The Sacred Trees

Taking a break from my NaNoWriMo writing to update here. Thank you everyone for reviewing and supporting will write individual thanks in the next one. I know some of you are impatient to know what country the Big Bad is from, well he has managed to keep it secret for 400 years, it is not something that can be uncovered so fast. :) AND if he is uncovered fast before the pups are born, you will miss out on the birth :P.. Cause big battle leads to .. the END. (Unless there is a sequel)

On Mpregs, I will give this assurance, Inu won't be getting female parts. There has to be a reason why Mpreg is not the preferred means of species procreation, so the mechanisms involved have to be a serious barrier to this being a common practice. And this is for the next chapter... this chappie is about the lost Inus.

So read, enjoy and please review

Chapter 22 : Coming Home

There was a palatable tension in the mansion. It was an excited and apprehensive one. The lost Ookami had been returned, their collars had been removed by Bunza, and they were being presented before the Shogun with only the Canines as witnesses. The 47 females had been accepted without question, and with a great deal of joy. The apprehension all centered around the male. Though Inuyasha and Kouga would have liked to, they had not had the opportunity to spend much time with the lost ones. After finding them the two had to rush to have all the Ookami checked, cleaned up, their collars removed, and then returned secretly to Tokyo to be presented to the Shogun. All done in less then 36 hours since they had been found. Aidon had even arranged for a small but elaborate ceremony to make it clear among the Canines the lost ones were accepted into the pack.

There had been little time for reassurance and chit chat, so a very apprehensive male was the last to present himself to the Shogun, and while some joyous cries of recognition and relief had been heard as the females emerged, a staggering silence accompanied the male’s march to the clan’s Alpha. Rumors that he was the son of Lord Kira Iemura had spread and there were already suspicious and apprehensive glances thrown in his direction. Many doubted that Sesshoumaru would accept such a suspicious member to the pack. Kouga, Inuyasha and Shippo stood to the side, their presence did not really help, this was 100% the Shogun’s show.

The male looked down at the floor submissively, though he walked with strength and a steady stride. As the females had done, he knelt before Sesshoumaru. The women had only swore to serve the Lord, the young male knew he had to offer more. “M..my Lord Shogun, I am called Iyarashii and though the blood that runs through my veins is tainted, I offer my life, my heart and my soul, in service to you, do with it as you see fit.” The Ookami did not look up.

A gasp rang out in the crowd, Shippo found himself holding both Inuyasha and Kouga back, as they had instinctively moved. When their senses kicked in, both stopped, fists clenched, they maintained their position, they could not interfere.

Sesshoumaru had a hand around the youth’s throat and had him a good foot off the ground. The Ookami had grasped Sesshoumaru's arm but did not really struggle, he was truly resigned to his fate. “Ookami, you dare pretend subservience before this Sesshoumaru? You dare kneel cloaked in arrogance, you who have rejected the Canines over the last two days. NOW you dare make a false offer of yourself to me?” Sesshoumaru growled, at the youth.

“Mm.. My Lord, my offer is true. I.. I.. have rejected nothing that I know of.. I swear.. I am true.. if you do not believe me, take my life, I beg you! If you doubt me, please take my life it is yours!” The Ookami cried out in confusion, he had meant every word of his oath. His dark brown eyes searching sharp gold ones that seemed to bore into his soul. “Please, My Lord, at least allow me to die by your hand.” The Ookami whimpered in defeat, he had done everything they had told him to do. He had tried his best to fit in. But in spite of the hopeful beginning, he was still an outcast. He did not understand, but then his understanding or actions had never stopped abuse being heaped on him.

“Hmh, so it is ignorance rather then arrogance that governed your actions, since this Sesshoumaru has no use of a dead Ookami.. I will give you another chance. Who are you Ookami?” Sesshoumaru's eyes drilled into the youth, diamond hard.

The youth looked into the eyes, that burned with power. He did not know what to say, he had spoken true. He stared helpless into the golden eyes. He wanted to serve this Lord, more he wanted to serve another pair of golden eyes, and the amazing Ookami General who had saved him. He did not know what to say, then a memory touched his mind. He had treasured the moment but not taken it seriously.. still.. tears welled up in deep brown eyes.

