You have brought this upon yourself

—Remembering someone doing or "saying something."—

--------



The brothers walked down the mountain path, the hanyou grumbling as he tugged impatiently at the kimono his brother had given him to wear and adjusting Tetsusaiga’s sheathe. He looked almost like a mirror image to his brother, the patterns on his kimono dark blue. He tucked his arms into the wide sleeves, brows drawn together in a scowl.



“Why can’t I wear my fire-rat hitoe and hakama?” He groused, giving his brother a sidelong glance. Sesshomaru had left the pauldrom and cruirass behind, but his katana were on his hip. Mokomoko looped over his shoulder, as usual.



They looked…like a couple.



“You look like you’re trying to be a Shinto priest in that garb. You look presentable now.” The youkai answered in amused voice, eyes flickering to his brother’s.



“I look like the bitch!”



“Well, what do you think you are? Would you like to do a tally? You topped me twice and I—“ Sesshomaru began to tick his fingers out, silently counting. An angry growl had him smirking.



“Point taken! Ass.” Inuyasha subsided, glancing about the forest and noting the different scents of youkai in the area. Interestingly enough, none of them were closer than half a mile. The comfortable silence continued for half an hour. “Why are we going to Rin’s?”



“You complain that I hide you and now you want to know why we are going anywhere at all?” The youkai asked, giving his brother a side-long glance. “She wishes to see you again. I thought you would enjoy the outing.”



“Hnn…” Inuyasha chewed on that for a moment, crossing his arms over his head as he contemplated the sky. “You wanna go see Sango and her pack?”



“Pack?”



“She had nine children, last I checked.” Inuyasha gave his brother a grin, sensing rather than seeing the skepticism. “Her family is pretty fertile. Most of them are twins, too.”



“Twins? That is very unusual.”



“No kidding! Four sets, too! Her place is crazy as hell! I think you’d like it. Maybe you can adopt one.” Inuyasha prodded lightly. “The youngest is a little girl barely two years. Right up your alley, fluffy.”



“I should only be so blessed as to have such a thoughtful brother.” He droned, wondering if the hanyou would tease Rin about the company she kept during her early years. “The mother will miss the child, will she not?”



“With eight more? Fuck! Would she even notice it gone? I’m surprised you don’t have at least a pup by now. Your bitch sounded pretty uptight when I heard about her.” There was an unvoiced question at the end, the hanyou looking at the youkai expectantly.



“Mother is very interested in continuing our line, that I can assure you. As you have pointed out, I have no interest in females after they obtain breeding age.” Sesshomaru sighed, a headache threatening as he recalled the last conversation concerning such matters. “I am content to on having such relations with you.”



“Well, I feel loved.” Inuyasha muttered, quirking a brow at his brother when the youkai gave him a questioning look. “You choose me over all those pretty little girls.”

--------



“Inuyasha-san! Sesshomaru-sama! It is so good to see you both doing so well! Please, sit down!” Rin cried in greeting from her seat on the steps. There was mending settled in her rapidly reduced lap, but she fairly glowed. All of her inky hair had been pulled into a twist on the right side of her head, bangs framing the left side of her face. She barely looked her eighteen or so years.



“Don’t talk so formal, Rin-san. Call me Inuyasha.” The hanyou informed the pregnant woman as he settled against a support, lifting a leg to rest his arm on. Sesshomaru sat on the other side of Rin, giving his brother a look of long suffering. “You’re huge!”



“Yes. He is very active in there, too.” She stroked her distended belly, never growing tired of the feel of life there. “Would you like to feel, Inuyasha?”



The hanyou shrugged, having gone through the same thing multiple times with Sango, reaching out a clawed hand for the young woman to guide to where the baby was in the middle of flailing wildly. His eyes softened at the contact.



He wanted pups.



“Little thing seems ready to pop out any moment. How’s your back?” Inuyasha removed his hand, smiling at the soon to be mother.



“Ah! It hurts! I beg my husband for a massage every night! My feet are huge!” Rin laughed, holding out her hands and pointing to the swollen digits. “Everything has puffed up.”



“Have to use the facilities every five minutes, too.” Inuyasha stated, not realizing that he looked entranced by the younger woman. Sesshomaru could see the barely restrained pleasure flaring off the pair and felt left out. The pair had such strong personalities that mingled so easily with one another.



“Yes, yes! It is most troublesome. I cannot wait for the birth! Then the real fun begins.” She stroked her belly gently, chuckling quietly. “I’m so glad that Sesshomaru-sama has finally told you!”



