For the Honour of My Family

"My Lord! My Lord!"

At the sound of Jaken's high-pitched screech, Sesshomaru winced and fought back a sigh. The imp, it seemed, possessed an amazing knack for finding the right moment for some kind of an emergency, be it real or imagined, to seek the daiyoukai out. While he had grown accustomed to Jaken's wailings over time, Sesshomaru found them to an inconvenience on occasion and downright unnecessary. The daiyoukai could only imagine the imp's reaction to seeing he and Inuyasha sprawled out in the garden where anyone could see them. Fortunately for him and his dignity, he had just finished dressing himself when his retainer's shrill voice cut through the silence of the day.

"It never fails, does it?" Inuyasha commented softly as he started to tie his obi. "He always finds something to gripe about. I don't think he likes us spending a lot of time together."

"He'll get over it," the daiyoukai stated, smoothly rising to his feet. Jaken burst into the gardens at that moment, the miko and taijiya right behind him. "What is the meaning of this, Jaken?"

"Forgive me, my Lord," his servant panted, "but I thought you should be informed . . . wolves are approaching the palace . . . and this girls says one of them has two of the Shikon shards!"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at the imp then turned his attention to the miko, who nodded in confirmation. Behind him, Inuyasha growled low.

"Kouga . . ."

The name itself was not too important to Sesshomaru. He had heard it spoken a few times before so he knew that this Kouga was the leader of the wolf tribes in the northern mountain ranges. Beyond that, Sesshomaru had paid little attention to the wolf demons' activities. The wolves were none of his concern as they were, in his opinion, beneath the attention for someone of his status. However, the way Inuyasha spat that particular name out had caught Sesshomaru's attention. He turned to face his younger brother.

"You know this Kouga?" Sesshomaru inquired, keeping his tone light. Inuyasha nodded, his amber eyes flashing with barely constrained rage.

"Something like that," Inuyasha growled again, folding his arms. "We ran into him after his wolves wiped out a human village. Haven't been able to kill him since."

"Inuyasha," the miko began, her tone full of chastisement, "you know you shouldn't talk about Kouga like that. He is our friend, you know."

His question had been answered before he had a chance to ask it, and it astounded Sesshomaru to actually witness the miko's naiveté first hand. From what he understood about mikos, especially those like Kagome, they knew they had to destroy any youkai who feasted upon human flesh. The same could be said of the taijiya. It stood to reason that this Kouga needed to be killed.

"He is your friend?" Sesshomaru echoed. "He and his wolves feed off the flesh of humans yet he is your friend? Little miko, it is your duty, and the slayer's, to destroy such demons. Why haven't you dispatched of this wolf yet?"

"Kouga doesn't eat humans anymore," Kagome explained in a simple, matter of fact voice. "He stopped and he's ordered his wolves to stop."

"I find that hard to believe," Jaken scoffed. "No one wolf would do that. Not unless he intended to mate with a human, anyway."

"And there you have it," Inuyasha said bitterly. "He intends to mate with a human."

"Inuyasha . . ."

Before anything more could be said, though, Inuyasha stormed by them, his aura radiating great sadness once more. For what reason, though, Sesshomaru could not fathom.

'Not because of me,' he reasoned. 'I have already reassured him of his status. So what is it that bothers him this time? Something about the miko, perhaps?'

Next to him, the miko sighed and shook her head. She, too, wore hints of sadness, but they were not as great as the melancholy surrounding Inuyasha.

"He never listens to me . . ."

"Nani?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's . . ."

"My Lord," Jaken interrupted, earning a scathing glare from Sesshomaru. Gulping, he continued in a hurried voice, "I hate to interrupt, but the wolves . . ."

"Are of no concern," he snapped. Then Sesshomaru paused and discreetly drew in a deep breath. The wolves, whether he liked it or not, had to be approached and brought to him for encroaching on his lands . . . without his permission. Since Inuyasha required no more reassurance from him, he would have to deal with this Kouga and whatever brought the wolf youkai this far. Jaken and the two females watched him in apprehension, waiting to hear what he had to say next. He felt their gazes upon him, and he smelled hints of fear emanating from them.

"Have the wolves brought to the audience chamber, Jaken. Send NatsuMaru to greet them . . ."

"My Lord . . ."

