All right all my faithful readers, I know it's been a LONG time and I apologize profusely for that, but I was having some difficulty with getting the chapter just right, so I hope you'll forgive me *bats eyelashes hopefully* Now, for my lovely reviewers!!
Moonlight Vampiress: Thank you for that reassurance. It wasn't so much that I was worried about people complaining about it as I was trying to kinda explain why it was the way it was. But thank you anyway, it's very nice to know (: Ha ha, I can totally understand the yaoi fangirl reaction to Suzu pinning Sesshomaru against the wall. Had a few of those myself *blushes* But, this is a Sesshomaru and Inuyasha fanfic, so *slaps hand* bad author, no playing around with Suzu and Sessh. Although, I guarantee in later chapters there will be more of the slip-ups *wink wink* where yaoi fangirl comes in between Suzu and Sessh, lol. Can't help it, Suzu's just that way, and I, for one, love him for that (: (: Oh my gosh! I am so excited that you're so into Suzu!! Too bad there's no "badass" Suzu in this one. Not to discourage you, though, there will be more of that Suzu later on. I can guarantee that much! Glad you liked the chapter and I hope you enjoy the next just as much (: Vyperbites: Oh, no worries, he is already beginning to see that he can't separate himself from his adorable little brother *smiles* Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy the next chapter! starchilds: Happy you enjoyed it! It will take some time to work through their feelings for each other, and of course there's still Michio to worry about, but he won't be coming in, significantly anyway, until later chapters. I don't know about "let" Suzu hold him since he didn't really have the energy to move, lol, but he didn't go into a panic attack (: Suzu is an amazing character. You've pegged him pretty well, actually. Here's the next chapter for you, enjoy!! Warnings for anyone who might like to know: fluff, as always, gotta love the fluff, profanity (duh!), more cuddling, more flirting, some cute kitty interaction, playful, sexual harassing Suzu, and ... yeah, I think that's about it. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Sixteen
Gardens and Safety
Inuyasha stretched, coming into the waking world with all the speed of a crawling tortoise. He yawned, blinked, and then stretched again. His muscles felt so stiff! Like he’d been sleeping in the same position for two days straight.
“Have you awoken little brother?” Sesshomaru gently inquired as he reined in his youki and returned to his more human form.
“S-Sessh!” Inuyasha exclaimed, bolting upright when he felt the warmth of his sibling flush against his back. “Wh-What …?” He twisted until he was facing the daiyoukai, frantically scooting backward, mind awash with fear. Without watching where he was going, his hands stretched back over open air and, scrabbling for something to hang onto, he tumbled backward off the bed and cracked his head on the floor.
“Inuyasha?” Sesshomaru called, frowning as he peered over the side of the bed. “Are you all right?”
“F-Fine,” the hanyou muttered, blushing as he picked himself up. “You just … just scared me, that’s all.”
“Your body seems to be healing faster now,” Sesshomaru observed, running his fingers through his hair to get out whatever tangles may have been created during the night. Standing atop the mattress, he slipped off his clothes and walked to the other side of the bed. There he stepped down and into a small room where the rest of his clothes were kept separated from his bedchamber by a thin screen. “Did you sleep well?”
Quietly breathing out, Inuyasha sat back down on the bed, drawing the blankets around his lower half. “Yeah.”
“No dreams?”
The younger inu shrugged. “If I did have dreams, they were good ones.” He heard the rustling of cloth and glanced over at the screen. The dark figure of his sibling moved beyond the thin barrier as he dressed, every muscle and curve of his masculine body outlined by the light inside the small room. Blinking, somewhat startled by the fact that he was ogling his brother’s figure, Inuyasha hurried to look away again. Much as he tried, though, he couldn’t keep his gaze averted and his eyes kept wandering back to that much too thin screen. Damn him, but Sesshomaru was hot.
“Tamae will be delivering your medications with breakfast within the hour. Would it be acceptable if I were to summon Suzu as well? He has questions before he will be able to find bodyguards for you.”
“Bodyguards?” Inuyasha repeated, recalling the demon lord had said something about that the other night.
Sesshomaru stepped out from behind the screen, dressed in clothes similar in design to those he usually wore. These, however had more elaborate patterns of cherry blossoms in bloom along the sleeves and across the left shoulder of the white haori, an obi of pale blue edged in white, and no armor. The white fluffy thing he always wore lay over his right shoulder once more. Overall, Inuyasha decided, his sibling looked every bit the highbred Lord of the West he was.
The daiyoukai started explaining before his fiery sibling could start into how he
didn’t need bodyguards. “This Sesshomaru also has bodyguards, Inuyasha. It is tradition among nobility to have at least two. There are circumstances in which one can leave them behind, but it is generally better when in public that they remain with you at all times. That is why Suzu will find the ones most compatible with your personality.”
“But … Sessh—”
“You will hardly notice they are there, ototo. They are very skilled at remaining invisible. Furthermore, their presence next to you will put my mind at ease when you are not within sight.”
“No, that’s not what I was—” Biting his lower lip, Inuyasha stopped and took a deep, calming breath. “That’s not what I was worried about, Sessh. I’m sure they’re great an’ all that, but … ain’t I stayin’ with you?”
Sesshomaru slowly strode back around the bed and knelt down in front of his anxious younger brother, finding that anxiety—because it was in connection with his absence—precious. He took Inuyasha’s hand into his own, aware the hanyou had to fight to keep from pushing him away. “I am your alpha. As such, until your heat has completely passed I expect you to stay as close to me as possible. Do you understand? I will not leave your side, nor will you leave mine.”
