Theories

Theories- Chapter 6

Nestled among the rolling hills in the Western Lands stood the largest castle in all of Japan. So huge was it that InuYasha could see it, being still a half day's journey away. The alabaster walls of the castle glistened in the morning sunlight, like diamond dust sprinkled up the white stone. Turrets at the four corners of the main building stood almost a half mile high, allowing the guards ample view of the territory. No friend, or foe, could approach without being spotted from one of these vantage points.

The surrounding land was lush with thick green grass, and wild flowers of numerous varieties. It looked like an over-sized garden, well tended for such a massive expanse. The grass was managed at an even four inch thickness, and the flowers barely peeked above the grass, creating a floral blanket effect. Encircling this lavish setting were towering trees of all kinds, some known only in this part of the vast country. It was said that the gods brought the trees with them when they descended upon this Earth, eons ago, having set up residence in this part of Japan. They formed a fortification around the massive castle. Since the beginning of demonic times, the InuDemons had tended them as the true gift they were and they have thrived. There was no need for stone walls to protect castle with such a natural barrier.

InuYasha worked his way through the extensive thicket of trees. This was the land of his father, and his father before him. It was also the land of his brother, the current Daiyoukai and ruler of the West. It had been several years since InuYasha had ventured this close to his brother's castle, the last visit being quite eventful. Sesshomaru had invited his brother here, on the pretext of making peace with their past. Instead, it was an ambush, Sesshomaru attacked his brother the moment he exited the safety of the forest. His goal was to steal Tetsuaiga, but then, that was the goal of almost all their fights. It was refreshing to know that this time; there would be no fighting, no attempts to take what was his birthright. This time, the invitation was genuine, for he came to be best man for Miroku as he officially mated with Sesshomaru.

A chill ran down InuYasha's back and he shuddered. It was still hard to believe that the almighty Sesshomaru, hater of all things human, and most everything else for that matter, was taking a human for a mate. Make that a male human, one that was a self-confessed sexual deviant whose eye roved, and whose hands couldn't control themselves when given the opportunity to caress the backside of any female they could touch. Yet, here they were on the eve of the mating ceremony.

Over the past weeks, InuYasha couldn't fathom what it was the two saw in each other. Sesshomaru had found something in the wayward monk that piqued his interest, and it had to be more than mere sex. Although sex was a driving force in the beginning of the relationship, for Sesshomaru to throw out his total disregard for a race of beings, and take one to be his mate, there had to be something else. He knew his friend well, but still, he could find no common ground for the two. Sesshomaru was a pure-blooded, cold-hearted bastard that could take a life and walk away without a second thought. Miroku cherished all life as a gift from the gods. Perhaps it’s true what Kagome had always said, opposites attract.

Again his mind was pondering the question of why, when he heard a familiar voice yelling to him from the field. The male was flailing his arms wildly over his head, waving at the approaching half-demon. ”InuYasha! InuYasha! You’re finally here. InuYasha!” Miroku was exuberant in his greeting to his best friend. InuYasha put up his arm and waved back, not speeding his stride to meet the joyous monk.

It took only a few minutes for the now-breathless man to reach his destination, and as he came close, threw his arms around InuYasha’s neck and hugged him with all his might. He huffed and puffed for air as he proclaimed his glee. “My friend, I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up. Sango and the others arrived two days ago. They said you wanted them to come ahead.”

“Feh, you knew I’d come. I promised didn’t I? I just couldn't see any point in getting here too early. You know how I feel about Sesshomaru. I didn’t want to take a chance on a fight starting and ruining your big day.” InuYasha was his usual nonchalant self, but there was still something in his voice that belied the fact that he wasn’t comfortable with this arrangement. He tried to put his feelings for his brother aside, knowing that his friend’s happiness was far more important than personal hostilities towards Sesshomaru.

Miroku flung his arm over InuYasha’s shoulder and neck as they continued the trek back to the castle. “I can’t believe that tomorrow morning, Sesshomaru and I will finally mate. I mean, we’ve had the sex, but to actually be taken as his mate, it’s so wonderful.”

“Well, if you’re happy, then I’m happy, Miroku. I just hope the prick doesn’t screw things up after the ceremony and you are miserable. Once you mate to an InuDemon, you’re mated for life; good, bad, pleasant or intolerable as Sesshomaru may be.” InuYasha’s doubts surfaced and he knew that as a friend, and best man at the ceremony, he had to speak up now before it was too late. If he waited until the actual ceremony, it would be too late.

Miroku stopped, took InuYasha’s arm to turn him so they could talk face to face. His face was wrought with disappointment in his friend. ”InuYasha, you don’t know your brother the way I do. Sesshomaru and I have a good relationship. It’s not what I expected, what I ever planned. I know he doesn’t love me, not the way two people getting married would love, but he does care for me; but I can accept what he can offer. He knows how I feel about him. He may not understand the concept of love, but he acknowledges my feelings. He won’t intentionally hurt me and I hope you can understand that this is what I truly want.”