"And tell NatsuMaru he may use whatever force he deems necessary to subdue them."

"You can't do that!" the miko protested, but Sesshomaru ignored her. He turned his attention to the taijiya.

"Slayer, follow me."

Without waiting for any of them to respond further, Sesshomaru turned on his heel and exited the gardens. The sound of feet behind him and her scent were the only indications that the taijiya was following him . . .

"I see," Sesshomaru murmured, his gaze still trained on the slayer. She had, at his request, explained the strange situation that had surrounded his half-brother, the miko, the undead miko, and the wolf Kouga. He had asked the slayer, rather than Inuyasha and the miko, because he believed her to be more impartial for the telling. Inuyasha and the miko both were her friends, so it would have made it impossible for the taijiya to choose sides.

What he had heard from her had actually managed to appall him, and Sesshomaru could never have imagined his brother entangling himself in the number of mix-ups and misunderstandings that he had. It also amazed the daiyoukai that the miko remained oblivious to the nature of male demons, especially for those of the canine variety. He found himself questioning her upbringing and her knowledge. Sesshomaru also discovered himself mentally shaking his head about his brother's stubbornness and apparent idiocy in human behaviours, not that he was an expert.

'How did you manage to get into a mess like this, otouto?'

"Is that all you wished to know, Lord Sesshomaru?" the taijiya inquired, her voice interrupting his musings.

"For now," he replied, rising to his feet. The conversation had taken longer than he had anticipated, and he knew the wolves had possibly arrived by now. Some of them were probably bruised and bleeding a little, too. NatsuMaru was a formidable foe and could be quite . . . persuasive when the situation called for such tact.

The taijiya merely nodded, her eyes downcast. After that, Sesshomaru paid her no heed. He was on his way to the audience chamber, the one place where he had seen his father take on many strong youkai in verbal sparring sessions and win. It was also the place where the wolves were supposed to be waiting for him. If he were to believe the taijiya, this Kouga would be trying to get to Kagome and riling Inuyasha further. Sesshomaru, from the conversation, picked up hints the wolf took a perverse pleasure in seeing Inuyasha be "sat" for misbehaviour.

'Time to put this wolf, Kouga, in his place,' Sesshomaru thought, smirking as he walked away. This encounter was going to be quite enjoyable indeed.

Sesshomaru felt his sense of smell cringe as he approached the audience chamber, the scent of wolves permeating the air. The wolves had not bathed in some time, and their stench made Sesshomaru want to retch. He also realized he recognized this particular group, and he possessed no doubts Rin had gone into hiding. For some reason she had yet to admit to him (he had a fair guess as to why), the small girl feared wolves, especially this Kouga.

'That will have to be addressed later,' he told himself. The servants slid the doors open to reveal the audience chamber. As he suspected, the wolves were waiting for him, but they were waiting patiently and respectfully. Their leader, a dark-haired youth with blue eyes, knelt before something. Much to Sesshomaru's surprise, Inuyasha sat next to the wolf tribe leader. Their gazes were on something the daiyoukai could not yet see, but, again, he had a guess as to what they were looking. He started to clear his throat and announce his presence, but he paused when he heard the wolf leader speak first.

"So you're the son of the Inu no Taisho, huh?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha answered, his tone bordering on sleepy. "One of them, anyway."

"Huh."

They sat in silence for a minute longer. Their gazes never left the wall. From the corner of his eye, Sesshomaru saw the painting of his father some half-demon artist had rendered. As he understood it, the work had been in honour of his father obtaining the Western Lands from his grandfather long before Sesshomaru had been born. Then Kouga spoke again.

"Wonder what he saw in your mother then to want her," the wolf mused. "Demons only take strong mates, you know."

"She was strong," Inuyasha confirmed. Sesshomaru was mildly surprised at how well the two were getting along. He also noticed the wolves were laying very close to his half-brother, almost in a protective circle. "She always spoke very fondly of him."

"You never knew him?"

"No. I was told he died the night I was born."

'So did your mother,' Sesshomaru thought. 'But Father revived her.'

"Sad shame," Kouga commented. "I met him once . . . when I was a cub. He was quite the formidable presence. The wolf leaders always feared and respected him."

"I don't doubt it any," Inuyasha replied airily. "It seems like a lot of my family members were like that."