“You … won’t mind havin’ me that close?”
“Little brother, if I minded having you close to me I would not have brought you into my personal chambers. Your fear is needless.” He released Inuyasha’s hand and stood. “Shall I call Suzu then?”
“I guess … that’s okay.”
Nodding, Sesshomaru went to the door and bellowed for the guards. When he called that way, they now knew to respond immediately and entered the room at a full out run. They came to a halt a few paces from him, fists over their hearts in salute, heads bowed. “My Lord?”
“Send a servant to fetch Suzu. Inform him Lord Inuyasha is awake.”
The guards bowed and the younger of the two, the one usually sent on errands, ran off to find a servant while his older companion returned to his station at the door.
Sesshomaru went back to sit on the bed, noting with dissatisfaction that his little brother scooted away when their legs touched.
“Hey, Sessh … is there anything … I can wear?” Inuyasha asked, blushing with embarrassment for the awkwardness of the question and blushing further when his older brother only continued to look at him.
After a few more moments of silence, Sesshomaru inquired, “Do you not wish to know what has befallen the fire rat robe given you by Father and what has become of your Tessaiga, ototo?”
Inuyasha looked down at his hands, clenching and unclenching them nervously. He felt naked in more ways than one. He had never gone so long without the possessions that had been his
only possessions ever since his mother passed away. But right now … he felt so
unworthy of them. “You have them, don’t you?” he asked softly. “You can keep ‘em.”
“You … do not want them?” Sesshomaru responded, bewildered by the sudden depression his baby brother seemed to have fallen into. “Why?”
“The old man gave them t’me to protect me. But what’s the point if I can’t even protect myself? You’ve always wanted Tessaiga, haven’t you? Now you can have it. I’m givin’ it to you.”
“I did not save you so I could acquire the sword, Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha shook his head, still not looking at him. “I know. That’s not why I’m givin’ it to you. I just … I don’t want it right now.”
The daiyoukai’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You are being ridiculous. Father gave you the robe of the fire rat and Tessaiga because he wanted you to be safe. Now you are telling me because they failed you once you are going to throw them away? I never took you for one who could be ungrateful for the sacrifices others have made on your behalf.”
“Th-That’s not what I meant,” the younger inu muttered, eyes lowered.
“Lord Inuyasha,” a sultry voice interrupted as Suzu swept into the room without announcing himself and without shame for the fact that he had been eavesdropping outside the bedroom door. “If I am not mistaken you had neither your father’s fire rat robes nor the Tessaiga at the time of the attack, correct?”
“Yeah …”
“Then perhaps, my Lord,” Suzu continued, turning to the elder of the inu brothers, “rather than feeling ungrateful, he feels unworthy of them.”
“Wait … how would you …?!” Inuyasha blurted indignantly.
“I would know, Lord Inuyasha, because you and I have been through much the same. I am not a stranger to such feelings as shame and guilt and unworthiness that stem from crimes of the type you have experienced. That being said,” he clapped his hands together, making Inuyasha jump, “there are a few questions I will need you to answer, my Lord, if that suits?”
“What kinda questions?” Inuyasha shifted and pulled the blanket up around him more, sighing with gratitude when Sesshomaru lifted it up over his shoulders from behind, effectively hiding his backside from view.
“What position do you take when in bed?”
Shocked, Inuyasha’s mouth worked soundlessly. What kind of question was that?!
“He is an uke, Suzu,” Sesshomaru responded for him.
Hearing his brother speak, the hanyou finally found his voice. “The hell?! What are you tryin’ to pull?”
“Calm yourself, Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru ordered, laying a comforting hand on his sibling’s shoulder. “He asks for professional purposes only.”
Snarling, Inuyasha smacked the demon lord’s hand away. “There’s nothin’ fuckin’ professional about a question like that. And
you had no right to tell ‘im
anything about my goddamn position during sex! I am
not an uke!”
Lowering his rejected hand back to his lap, Sesshomaru nodded agreement. “Indeed, you are not. However, you are
my submissive and
my uke. That is what is important here.”
“Why the hell is that important?!”
“Because, little brother, neither of us would feel comfortable if Suzu were to assign bodyguards to you who are both alphas, or simply a couple of youkai who frequently take the seme position. It is a question he requires of all those trained as bodyguards and all those who request bodyguards for their person.”
Inuyasha had his mouth open, ready to start into another tirade when he realized his aniki was right, and quickly shut it again. Petulantly, he looked down at his hands. “Well … he coulda just explained that t’me before he asked. I ain’t stupid or nothin.”
“No, my Lord,” Suzu replied sweetly, “you are not.” His smile widened. “It’s just more fun if I don’t explain first.” When Inuyasha began to growl again, he raised his hands in surrender. “In addition, it allows me to observe my Lord’s temperament and response when angered. After all, bodyguards are not punching bags … as much as
someone,” he eyed Sesshomaru pointedly, “likes to believe they are.”
Sesshomaru, for his part, chose to ignore the jibe. “Continue, Suzu.”
Smirking, the peacock youkai turned back to the younger Lord. “What style do you use when in battle, my Lord?”
“Style?” the hanyou repeated, looking uncertainly back at his brother for help.
Understanding the lost look in his little brother’s eyes, Sesshomaru stepped in again. “He does not have a specific fighting style he follows as he does not have any formal training. As soon as he has recovered sufficiently I will begin training him in order to further the skills he already has.”