“I.. I am Yu.. Yus.. Yuusharashii” He choked out, the tears he had not shed while his birth father had tortured him spilling down his too pale cheeks. His people called him Iya, and so had others following in their example, the Ookami had not corrected them. The youth had not really realised he had been renamed.

The hard golden eyes, gentled. He was brought down the the earth, but truly the Shogun's hand holding his chin was all that kept him standing. “Ookami pup, the only names that you will ever acknowledge, the only titles you will ever use, are that conferred by your Alphas and Generals of the clan. My mate named you, and in doing so claimed you as our own. What you were, or could have been, is utterly meaningless now. Your life began when my mate named you. Yuusharashii, you are a Canine, I am your Alpha, and until you draw your last breathe will every cell of your being you will obey!” Sesshoumaru decreed, power pulsed around the Shogun, and engulfed Yuusha. The youth cowered and submitted completely before the Alpha of his clan. Sesshoumaru's acceptance feeding him, giving the Youkai a home in the pack.

When Sesshoumaru released his chin, he sank to his knees, sobs tearing from his chest, one hand clutching tight to Sesshoumaru's robe.

Sesshoumaru nodded at Aidon, and the healers came up to take the scarred Ookami for a through check to see if they could so something about the scarring.

Rather regally Sesshoumaru swept out , he caught his mate’s eye in a smoldering look, and inside he puffed up a little at the surprise and approval he could see reflecting in Inuyasha's eyes. Sesshoumaru’s eyes stripped the Hanyou who he had not seen in 5 days, promising to taste all that was hidden from his eyes later. Sesshoumaru could hardly wait for the night when he was finally free to indulge in Hot Inu-Hanyou once again.

Inu was rather well shocked. Sesshoumaru had handled that better then he could ever have imagined his ass of a brother handling such a situation. He had been pure Shogun, but had somehow broken the fear and distance Yuusha had created around himself and the world. Sesshoumaru was the other father of the pups inside him, and Inuyasha suddenly felt a rush of intoxicating pride at the thought.

Sesshoumaru caught his eyes as he walked out, and Inuyasha felt the heat of the golden gaze all over his body. The Hanyou felt a blush spread throughout his entire being, as his mate smirked and floated out. Forget pride, the bloody Shogun was a pervert!!!

Having a good number of Ookami join a pack was no simple task, and all of them had many details and duties to carry out.

It was not quite 9 in the night and Inuyasha was exhausted, the events of the last few days finally catching up with the Hanyou, he was looking forward to a good sleep. The Shogun was still busy doing Shogunny work, and Inuyasha recognizing his body’s state retired for the night. He was a sleep for two hours when his eyes snapped open. Something was not right in his home. He leapt off of bed, dressed in shorts and t-shirt he strode out.

“Inuyasha, where the hell do you think you are going?” Kouga who had been waiting for the Shogun in the hallway caught the Hanyou’s arm. “Sesshoumaru is not going to be pleased if he returns to an empty room.” Kouga said deliberately taunting Inuyasha.

Inuyasha swatted at Kouga, who ducked easily.

“Come on mutt, give your mate a break, from all accounts he has missed you.” Kouga said seriously.

“I know Kouga, but this is important, its Yuusharashii, he is in extreme distress. His connections are all wrong, it feels to me like he is screaming in pain, I think he needs more to feel accepted as a part of this pack. I am just going to reassure him.” Inuyasha said.

“Mutt-face, only you can reassure your mate, others can give comfort to Yuusha, so why not send for the healers.” Kouga said trying to be reasonable.

“But Kouga.. we found Yuusha, and I named him, I can’t let the healers look after him, they wouldn’t understand... Can you go look in on him please? He needs and deserves so much more than what he has been given, please Kouga.” Inuyasha looked at the wolf with bright, big pleading eyes. It was NOT a look Kouga had ever seen on the mutt’s face, and he felt a distinct sinking in the pit of his stomach.

“Me? Inuyasha, I am busy, and I need to check with the Shogun about...” Kouga began to try to get out of it.

“I'm sure it will wait till tomorrow, I’ll look after the Shogun a lot better if you went to Yuusha, if not I might be distracted by worry, please Kouga. And you are right, I do need to rest.” There was a slight pleading whine in Inuyasha’s voice.

