The touches nearly drove the daiyoukai insane. So much so that he pinned his brother's hands above his head with both of his, their eyes locking together.

There was a pleading in his brother's eyes, a pleading for completion. But not the physical kind. It was something that was running deeper within the boy and Sesshomaru wasn't sure how he could give Inuyasha what he needed.

Until he spoke, his tone hushed and whispering.

"Please . . . just do it . . . please."

A shudder coursed through Sesshomaru as something within him unhinged itself. With a final and rather violent thrust into that fiery passage, he howled out his release, his essence once more filling the boy.

Next to him, Inuyasha stiffened, a moan signaling that he, too, had reached his release. The hanyou's essence splashed against Sesshomaru's as they both rode their peaks out together. Once it was over, Inuyasha relaxed, his eyes drooping shut. A light smile graced the boy's features, one of those rare and unguarded moments the hanyou never let anyone see.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For you, otouto, anything. Anything."