“Then … perhaps you might describe my Lord’s fighting style?”
Glancing at his brother, Sesshomaru slowly nodded. “When facing an opponent, no matter the type, Inuyasha will charge straight at him. He is impatient, rash, stubborn …”
“Oi,” Inuyasha rumbled, eyes narrowed.
“… and confident to the point of arrogance.”
“Oi, you’re not exactly earnin’ my favor here,
aniki.”
“He relies on strength and power, alone, rather than any particular technique. Despite such faults, he does not go down easily and will not give up once a fight has been initiated. When he goes down, he always gets back up. Unless he is killed, he will not accept a battle as lost. I have never seen a fighter with a stronger will to live.”
“Splendid,” Suzu replied enthusiastically, smiling over at Inuyasha. “Hearing that, I have several in mind, but there is one more thing I will need to know.”
Inuyasha raised his eyebrows when the bird youkai didn’t continue. “Which is?”
“What is your sexual preference? Men or women?”
“Women,” the hanyou growled, noting the way his elder brother turned his face away with a displeased frown. Bothered by that, he looked down at his hands and amended, “Except …”
“Except?” the bird demon inquired silkily.
By the look on the general’s face, Inuyasha wondered if Suzu knew what he was going to say. “Except when I’m with Sesshomaru.” He flushed when he felt his brother’s eyes on him once again. “Guess I can’t exactly deny it when … when we rutted … and s-since I’m gonna be havin’ his pups.”
“You’re positive you’re not attracted to men?” Suzu slyly asked, sliding a little closer to the bed, hips swaying sensuously.
Inuyasha stiffened as a heavy sweetness invaded his nose, clouding his senses. He sniffed, shook his head, and then sneezed. Whatever the smell was, it was making him lightheaded.
With a low, warning rumble, Sesshomaru imposed himself between the general and his sibling. “That will be enough, Suzu. Inuyasha has said he is not attracted to men, do not force the issue.”
Bowing, the bird youkai backed away. “As you say, my Lord. Knowing my Master to be attracted to both men
and women, though more inclined toward men, I wondered if Lord Inuyasha might be, as well. That being the case, though, I believe I know the two most suitable to be your brother’s guards. If my Lord will accompany me to the door, I have something private to discuss with you.”
Glancing back at Inuyasha and seeing that Suzu’s pheromones didn’t appear to be having any noticeable effect on him—thanks to Tamae’s potion—Sesshomaru nodded curtly and followed the petite youkai out of his bedchamber, leaving the door wide to reassure his little brother of his presence.
Suzu stopped before the door leading to the corridor and the rest of the palace. “Forgive me, my Lord, but I do not feel it wise to ask Lord Inuyasha this question. What kind of youkai raped him?”
“None of the races I employ as bodyguards, save one. A male leopard youkai. Will that suffice?”
“Yes, my Lord. Thank you for your cooperation, and please thank your brother for me as well.”
“Tell me, Suzu, who do you have in mind?”
Suzu lowered his lashes seductively. “You trust me, don’t you Master?”
“Implicitly,” Sesshomaru immediately responded, ignoring his general’s flirtatious behavior.
Teasing in his eyes, the bird youkai reached up and yanked the daiyoukai’s chin down between his first finger and thumb. “Then can’t you just wait and see?”
Sesshoamru impatiently pushed the invading hand aside. “Not when it concerns my brother. Tell me, Suzu. Now.”
Sighing, Suzu complied. “Shiro and Sho.”
“Hn,” Sesshomaru grunted. It was a good choice. The pair, both males, were mated. In addition, within the bird youkai there were no alphas. Shiro and Sho were also two of his most experienced bodyguards. They were assigned to him as a teenager. Upon gaining the title of Lord of the West, they had resigned from that post to become normal soldiers for a time while his current bodyguards—ones who had served his Lord Father—took their place. They would do well. He nodded agreement. “I approve.”
Suzu rolled his eyes. “Of course you do, Master. I wouldn’t choose bodyguards that couldn’t satisfy you as well as your brother. What do you take me for?”
“A flirtatious imp with the insatiable need to tease anyone and everyone you come across,” Sesshomaru replied bluntly. “Know this, Suzu. I will not have you seducing Inuyasha. He is mine.”
Waving his hand dismissively, the peacock youkai flounced out the door. “Cherish him properly, then, or else I may snatch him away. After all … he is an adorable one, isn’t he?” Snickering, Suzu shut the door in his Master’s face and, whistling brightly, set off down the corridor.
Sesshomaru stared at the door contemplatively for a moment before turning back to his bedchamber and his brother who was watching with perked ears and curious eyes. When the daiyoukai stepped back into the room, he cocked his head. “What does he mean ‘he is an adorable one’? Does he mean … me?”
“You could hear what we were discussing?”
Inuyasha made a face that clearly said, ‘well, obviously,’ and gestured sharply toward the triangular ears sitting atop his head. “Ya didn’t exactly keep yer voices down. My hearing’s better ‘n most demons.”
“Is that so?” the daiyoukai murmured to himself. “Then … I will have to remember that in the future.”
Huffing, his little brother folded his arms. “Plannin’ on keepin’ things from me, aniki? Not exactly the way to earn my trust, y’know.”
“The only ‘things’ I would keep from you, ototo, would be those I feel might upset or bring harm to you. That is my duty as your alpha and elder brother.”
“Keh.”