Miroku’s well-being and happiness were really all that InuYasha was concerned about. He could see the genuineness in his friend and that he did, in fact, understand what he was getting himself into. ”As long as you’re really satisfied with what Sesshomaru has to offer, I can accept your decision. Just remember, I will always be around if you need me, for anything.” A smile accompanied the statement, which gave Miroku great satisfaction.

“Thank you, InuYasha. The one thing that I was afraid of was losing our close friendship.” A clap on the back and the two continued back to the castle.

Upon arriving right outside the castle gates, Rin ran up to the pair of friends, a garland of hand-strung flowers wrapped loosely around her arm. Grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Miroku she yelled, “Houshi! Houshi! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Miroku bent down, opened his arms and welcomed the dark-haired girl with a hug. He looked at the flowers and asked, “Are those for me. Rin?”

She looked down at her arm. She should have known that Miroku would think they were for him, since she was always giving him things she made, but not this time. “I’m sorry, Houshi. These are for Uncle InuYasha.”

Miroku knew she was conflicted and eased her mind. He picked her up and held her in his arms. “I’m so glad you made this for InuYasha. Why don’t you put them around his neck so he can wear them now?” Rin’s smile returned to her face as she took the flowers from her arm and draped them over the not-so-enthusiastic InuYasha. Miroku saw his friend’s eyes roll as the garland was hung over his head. “Isn’t it lovely, InuYasha? Rin made this just for you.” A quick glare from the monk towards his friend indicated that a proper thank you was in order.

“Yeah, thanks kid.” It wasn’t enthralling, but it was something; and Rin was just as happy as if he had gushed over them the way Miroku always did when she gave him little presents.


Miroku put the child back down and took her hand. She reached with her other and grabbed a clawed finger on InuYasha’s hand, pulling the two males with her. “Come on, Lord Sesshomaru is waiting for you. He wants to talk to you, Uncle InuYasha.” InuYasha winced. He didn’t like being referred to as an “uncle” by the child. That inferred that Sesshomaru was her father, and the thought of him being father to anyone was totally unappealing. Still, he held his tongue and silently followed along.

Inside the castle gates, things were all abuzz. Various demons from the higher echelon of demonic society were milling around the spacious gardens that graced a pathway to the front doors of the castle. This was the first time InuYasha had ever seen anyone, besides Sesshomaru and Jaken, here. He was surprised that his priggish brother would allow such a gathering or that he would allow anyone to traipse in his fancy gardens. Everyone was actually in a good mood, and that in itself was totally contrary to the way Sesshomaru liked things. Still, it gave him reason to think that perhaps his brother had mellowed, somewhat, although he knew it was only because of the ceremony.

Standing in the doorway to the great Inu-domain stood the Great Daiyoukai himself. Sesshomaru was tall, by most demon standards, when in this form. He stood close to seven feet tall, but here he was dwarfed by the sheer mass of the castle entryway. The doors stood open and must have been forty feet high and almost as wide. These just gave the average person, or demon, pause at the enormity of the dwelling. His regal stance was not diminished by the size of the castle. He was king of the castle, and he made sure everyone was well aware of that fact.

Miroku led the way to his intended mate, keeping any outward sign of emotional happiness at bay. It was understood that in this place, at this time, decorum was to be maintained. One the day before their mating ceremony, Miroku wanted to be sure that Sesshomaru stayed in the best of possible moods. When they were about fifteen feet away from the door, Miroku looked back to InuYasha and whispered a plea, “Please, remember, to be on your best behavior.”

InuYasha rolled his eyes, and bit his lip. For the sake of his friend, he would not do or say anything to anger his brother. That was going to require more patience than InuYasha thought he had. So, as he finally reached the door, InuYasha did the only thing he knew he could, he bowed slightly to his older brother in recognition of Sesshomaru’s station as master of the household.

Sesshomaru was not unmoved by this gesture, or perhaps it was a lightened mood for Miroku’s sake, but he took a step towards InuYasha. In a voice loud enough for most demons to hear, he said, “Welcome, brother.” Miroku smiled and InuYasha’s mouth gaped open. He never in a thousand years expected to be greeted with a welcome, much less recognized as his brother. He was so used to slurs about his tainted blood, being a half-demon or a disgrace to the family name, that he was utterly speechless.

Rin ran up to Sesshomaru. “My Lord, I have brought my uncle as you requested, and see, I even made him a present to welcome him home.” She turned her smile towards InuYasha and pointed to the garland of flowers.

“That was nice Rin, now go and get ready for the party.” Sesshomaru was unemotional, but not cold.