“Told me what?” Inuyasha frowned, wondering what surprise his brother had neglected to inform him of.



“He hasn’t?” She turned and gave the baffled youkai a reproachful look.



“Told me what?” Inuyasha repeated, irritation gathering. Did she mean the night before last? “That he loves me?”



Sesshomaru’s gaze snapped from the young woman to his brother, frowning. He’d said nothing of the sort.



“He told you that he loved you?” Rin sounded pleased, leaning close and covering the youkai’s hand with hers.



“Not in so many words.” Inuyasha admitted cheeks burning as he glanced off to the side. Can’t get more humiliating than this.



“That is no surprise. Sesshomaru-sama doesn’t express himself very well at all.” Rin nodded knowingly, patting the hand comfortingly. Inuyasha smirked, turning his gaze to the woman again and squeezing her hand lightly.



“Maru-nii is just bashful.” Inuyasha sighed, looking the part of an exasperated partner. He leaned close and held up a hand between her ear and his mouth, as if conveying a great secret. “Getting affection out of him is like pulling teeth.”



“Yes, I understand.” Rin nodded sympathetically, looking amused at Inuyasha’s name for the older youkai. “He makes a pest of himself when he could just solve things by putting them in words.”



“I would appreciate it if one would not speak as if I were not present.” The youkai in question growled. He couldn’t see more of a mistake than allowing the two to start on the conversation to begin with.



“Then one should be polite enough to pretend not to be listening into said conversation.” Rin replied sweetly, giving a childish grin. Inuyasha chuckled quietly, not surprised to see the pregnant woman get away with the comment. Sesshomaru always had a soft spot for the orphan. She turned back to Inuyasha and squeezed the hand gently. “When are you and Sesshomaru-sama leaving?”



“Before dark. He still has to get me dinner. Though I suppose I could hunt…” Inuyasha faded off when she looked a little dismayed. “What? Did you want us to stay the night or something? Oh, thanks for the bento. Gonna cook me dinner now?”



Rin took a deep breath, eyes flicking to the heavens as if to task for patience before turning to Sesshomaru, who looked just as perplexed as his brother.



“You can’t stay here, Sesshomaru-sama. I told you that you and Inuyasha were like my husband and me and I meant it! I thought that’s why you brought him down today!” Rin sounded exasperated and fondled her belly thoughtlessly.



“I am quite sure that I do not know what you mean by us being the same. We are unable to have children together—“



“No, no!” Rin put a hand on the youkai’s knee and took another deep breath. If she didn’t settle down, she was going to pummel the youkai she loved. It took a lot to try the docile woman’s patience and the youkai had sapped what little she had left. “Sesshomaru-sama. You are like us in the way that you are partners. It is not that you are in love, though I knew you were.”



“Rin!” Sesshomaru looked horrified. This girl was getting out of control! What happened to the sweet girl that barely spoke and referred to herself in third person? It was his fault. He should have disciplined her more or visited more after she’d married. “I never said—“



“You didn’t have to. You never bring anyone up there to your mountaintop palace!”



Sesshomaru pursed his lips, wanting to forcibly close her mouth. It wasn’t as if the hanyou couldn’t tell that no one ever stayed there, but to hear it from her mouth made it sound that much more pitiful. It is not as if I ever spent much time there to begin with. Why does everything revolve around this human ideal? “Can you please get to the point?”



“Inuyasha is who you’re going to set up your empire with!”



“WHAT?!” The brother’s cried in shock, both flabbergasted at her suggestion.



“Mattaku. Do not dare tell me you are happy playing with a few youkai in the mountains, Sesshomaru-sama. You were meant for so much more. That’s all I used to hear about from Jaken when we traveled. I know why you stopped. It’s because I was ready to set up a family and you didn’t want to leave me behind, am I right?” Rin quirked a thin brow, Sesshomaru didn’t bother hiding his grimace. “That is why Jaken stayed behind with me, so you would be able to continue looking and not worry about me.”



She patted Inuyasha’s hand, who scratched the back of his neck and looked increasingly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going. “When you went to find Inuyasha, I assumed you were ready to start moving again and set up a family of your own once you found your empire.”



“Wow, Maru-nii…I thought you just wanted to fu—“ An angry rap from the youkai ended that sentence nicely. The hanyou held his head, not surprised that he didn’t, literally, see the blow coming. Screwing his brother was fine, but helping begin a whole kingdom was a lot to ask for.