“As for your other question, yes, Suzu was referring to you when he used the term ‘adorable.’”
Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. “But I’m a man.”
“That matters little to him. You are attractive, in more ways than one.”
“What d’ya mean?” the younger inu wondered. “Am I … attractive to
you?”
Taken aback by the question—not because it surprised him to be asked such so bluntly, but because he had thought that fact had already been made quite plain—the demon lord raised an elegant brow. “Indeed.”
“Oh, so … does that mean … you like me?”
“What of you, little brother?” Sesshomaru asked rather than give an answer as he sat down on the mattress a short distance from the nervous hanyou. “Do you like your big brother? You did say you are willing to have my pups, did you not?”
Inuyasha ducked his head, ears laying flat out to either side of his head in embarrassment. “Y-Yeah … I did. I mean, it’s not as if I have much choice. My heat’s gonna come back sometime and I … I would rather it be you th-that does it than anyone else.”
“That does not answer my question. Do you like your big brother?”
Face flushing scarlet, the hanyou exploded into a shout to cover his mortification at being asked something that personal so directly. “I wouldn’t be havin’ yer pups if I hated ya!” Then, realizing the demon lord was looking at him strangely, he lowered his volume to a near whisper. “I mean … I wouldn’t want to raise my pups with someone I hated. ‘Sides, I think you’ll make a pretty decent father the way that human brat follows you around like you were a god or something.”
Sesshomaru’s eyes softened. His baby brother was making a joke. He was still so fragile, so different from how he was before, but he had taken a step forward. Maybe it was just a cover up for how he was actually feeling, maybe he just wanted to make it seem like he was back to normal. Nevertheless, Sesshomaru was glad. Whatever it was, it was a start.
“Is there anything in particular you would like to do this morning, ototo?”
“Well, my pack’s here, right? Shouldn’t I be goin’ to see them?”
“They arrived here last evening along with the wolf prince, Kouga. They are being well cared for by my staff and they have been informed that you are taking time to rest and recuperate. There is no need to see them until you are ready.”
“Then … what is there to do?”
“Many things. Though, I would suggest waiting until you have regained more of your strength to ask to do anything strenuous.”
“Keh,” Inuyasha scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I know that.”
“Do you? Is that why you so often push yourself beyond your limits when you’re already injured?”
“Hey, the battles with Naraku don’t count. I had to protect my pack. You would’ve done the same if he was after that ningen girl o’ yours.”
“Perhaps,” Sesshomaru allowed, though he knew, in fact, he would. “Might I suggest a walk in our father’s gardens?”
“The old man
gardened?” Inuyasha wondered, more than a little disbelieving.
Sesshomaru nodded with a brief, amused smile. “Quite extensively, as a matter of fact. He prepared a garden for his first mate, my mother, for myself when I was conceived, for his second mate, the Lady Izayoi, as well as for you when he discovered your conception. He enjoyed caring for those gardens. I would often find him out walking them, plucking out whatever weed sprouts had grown. Each of the gardens have a particular theme, a color or certain kind of flower. My mother’s garden was predominated by jasmine and gladiolus flowers—white flowers whose meanings are ‘grace and elegance’ and ‘strength of character.’ The garden he planted for myself include few flowers, but much in the way of ferns and trees—cherry blossom trees. The one flower it does have is the magnolia, which represents ‘dignity.’ Your mother had many flowers within her garden, for she loved the delicate beauty and pleasing fragrances as much as our father did. Most had to do with his love for her. The one he planted above all others, however, had as much to do with his love for her as her general disposition and how those who knew her best viewed her. The larkspur. A flower whose meaning is ‘beautiful soul.’ As for your garden …”
“Red, right?” Inuyasha guessed.
Sesshomaru nodded. “Correct. Red. The meaning of red flowers is generally associated with flashiness or passion. Both of which, you have in abundance. However, your garden was not only made up of red flowers. He planted in your garden the flowers associated with the colors of fire. Every imaginable shade of red, orange, and yellow. The flower he chose to base your garden around was the freesia, a flower whose meaning is ‘spirited.’ A tribute to your personality, I believe.”
“What about the old man? Didn’t he have a garden for himself?”
Sesshomaru laughed outright at that. “Oh, Kami-sama, yes.
His garden was so full of flowers of different colors and variety one could hardly walk as close as fifteen paces from it without being overwhelmed by the pungent aroma. Finally, Kaori obaa-chan told him either he was to dig up those flowers disrupting the overall ambiance of the place, or else she was going to burn it to the ground.”
“What did he do?”
“He told her in no uncertain terms that the gardens were his and she was not to interfere with them.”
“And?” Inuyasha prompted eagerly.
The daiyoukai shrugged. “She carried out her threat. The next day there was nothing left in our father’s personal garden except ash. Kaori obaa-chan was the head gardener, you see, and she didn’t much care for the way our father planted any and every kind of flower seed he came across in whatever patch of dirt was available. Father was depressed for weeks. Until, that is, Kaori obaa-chan replanted his garden, separating those flowers whose aromas didn’t mix and moving them closer to the flowers whose smell complimented them best. She replanted all except a few of the flowers he originally had. She was a genius gardener. Her daughter, Hana, took over her position when her mother passed away and she has every bit as much talent as her predecessor.” Sesshomaru paused, turning to brush the back of his hand against his brother’s knuckles. “Does your enthusiasm mean you would enjoy a walk in the sunlight, little one?”
“I-I guess so. Long as you give me somethin’ to wear.”