"I can believe that. He always has the chance of being reborn, you know," Kouga said, finally tearing his gaze away from the picture.

"Don't we all?" Inuyasha shifted so his eyes met with the wolf's, and Sesshomaru saw a fire burning in those amber depths he had never seen before. He recognized it instantly and decided it was time for him to intervene. Sesshomaru stepped into the room. "Why are you even here, flea bag?"

"To come and get my woman, of course," Kouga replied. "It's not like you have a claim on her anymore."

Inuyasha snorted and shook his head, as he understood something the wolf did not, and he rose to his feet.

"You don't have anything on Kagome," his half-brother stated. "You never did and you know it. Why do you keep on insisting that you do when Kagome's already made her feelings quite clear?"

To that, Kouga shrugged and also stood up.

"Don't know. Maybe because I like her enough to want her as my mate."

"You'd have hanyou children," Inuyasha pointed out. He folded his arms as he continued to talk. "You can't do like the rest of your tribe would and kill any kids she'd have. It'd break her heart and then I'd have to kill you for that."

"Tough words coming from a mutt," the wolf leader commented. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at him, and his lips quirked into a slight smile. Sesshomaru sensed a change had occurred in how the two reacted to each other, a change that had come suddenly and without warning.

"Tough words all right," he murmured. "But true nonetheless. It's something for you to think about, though, isn't it?"

"I would say that it is," Sesshomaru said. Both Kouga and Inuyasha turned their heads towards him. "However, before he does, I wish to speak with him. Alone."

"Why alone?" Inuyasha's arms remained folded in front of him. "Don't you trust me to be nice for once?"

"And that is the scary thing, little brother. Now please leave."

"Whatever. I'm hungry anyway. See ya 'round, ya mangy wolf."

"Later, dog-breath."

Sesshomaru fought back a sigh as Inuyasha walked by him, and he felt frustrated by the exchange he had heard. He wanted to berate his brother for foolishly confronting the wolf, but he knew that he could not do such a thing. Apparently, Inuyasha had done so for a reason, and Sesshomaru vowed he would discover why later on in the day. His duties as his father's son called first. Sesshomaru kept his attention on Kouga, who had taken up a slightly cocky stance. A wolfish smirk graced his face, and Sesshomaru understood this exchange promised to be interesting.

'Otouto, what have you done to me?'

He felt incredibly light, as if a thousand of his cares had melted away to never been heard from again. It was a wonderful sensation, even if he could not completely describe it, and Sesshomaru was not about to fight his emotions. For once in his life, he felt happy with the way things were going. Sure, Inuyasha insisted on being a brat from time to time, but Sesshomaru could forgive such behaviour. His brother was expecting a pup or two. Emotional outbursts were a natural occurrence for one in Inuyasha's state, and Sesshomaru understood he had to overlook it. He would be, after all, raising a pup or two with a strong mate, and such a prospect outweighed everything else, like the wolves who insisted on staying and the miko who wanted to take his mate away from him. They were concerns he still retained but, as he entered his sleeping chambers and took in his brother's slumbering form, Sesshomaru realized he simply could not be bothered with trivial details. He had Inuyasha at his side. No one else did.

'The miko is crazy if she thinks she can convince Inuyasha to leave,' he told himself. He had crossed the room to where the boy lay and knelt next to Inuyasha. 'He's happy to be here. I can tell. I know he misses the old miko, but he is happy. He belongs here, with me, and he knows it. He can feel it, the same way I can. Besides, they cannot protect him in his state. He needs to stay here.'

As he knelt next to the sleeping hanyou, Sesshomaru reached over and placed a hand on Inuyasha's belly. Soon, it would swell as the pup, or pups, grew and anyone with a sensitive nose would be able to tell this was special. His brother – his mate – and his child were among the ones now Sesshomaru knew he would die to protect. His hand rested on the smooth expanse of flesh.

He had only meant for it to be a moment, his touch, for he wanted to check on the pup growing inside his mate. However, his hand remained in one spot, and he felt it, a powerful tug of youki coming from within his brother. It was a familiar youki as well, one that caused the daiyoukai to tremble. Sesshomaru's eyes widened in shock as he felt it . . . and the beatings of four hearts.

'It can't be!'