He didn’t plan on staying with his brother forever. He couldn’t start a family with the youkai and that’s what his instincts clamored for the most. Being around the pregnant woman did nothing to lay them to rest.



“If that was my intention to begin with, why would I not understand it?” The youkai snapped, feeling at a loss as the conversation drifted from his control. It almost seemed as if the hanyou and human were ganging up on him.



He could also feel his brother’s unhappy thoughts. He was concerned on what they were directed towards.



“Instincts run deeper than reason.” Rin was careful to remain practical. If she sounded sympathetic, Sesshomaru would only throw up his hackles and there would be no talking sense into him. “You were tired of remaining in one place for so long, so you went to go find a suitable partner to accompany you. You’ve obviously forgiven him for being as careless as he was when he was sealed by Kikyo-sama…”



“I do not need someone to travel with me!” Sesshomaru took a deep breath, trying to think rationally. Getting upset never solved anything. He had been furious at his little brother for getting sealed. He’d been expecting much needed fighting power during the war with the neko youkai. It had been a bitter disappointment and made the older brother question his younger brother’s right to carry Tetsusaiga he had inherited but had yet to obtain.



He has proved to be useful since. Sesshomaru mused as Inuyasha distracted Rin with more questions of her pregnancy. Fighting him became more of training sessions for the hanyou after he showed his mettle. Feh! Rin may be correct about my restlessness. I was disappointed when Inuyasha did not seek me out after the pest left.



The idea of finding the perfect empire was enticing. He honestly hadn’t wanted to leave Rin and Jaken behind. They were his pack, as strangely paired as they were, and therefore family and under his protection. The proposal behind his restlessness was a valid one. If Rin also insisted that she no longer needed him, though it stung the youkai’s pride, then he would leave with his brother.



“You’ve decided, Sesshomaru-sama?” Rin asked softly, smiling up at the tall youkai. Sesshomaru sighed deeply, resting a hand on the raven locks in reply. “You’ll come back for me and my family when you’ve found your empire?”



There was a slight nod in answer and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. The youkai couldn’t deny the girl anything. His brother seemed tangible when he interacted with the woman that seemed to be lacking other times. Inuyasha wondered at it briefly.



“If it’s a girl, I’m going to name her Masayo.” Rin was saying, smiling at her belly again.



“What kanji?” Inuyasha asked, honestly curious. He shouldn’t dwell on anything dealing with his brother and females. It wouldn’t bode well at all. He was confused with the conflicting interests in his life as it was.



“Just hiragana. If it’s a boy, Kisara with hiragana. I’m hoping for a little boy, but my husband wants a girl.”



“I’d want a boy.” Inuyasha said thoughtfully, staring at the round belly. He gave a sudden grin, showing sharp teeth. “I want a whole litter of pups, though. I wanna trip on them when I come home.”



“Heeeeh?” Rin smiled, wondering how the two were going to manage. “Sesshomaru-sama, do you want boys or girls?”



“I would sooner have none.” Sesshomaru replied, mystified on how the hanyou planned on having children. He sure as hell wasn’t going to allow the hanyou to breed with some female, youkai or human.



“Sour bastard.” Inuyasha scowled, ears plastered against his skull in disdain. He was having children whether the bastard liked it or not. If the youkai didn’t like it, he could just stay the hell away.



The youkai prince recognized the stubborn set to the hanyou’s face. There was no point in getting into an argument about it in front of Rin. She would side with the tiresome younger brother and make Sesshomaru’s life harder.



“We should leave.” Sesshomaru stood, hoping to nip anymore talk of children in the bud. Rin turned her face towards him, a knowing smile teasing her lips.



“It was good to see you again, Sesshomaru-sama. Please take care. You too, Inuyasha.” Rin bade farewell as they stood, watching the pair drift back towards the mountain, examining them closely. Sesshomaru was just as guarded as ever. Inuyasha was subdued, hands folded at the base of his neck carelessly.



Defiantly opposites, those two. Rin thought with a quiet chuckle. They’ll do just fine.

------------



“You really want pups?” Sesshomaru asked, toeing off his boots on the hisashi. Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder and nodded.



“Yeah.”



“With who?”



“I dunno. Whoever wants to have them?” the shorter hanyou didn’t seem too concerned and yawned. He could sense he was on dangerous ground. “Are you going to head out on the journey?”



“Will you travel with me if I do?”