“Of course,” Sesshomaru replied, inclining his head in acquiescence. “When Tamae comes with breakfast and your medications I shall send her to locate her sister mate so she can find something suitable for you to wear.”
***Ӂ***
“Bishamon! Bishamon, watch this!” Fuyuki shouted as he leapt from the cherry tree branch, somersaulted, and landed gracefully a few paces from the tiger demon.
The general smiled from where he lay sunning himself on a warm rock, purring in contentment. For everything the snow leopard child had been through, he was surprisingly innocent. “Your stamina and dexterrrity has greatly imprrrroved,” Bishamon acknowledged with a lazy flick of his striped tail. “I’m glad to see you’rrre healing so well.”
Ecstatic at the praise, Fuyuki flopped down next to his larger friend and curled up against his side, a higher, alto purr vibrating in his chest and throat. “When can I see Inuyasha-san?”
Bishamon shrugged, unconcerned. “Whenever my Lord Sesshomarrrru deems his brrrother well enough to venture out of his chamberrrrs. You’ve both been thrrrough a grrreat deal. It may take some time for him to rrrrecover.”
Fuyuki cocked his head curiously. “But I’m doing all right.”
“You and Lorrrd Inuyasha have differrrent personalities, Yuki. Besides, us old farrrts take morrrre time to recover from things than you young whippersnapperrrs.”
Laughing, Fuyuki snuggled into the older cat’s side, breathing in the scent that was uniquely Bishamon. “You’re not old.”
“Compared to you?” Bishamon chuckled goodnaturedly. “Yes, I am.”
“But Inuyasha-san’s not old. He’s only about half a century older than me, I think.”
“Funny, kid, you don’t look a hundred and fifty t’me,” Inuyasha grunted, arms across his chest as he observed the two cat demons.
“Inuyasha-san!” Fuyuki exclaimed, leaping up and throwing himself at the inu hanyou. He yelped in surprise as he was caught mid-air by a strong hand on the collar of his haori and yelped again when he looked up and saw it was Inuyasha’s older brother. He swallowed convulsively, curling into an instinctive ball. “Ohayo-gozaimasu, Sesshomaru-sama,” he whispered.
“Ohayo-gozaimasu to you, as well, Fuyuki,” Sesshomaru responded, humor glimmering in his eyes. “How do you fare?”
“I’m … all right. Bishamon wanted to show me the gardens.”
“Aw, Sessh,” Inuyasha growled, “put the kid down, you’re gonna give him a heart attack.”
The daiyoukai raised an eyebrow at his little brother, but complied, dropping the neko unceremoniously on the ground. “I would ask that you refrain from leaping at my brother. He has not yet fully recovered.”
“Yer bein’ overprotective, I’m perfectly fine,” Inuyasha grumbled, folding his arms into the sleeves of the haori Taree had found for him to wear. It was red with white and gold dragons twisting around the hems and over his right shoulder. The hakama was a simple thing of the same red as the haori, complete with a white obi trimmed in gold.
“Who was the one that needed help getting into the bath yesterday night?” Sesshomaru demanded pointedly.
Chagrined, the hanyou lowered his eyes. “I heal fast.”
“Bishamon,” Sesshomaru called to his general. “I trust you have tails on the rebel contact in the east?”
The tiger youkai bowed his head. “Yes, Sirrre. Therrrre has been little movement, nothing of significance. They arrre holding their own against the empire’s forces forrr the time being. Ourrr contact seems to be holed up with the rrrrest of them. Don’t seem deseperrrate enough to seek out the help of the West a second time just yet.”
“Very well. Inuyasha,” he said, turning to his brother, “one of my generals, Bishamon.”
“One?” Inuyasha repeated curiously, head tilted adorably to the side. “How many do ya have?”
“Four. If you recall, Suzu is one of them.”
“What? That sexually harassing peacock?”
Sesshomaru nodded sagely.
Bishamon snickered at that description, thoroughly enjoying the younger Lord’s coarse way of speaking. It was refreshing. He wondered if Lord Inuyasha was always so blunt.
Sliding off the sun warmed rock, Bishamon approached the two Lords, noting their similarities and differences as he went. Same white hair of the shiro inu youkai, same golden eyes, same strong yet lithe forms, though Lord Inuyasha was a good deal shorter than his older brother. The younger inu also had a softness about him the daiyoukai lacked, what could only be described as vulnerability.
When the tiger general came close, he noted the way Lord Inuyasha seemed to shy away from him. His ears laid back against his skull and he sidled a little closer to the demon lord, putting Lord Sesshomaru almost directly between them. Taking the hint from his Lord’s cold gaze, Bishamon knelt where he was and planted his fist over his heart, bowing his head to his Lord’s younger brother. “Lord Inuyasha, it is a pleasurrrrre to meet and serrrve you, Sirrre. I pledge my sworrrd to you, as I have pledged my sworrrrd to the Lorrrrd of the West.”
Still looking decidedly uncomfortable, Inuyasha nodded once. “Er … thanks, I guess. You can stand up. Rise or … whatever.”
Smiling, Bishamon got to his feet. “Might we join my Lorrrds? Fuyuki has been anxious to see his rrrrescuer.”
“Inuyasha?” Sesshomaru asked.
The hanyou shrugged noncommittally, continuing to stick close to his brother’s side in the presence of the tiger youkai who was still a stranger to him. “Why not? I was gonna check up on the kid later, anyway. Is he stayin’ with you now?” he wondered, directing the question at Bishamon.