Kouga’s will broke and he sighed, a pregnant pleading Hanyou was not someone the Ookami could turn down. “Okay, Mutt-face, go back to rest, I’ll look in on Yuusha.” Kouga feeling magnanimous, petted Inuyasha’s shoulder and walked off in the direction of Yuusha’s room. Inuyasha stood there wide eyed, and generating a thankful air, until the Ookami disappeared around the corner.

Immediately, the wide eyed look disappeared as the Hanyou smirked, and a knowing smug gleam entered his eye. Damn they were easy, like puppets on a string. This pregnancy deal was going to be sweet if they were going to be stupid enough to fall for his patented ‘puppy-face”. The smug Hanyou whistled in satisfaction, he had scented the Wolf in the hallway before he left the bedroom, and Kouga was not one to be told what to do, he needed to be encouraged gently. The two Ookamis would be good for each other, Inuyasha had seen that, and this would set them on the right path.

Keh, Too easy. He really needed to thank Shippo for showing him how effective ‘cuteness’ was – after he used it on the adult Shippo of course. Hmmm.. his puppy look was really a rather satisfying and powerful weapon, he had better be careful, or else he may end up overusing it and ruling the world. Inuyasha chuckled to himself as he strolled back to his room.

Yuusha’s pain still touched his senses, but as he relaxed, he felt the easing of the tension, and the feeling of wrongness ease and begin to disappear. Inuyasha released a sigh of relief, it looked as if his meddling had worked. Well they couldn’t say he hadn’t warned Kouga that he would find someone for him. Inuyasha lay back and went back to sleep.

As Kouga reacted Yuusharashii room, the scent of blood hit his nose, the General burst in surprising the young Ookami, who had been slicing into his own skin, with a blade. Kouga dashed forward and grabbed the youth’s hands.

“Yuusha what the hell are you thinking?” Kouga growled shaking the youth.

“You .. you are all being too kind, I don’t deserve it. They are supposed to hate me, to punish me. Why? They are not hurting me, but I hurt inside, so bad, I don’t know what to do! I am here but I am so lost!” The youth was a bit incoherent, though he shook with the force of his emotions he did not cry. “There is no one in this room. Its so quiet and I'm alone, its so heavy here. I'm sick, I need to be punished. I.. I.. actually wished I was back in the cave, General! I don't deserve to be here. I'm so terribly dirty!”

Kouga looked at the youth, and dimly understood. The boy had acted as a leader, had accepted that he was a being that lived to be punished, much like Inuyasha accepted that he hurt when he cured the trees. The youth had been displaced, the underground prison had been all he knew. Having his situation change so drastically was overwhelming. Having been born in that small cave and trapped there all his life, the boy was literally alone for the first time in his life and it had hit him hard. He was used to physical torture, so he had used that as a means to express the confusion of emotions he was feeling.

The youth's pain reminded him of his own, it burned inside without a healthy way to express it. Inuyasha was right. Yuusha needed something more, if he was left on his own, he would end up destroying himself.

“Gather your things Ookami, and follow.” Kouga ordered in a voice that booked no opposition.

Yuusha flinched at the order, but immediately is nerves settled a little, as some direction had been given to him, he grabbed his things and followed Kouga, through the Mansion, to a huge room. The room was all earth tones and brown. Chests lined the walls, and there were no real furnishing in the room except for a huge mattress piled with furs in the middle of the room. Kouga took Yuusha's things from him and tossed it on a chest, then with casual strength he picked up Yuusha and tossed him on the furs.

Yuusha lay where he was tossed too stunned to move. Kouga stripped down, and pulled on a loose yukata. Huge brown eyes tracked his every move. Kouga lightly leapt onto the furs beside Yuusha. “You are a subservient Ookami, Yuusha, you did your best and your best was excellent. But taking on all that responsibility so young was not good for you, wolf pups need to be comforted and be close to their Alpha's to feel safe. You never had that opportunity. You were never cared for, so you do not realize your own worth, your place in the pack.” Kouga lifted Yuusha's arms and licked the self inflicted wounds, healing them. He then drew the Ookami into his arms until he was nestled under Kouga's chin, his chest half on Kouga's.