Inuyasha turned, a little surprised. He hadn’t actually expected his brother to request his company. The invitation meant his brother wasn’t ashamed of him and maybe, just maybe, had faith in his fighting skills. He flushed slightly and shrugged out of the kimono.



“Yeah.” He said gruffly, trying to hide his discomfiture. What good would a hanyou be to a youkai would killed as easily as breathing? He’d be pissed if he were just a bed warmer.



An awkward silence followed the agreement. The hanyou glanced back at his brother as he sat onto the futon. Warmth flowed through his veins at the sight.



He really loved the youkai.



“Why don’t you want pups?”



“I am not in a position to raise a family as of yet. That and I cannot find a suitable mate that can actually give birth.” The older brother gave him a pointed look.



“Well, excuse my lack of ovaries. I knew I would kick myself for it someday. Why must you always point out my failings?” Inuyasha droned, giving the youkai a bland look. He could understand his brother’s point, but the way he’d said it made it seem as though he never would.



“Why do you want pups?”



Inuyasha plopped down beside his brother, leaning back on his hands and sprawling his legs out as his head flopped backwards. “Hmm. I dunno. I guess I just keep seeing everyone making families all around me. Sango loves being a mom. Miroku loves being a pop. Families are precious. I vaguely remember my mom…”



— Green tea, tears, earth, sakura, silk, honey and her special something.



Her scent was one he associated with sanctuary and kindness. She was always so tall, but gentle. Her arms always open for him, always a lap for him to lay his head, always a shoulder to cry when life wasn’t fair.



Patient, understanding, wise, loving, forgiving, immeasurable strength and always smiling for her son.



Izayoi smiled down at him, dark eyes glittering as she spread her arms wide in welcome.



“Welcome home, Ya-chan!”—



“I dunno.” He repeated, at a loss. Having him always seemed to make her so happy, no matter what hardship they faced. He didn’t know how he could think of having a child as anything but a blessing.



“Hnn.” Sesshomaru leaned against the wall, legs spread out before him. Inuyasha adjusted his seat and collapsed backwards so his head was resting in the youkai’s lap. The hanyou closed his eyes; fingers laced over his chest when the youkai began to finger comb his hair. “Will you breed with a human or youkai?”



“Dumb question, jackass. No youkai would let me mount her.” The gold eyes remained closed, but the brows drew together in thought, and then grimaced. “That’d make my pups ‘shihanbun-you.’ If I managed to get a full youkai… ‘sanshihanbun-you.’ They’d hate me just cause of their name.”



“I think ‘sanshihanbun’ does not exist.” The youkai informed the hanyou, trying to ignore the impulse to smile.



“It’s necessary for the fate of the new race I intend to create. Maybe it’d be ‘sanshihan-you’ and ‘shihan-you?’” A flick to the forehead and the hanyou cracked open an eye to deliver a slighted look.



“Humanity is a pesky gene you will never be able to breed out.” Sesshomaru teased, face straight.



“No harm in trying. What youkai could I choose? Your mom is the only inu-youkai that I know. I’m not related in any way. Maybe she’d be interest in investing her time to create an army of ‘sanshihan-you.’”



Sesshomaru ripped the mental image away, shredded it into pieces and burned it with the sudden flare of disgusted jealousy. Inuyasha sensed the sudden peril to his life and held up his hands in a pacifying gesture.



“Calm down! Your bitch would probably rip my throat out on the spot.” He reached up and traced the curve of the youkai’s jaw. Properly mollified, Sesshomaru nipped the finger lightly. The hanyou’s eyes became heavily lidded as tongue and teeth worried the digit lightly.



I can talk him into pups by the time we find our home. There's plenty of bitch perspectives that would kill to fuck Maru-nii and wouldn't mind leaving the pups in his care. Maybe if I offered to double up on her, Sesshomaru would agree. I should have as much power over him as Rin by then—



Inuyasha almost chocked as his senses caught up with his thoughts. Earlier he’d been grumbling how he wouldn’t be with the youkai forever and now he was thinking of trying to start a family with his brother?



A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but what choice do you have when you lose it? The hanyou wondered, letting his body relax again and attempted to catch the teasing youkai’s tongue. I’ll get straightened out in the head one day. Seven hells as my witness, if Maru-nii thinks he’ll be able to drop me before I’m ready to leave, I’ll teach him a few new definitions to willpower and tenaciousness.



No need to rush, anyway. We both got time.