The tiger demon nodded. “Tamae and Suzu have entrrrrusted me with his carrre.”
“And?” Inuyasha inquired, looking over at the smaller snow leopard child. “Do ya like livin’ with him?”
Blushing prettily, Fuyuki lowered his eyes as they began to walk, following the tiger demon closely. “I like it,” he murmured, shyly peeking up at Bishamon and then looking earnestly to Inuyasha again, seeking his approval. “I like it a lot. He’s my friend.”
Inuyasha smiled, genuinely happy for the neko. From the looks of it, the kid didn’t see the tiger demon as
just a friend, though. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of the tiger and leopard being intimate with how young Fuyuki was, but if he was happy then he had no reason to interfere.
“Good t’hear,” he said mildly as they passed through what Sesshomaru had said was the daiyoukai’s garden from the old man. Inuyasha had to admit the trees were beautiful. The scent of cherry blossoms definitely reminded him of his brother. He wondered briefly if the demon lord used cherry blossom scented soap or if he floated flower petals in the water. Either way, it suited him. Something occurred to him then, and he caught up to the elder inu who was deep in conversation about the east and some political crap about a rebellion and how it might affect the West or some such nonsense. It was all gibberish to Inuyasha. “Hey Sessh,” he interjected when there was a sufficient lull in conversation. “How come the flowers and trees are still in bloom when it’s nearly winter?”
“I was wondering that, too,” Fuyuki commented, ducking his head when Lord Sesshomaru looked back at him with a deliberately sharp expression, as if weighing him.
He shivered. The daiyoukai made him nervous. Not because he had been unkind in any way, but from the sheer amount of power he radiated seemingly without effort. How could Inuyasha-san and Bishamon walk with him so casually? Talk to him so easily? When the daiyoukai looked at
him, he felt his tongue growing heavy and clumsy, making proper speech nearly impossible. The beautiful, icy, purebred inu youkai’s presence was simply overwhelming.
Fuyuki let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding when the daiyoukai at last turned his eyes away from him. “These gardens are protected and nourished by enchantments put in place by Tamae. They will not wither while she yet lives.”
A stone pool, raised above the rest of the grounds at about knee height, separated Sesshomaru’s garden from what Inuyasha supposed must be the one planted for his mother. The flowers were white interspersed with pale blues and violets, colors that reminded him of new fallen snow.
“Hey, Sessh, what was your mother like?” Inuyasha wondered as they passed the stone pool and he bent to sniff at one of the white flowers.
“Exactly as her name, Hiyakaika, described. A ‘cold blossom.’ Beautiful beyond words, so my father said, but as cold as a glacial plain.”
“Did … she die?”
Sesshomaru stopped and turned to his brother, his face a mask of careful indifference. “She is not dead. My mother was never interested in having children. She mated with my Lord Father solely to become the Lady of the West, to gain more power and prestige. When I was born, she gave me into the care of a nursemaid and washed her hands of me. Over the next several decades as I grew from a babe into a child, Father attempted to persuade her to perform her matronly duties, but she would not. When it became clear she did not intend to take part in my life, he dissolved their mating. He had hoped, irrationally, that by doing so she might change her mind. She didn’t. In the end, she left, returning to the Shiro Inu Clan in the mountains off the coast of the western lands. She has not returned since.”
“Wow,” Inuyasha muttered, suddenly sounding more like his brazen self. “No wonder you’re so fucked up.”
Bishamon froze, holding his breath in anticipation of his Lord’s anger, but the daiyoukai only chuckled and started walking again. Slack jawed in amazement and confusion, Bishamon made himself breathe again. Lord Inuyasha insulted the Lord of the West … and he
didn’t have his head bitten off or his ass lashed to pieces? Suddenly he was looking at the young inu hanyou with more respect.
“Bishamon?” Fuyuki called, stopping and turning back to wait for him as the two inu kept walking. “Are you coming?”
Shaking his head wonderingly, Bishamon followed the young cat demon. “I’ve neverrrr seen Lord Sesshomarrru act like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like he’s enjoying himself.”
“Should we … leave them alone for now?” Fuyuki wondered as they both stopped, gazing after the brothers and then looking back at the tiger demon for instructions.
Bishamon couldn’t help it, highlighted by the sun drifting upward toward afternoon, Fuyuki’s lithe form seemed to glow. His white hair shimmered, not the white of snow or ice, but the white of cotton, the white of down. He was beautiful. His heat throbbed dully in his veins.
But the boy was young. Much too young. Not even past his first heat. It wouldn’t be right to take advantage of him just because he was in heat. It wasn’t his first in any case, so it wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been, especially since Suzu wasn’t around to tease him into a frenzy.
“Bishamon?”
“Why don’t we leave them to each otherrr, ne Yuki? Seems Lorrrrd Inuyasha is well taken carrre of.”
“Sesshomaru-sama’s a good big brother, isn’t he?” Fuyuki chirped, skipping and twirling around the older cat demon energetically.
“It would seem so,” Bishamon mused. His tail lashed playfully as he reached out and snatched the snow leopard youkai out of the air in the midst of performing a spectacular somersault, tossing him down on the grass with a mock growl. Fuyuki laughed, batting at Bishamon’s face with soft hands, his claws retracted. “Rascal,” Bishamon rumbled, capturing the smaller neko’s hands and trapping them on either side of his head, sitting astride slender hips.
Fuyuki purred and leaned up, licking affectionately under the male tiger’s chin.