“Sleep Yuusha, sleep the sleep of pups, carefree and safe, protected by their Alpha. Right here ,this is where you belong. I will let nothing, not even you, hurt you.” Kouga whispered into the trembling Ookami's ears. Yuusha whimpered and instinctively nuzzled Kouga's chest, lifting his head, he subserviently licked Kouga's jaw line. Lulled by the warmth and safety of his Alpha, Yuusha finally slept.

Kouga felt Yuusha slum into sleep, and looked with a little bit of wonder at the handsome face on his chest. Yuusha was a contradiction, strength and aching vulnerability layered together so perfectly. Kouga had felt the rasps of many tongues on his jaw, and held many young Ookami in comfort, but this was the first time he had felt like asking to be licked even more. Cuddling the Youth felt good, not in the way one cuddles a child, but in the way one cuddled a mate. Kouga contemplated the sleeping face, he decided that he would walk this road and see where it led. His arms tightened around Yuusha , and he too fell asleep.

Sesshoumaru, Dionne, the Dragon Lord Tatsukiinoue, the Tigress Lord Hisana and five Lieutenants including Kouga's and Sesshoumaru's oldest children had been pouring over some of the findings of the investigations and the information sent by the cranes.

“This is maddening, our enemy could be from at least four different countries. Germany, Ireland, China or the United Kingdom, all are viable options. On top of that there certainly seems to be a possibility of the enemy being from the United States as well.” the Tigress hissed at the various reports.

Hakumeihime, Sesshoumaru's oldest daughter nodded. “Yes My Lord, however it seems likely that the US is a key office but not the home base of our enemy. Iemura's regular dealings with the US only began about a hundred years ago. From the information my team has gathered the enemy possibly has a base in Washington, two possible sites are being monitored, but they are both too new and in a way obvious. The home base of our enemy will be well hidden, he or she has been operating for 400 years.”

“Your team is very effective.” Dionne said in approval, his smiled appreciatively at the proud brown Inu. While she in no way looked like Sesshoumaru she was tall, strong and proud, all traits that Dionne admired. “I have my doubts about China, frankly I cannot imagine the main threat being so close to the Japanese Youkai, and you not even having any clue to their existence. No I think that the enemy has to have been further away.”

“Bah! It does not matter, we will be finding out very soon I am sure.” Lord Tatsukiinoue stated. “All our speculation and investigations are going to be moot.”

“What do you mean My Lord?” Kinta asked.

“Haven't you figured it out yet? Our enemy has gone through a hell of a lot to put the Ancient Trees to sleep, he has spent 400 years hiding and plotting, leaving us running around in circles. Now suddenly in a span of what, 2 weeks, the traitor hidden among us has been exposed and disposed of, and 2 of the miasma traps in the Ancient Trees haven been removed and the trees awakened. What do you think his next move is going to be?” Lord Tatsukiinoue asked the wolf.

“He is going to come to us isn't he, our enemy is going to come after Japanese Youkai.” Kinta stated.

“Yes, and more specifically he is going to be after you Canines who are the biggest threat, so you had better start taking steps to protect your towns and villages.” Lord Hisana said unaware that measures had already been put in place.

“Actually the most precise way of saying this, is that the biggest threat is one tree- healing Hanyou. Sesshoumaru...” Dionne was about to say more when Sesshoumaru raised his hand.

“This Sesshoumaru is well aware of the threat to his mate, measures are being taken.” he said with a false calm.

“We should get the Hanyou to more a secure and secret location for safety.” Lord Hisana said, but raised her brows when the Shogun shook his head.

“You bastard, you plan to leave Inuyasha here and use him as bait don't you.” Dionne growled at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru growled back, “Who's plan do you think this piece of ridiculousness is? I blame you for teaching him battle strategy.” Sesshoumaru glared at Dionne, “Inuyasha absolutely will not hide, but he will be protected on spite of himself. Our enemy will not lay a hand on my mate and my mate has been away from my hands long enough. Keep digging for information, though the enemy is coming to us, it would be best if we could recognize him before that.” Saying that Sesshoumaru swept out of the room.

---tbc--