Bishamon stiffened when blood began to pool in his groin. Quickly, he reversed their positions, rolling until he was on his back with Fuyuki lying atop his stomach and chest.
“Bishamon?” the neko whispered, sniffing the air. “You smell … really good.”
Purring, the tiger general threaded his fingers through Fuyuki’s soft, shoulder length hair, drawing his head down to his shoulder. “Rest, Yuki. Despite how much energy you have, you arrrre still in the midst of rrrecovering. We don’t want you to have a rrrrelapse.”
“Mmm,” Fuyuki hummed, nuzzling the side of the tiger demon’s neck and then tucking his head under Bishamon’s chin. “N’kay.”
From a short distance away, two pairs of near identical golden eyes observed the two, one curious, the other indifferent. “Is that … normal?” Inuyasha wondered in a whisper.
“Bishamon is in heat,” Sesshomaru explained, steering his little brother away from the two cat demons. “He feels compelled to be near Fuyuki because he is attracted to him and because he sees the boy as a candidate for his mate and will allow no opportunity for others to get close to him.”
“But Fuyuki’s too young to be mated,” Inuyasha protested, allowing the daiyoukai to grasp his arm for a moment before shaking him off, shuddering in spite of the gentle touch.
“That has little to do with it. True mates are chosen not between two youkai, but between their youki.”
“Are they true mates then?”
Sesshomaru frowned. “Perhaps. If their youki draws them together, then perhaps they are. It is difficult to tell when one’s youki desires that of another. Being able to distinguish between mere lust or attraction and true instinctual love is a gift not many possess. There is a reason you do not find many mated pairs—”
“But there
are a lot of mated pairs, ain’t there?”
Again, Sesshomaru frowned, giving his brother a sidelong look. “What has Father’s retainer been teaching you, ototo?”
“Retainer? What, you mean Myoga?” Inuyasha snorted. “Flea barely sticks round long enough to use me as a snack before he leaves again. Coward takes off whenever I’m in any danger, which is almost always.”
His eyes widened when he felt his aniki’s youki beginning to pulse intensely with barely restrained fury. His ears flattened immediately into his hair and before he could do anything to mask his reaction, he was crouched near the ground backed up against the stone pool, a low, submissive whine sounding in his throat. He trembled and shook, and fear overcame him. He had done something wrong. Somehow, he had made him angry. He would be punished again.
The plaintive and distressed whine brought Sesshomaru out of his anger at the flea demon for his cowardice and the neglect shown toward his sworn duties to Lord Inu no Taisho and his offspring—regardless of what he would have thought of it before.
In part fascination and part horror, he watched his sibling drop from his crouch onto his knees and raise his chin to bear his throat. Under other circumstances, he might have been pleased by the trusting gesture. This was not trust, though. This was terror. His baby brother was terrified.
Of him. Terrified of his alpha. The one meant to protect him.
Guilt surged anew within his breast. He had not been strong enough to save Inuyasha from his tormentors. The means to do so had been there inside him all along, and he had not been able to see it.
“Sirrre, what’s going on?” Bishamon called as he and Fuyuki ran over, having heard the piercing whine, but not knowing what it could be. When he saw the Lord’s younger brother, he froze, eyes wide, fur standing on end. The sound was coming from
him. Anxiety caused him to drop the purr from his words. “Sire?”
“Inuyasha-san!” Fuyuki cried, darting past Bishamon, dodging the restraining arm the general tried to place in front of him, and kneeling by the distraught hanyou. “Inuyasha-san, what’s wrong?”
He reached out a hand to shake the inu, but Inuyasha lashed out at him, a vicious snarl on his lips. The only thing that saved him was Lord Sesshomaru’s quick action, snatching the boy by the back of his haori and tossing him behind him into Bishamon’s waiting arms.
“Take him,” Sesshomaru ordered without looking back, his youki rising in response to the anguish and aggression in that of his sibling. “I will deal with my brother. Inform the guards,
no one is to come here. If they set foot within fifty paces of this place, I will slaughter them.”
Arms full of the shaking snow leopard, Bishamon bowed low. “Yes, Sire.” Then, left with no choice, he turned and trotted away to do as his Lord bade.
Relieved of distractions, Sesshomaru knelt by his brother’s side. Inuyasha didn’t seem to notice him. His head was still back, his neck still bared, whines still fell from his trembling lips and grew louder with every sobbing breath the hanyou sucked into his lungs. Cautiously, Sesshomaru touched his sibling’s thigh, but swiftly withdrew his hand when those wicked claws sliced through the air toward him. The two responses confused him. They were so opposite. Extreme submission and extreme aggression.
“Inuyasha,” he tried, keeping his voice soft and his youki gentle. “Look at me, little one. I apologize for scaring you. I will not hurt you. Look at me.”
Instead of finding comfort in his words, the hanyou’s whines only grew louder. So, Sesshomaru did the only thing he could. He gave himself over to his instincts. Unlike Inuyasha, he was not completely powerless while submersed in his youki. It compelled him, but it did not rule him. He growled quietly, reaching out to his brother’s youki with his own. Inuyasha’s youki reacted violently, clawing and fighting against the familiar touch. The daiyoukai persisted, the rumbling sound in his chest deepening soothingly. He edged closer to his blood kin, low whines interrupting his growl now and then.
Inuyasha’s face contorted in bewilderment and his whines became softer—no less distressed, but the distress now came about out of confusion. Sensing the change, Sesshomaru moved even closer until their knees were touching. This time his ototo didn’t try to strike him. His whines had reduced to quiet whimpers, echoes of his terror from before. Still softly growling to appease his remaining fear, Sesshomaru leaned in and tenderly nipped up the column of his submissive’s throat. He then took the back of the pup’s neck into his mouth, softly biting down, extending comfort and assuring him he was wanted until Inuyasha quieted and his scent lost the bitterness of fear. At that point, he maneuvered around to the hanyou’s back. Sitting himself against the wall, legs spread to either side, he wrapped his arm about his brother’s shoulders and drew him back into his chest. For his trust, Sesshomaru bestowed a kiss to Inuyasha’s bared throat.
With a sigh, Inuyasha relaxed against his elder brother’s chest. Fear finally gone, his awareness came back. Sesshomaru’s scent was all around him, strong and protective and soothing all at once. He could feel the daiyoukai’s heartbeat on his back, could feel his breathing as his lungs moved and his warm breath blew across his ears and hair at the top of his head. The demon lord’s chest was comfortable, as if Inuyasha had always belonged there, fit there perfectly. His youki whispered to him—Sesshomaru was safety.
“’M sorry,” Inuyasha mumbled wearily.
“It is not your fault, little one,” Sesshomaru murmured as he stroked the younger inu’s hair and scratched at the base of his ears.
“Mm tired …”
“Then sleep. No one will disturb us here.”
“Thnks … fer hlpin me …”
“Sleep, Inuyasha. You’re tired.”
“Yer hand … fls good.”
“
Go to sleep, ototo,” Sesshomaru insisted, bringing his palm down over his ototo’s eyes to force them closed.
Letting out a breathy sigh, Inuyasha nodded. “Kay …” The hand returned to his head and the tender ministrations resumed. He softly, sleepily growled as he pushed his head into his brother’s scratching fingers. The affectionate touch lulled him swiftly to the edge of consciousness, and he soon gave in to sleep and let his eyes fall closed.
***Ӂ***
Dark mud-brown eyes watched the brothers with bitter jealousy and disgust from the shadows of a tree on the far side of Lady Hiyakaika’s garden. Delicate hands curled into fists around a bow and arrow.
Sesshomaru’s head lifted, eyes narrowed as her sacred powers flared around the arrow, reducing it to cinders. She had not been told to kill the daiyoukai, only to separate him from Inuyasha. But how? How could she coax the demon lord from her friend, from her love? The longer they stayed together, the more twisted Inuyasha became. Sesshomaru was tricking him into believing a relationship between two blood related brothers wasn’t wrong, when it was. Wrong and disgusting. The bastard was ruining her hanyou’s purity, filling him with filth and darkness. How was it Inuyasha couldn’t see how terrible his older brother really was, how he was being tricked? But she couldn’t blame her Inuyasha for it. He had always desired his brother’s love.
Only as a brother, though. Sesshomaru had twisted it into something else. Sesshomaru was the evil one.
“Kagome,” a voice hissed from behind her. “Yer not s’pposed to be here.”
She turned with a smile upon her lips. “Kouga,” she greeted as she looked back at the brothers, the hatred gone from her eyes. “Look at them, Kouga. Inuyasha looks so content. I’ve never seen him so calm.”
Frowning, Kouga carefully approached the miko. Something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but ever since three days ago, Kagome had been acting slightly different. Not so much that it was readily noticeable, which was why he was having such a hard time pinning down what about her was wrong, but it was there nonetheless. Soon as he could, he needed to talk to Lord Sesshomaru about it. Perhaps consult the daiyoukai’s wind demon, the enchantress and healer.
“Kagome, c’mon. We need t’get back,” Kouga tried again, keeping his voice low, glad the demon lord was upwind from them. Primal as Lord Sesshomaru’s youki was now, he didn’t know what the man would do if he caught them there. “I know it hurts, but ya hafta leave Inuyasha fer Lord Sesshomaru to take care of. Inuyasha chose him.”
She looked at him strangely. “Yes … of course. Chose.” She smiled and took his proferred hand. “We should get back. Shippo will be worried.”
Kouga nodded as he took her hand and led her away. That was another thing. When he had seen the kit and the miko together before, they had looked more like mother and son than friends. Now they acted like strangers. Shippo would barely touch the woman. Had he not sensed the changes in the miko for himself, he might’ve thought Lord Sesshomaru had corrupted the kit into thinking humans were inferior creatures. What was going on? The feeling in his gut told him she was not herself, not the same person who had confided in him her deepest feelings for her hanyou friend, not the same person who had willingly kissed him back in the den of his pack. Something was terribly,
terribly wrong.
**************************************************************************************************
Definition of Terms Obaa-chan - grandma; granny
Ohayo-gozaimasu - a very respectful term meaning 'good morning'
Ne - term asking for agreement or disagreement
Definition of Names Shiro - Samurai male
Sho - soar; fly
Kaori - perfumed weave; fragrance
Hana - flower
Yuki - Bishamon's nickname for Fuyuki means 'snow' or 'blessing'
Hiyakaika - cold blossom
A/N: There you have it. The chapter that took me FOREVER to finish. I have the next chapter nearly done, so hopefully that one won't take as long to get posted. Hope ya'll enjoyed it (: (: If there are any terms I missed or misspellings or whatever, let me know and I'll do my best to fix them. Please take the time to review and I'll talk to all my lovely reviewers again soon I hope!