The little girl ran past the Daiyoukai into the castle. As she entered, from behind Sesshomaru emerged Kagome and Sango. They had witnessed the exchange between brothers and were well please. Bowing slightly in respect for the older demon, they quickly moved towards their friends. Sesshomaru turned and entered his domain, leaving the human females to greet their friends. “Come on you guys, the party starts in less than two hours and we have loads of stuff to do.” They rushed the two men through the doors and led them through the foyer and up the spiraling stairway to the private quarters of the royal family.

On the third landing up, they stopped and turned to go down the hallway to the left. There, they were greeted by four male inudemons. These lesser demons were servants in the castle and their responsibility was to see to the well-being and readiness of the Daiyoukai’s brother. One of the four, a young man with long brown hair, and ears that matched Sesshomaru’s stepped forward. “Master InuYasha, I am Hiromi. I and the others have been assigned to help you get ready for the reception tonight and the ceremony tomorrow. If you will please follow us, we will show you to your chambers.” The ladies excused themselves and turned to go down the other hallway. Their room was on the opposite side of the floor.

InuYasha started to follow Hiromi when Miroku begged out, stating that he was going to his quarters to get ready and headed up the stairs to the next level. “Hey, Miroku, where ya’ going?”

“Oh, Sesshomaru and I have the next floor to ourselves. See you in a little while.” He waved and ran up the stairs.

InuYasha was led to a doorway about halfway down the long hallway. The double oak doors were opened inward, and the five stepped inside. The room was humongous! Apparently the doors were set in the middle of the room’s wall, which spanned fifty feet on either side of the doorway. To the left was a wall-less entry out to a private garden. To the left, more walls, with twin stained-glass windows that stood thirty feet high and just as wide. The multi-colored glass created a mosaic of two great dog demons in their natural form, one white, standing on its hind legs. A crescent moon enhanced the forehead of the demon in its natural form, identical to Sesshomaru. The other was also white, slightly larger, no crescent on its forehead. It was on all fours, head held majestically high, howling at full moon. InuYasha blinked at the sight. He instinctively knew that the second was his father, the great Inu No Taisho. He stood in awe of the sight.

His rapt thoughts of seeing the present and past demonic lords of the castle captured in glass were interrupted by Hiromi. “Please, My Lord, you have to get ready. If you will follow us.” InuYasha blinked and turned towards Hiromi. Nodding once, he took another quick glance at the windows and followed behind, walking past a four-poster bed that could have easily slept ten. The only other furniture in the room was a few leather-bound chairs and round wooden table. A short walk took through the garden found another room. This one had a running hot spring into which a small waterfall cascaded.
“If you please, sire, you might wish to wash up, and we will help you dress.”

“Quit calling me Sire and my lord, I ain’t Sesshomaru. Call me InuYasha, that’s my name. What do you mean help me dress? I am dressed.” InuYasha’s spell at his surroundings now broken.

“Sir, I mean InuYasha, Lord Sesshomaru has provided you with new clothes for the reception this evening and the ceremony tomorrow. It’s required that you wear those. Our Lord told us that your current clothing would not be appropriate.” Hiromi was taken aback at the reluctance of the InuPrince’s willingness to cooperate,

InuYasha didn’t want to cause problems. If it kept his brother in a decent mood, and made Miroku happy, he could swallow his pride and put up with not wearing his comfortable, fire rat clothing for a short time. Not allowing the others to help him, he undressed, jumped in the water and took a refreshing soak in the relaxing hot waters. He was permitted to linger in the luxury of the private springs for about half an hour, before he was hurried out. He dried himself; no one needed to help him do that, and waited while his attendants brought him his ‘appropriate’ clothes. He seemed upset to see that the ceremonial kimono and hakama brought in were a brilliant crimson color, like his fire rat clothes he loved. There was a white dog embroidered on the back, no crescent moon on the forehead. The family honey-comb crest of white stitched at the shoulders. “Feh, where’d he get this one?”

Hiromi was shocked. “Lord Sesshomaru thought you would be honored to wear this. It belonged to your… father.”

InuYasha held the kimono up and looked at the embroidery again. The embroidered dog was identical to the one that graced the stained-glass window in the other room. Feeling like a total ass, he closed his eyes and clutched the garment to his chest. He took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent on the fabric. It was familiar, but he couldn’t remember exactly where he smelled it before. Then he remembered it was the same scent that his fire rat clothes had when he was very small. Yes, this was the scent of this father. InuYasha opened his eyes and looked at the stunned servant. “I’m sorry, Hiromi, I didn’t know. You’re right; I am honored to wear it. Thank you for telling me it was my father’s.” InuYasha quickly donned the kimono and put on the matching hakama.

After he was dressed, he was led back to the main room, where his hair was brushed straight. He even allowed Hiromi to trim the ragged, split ends, but just an inch. A pair of black sandals was placed on his feet, and although he would have preferred to remain barefooted, he knew this was expected. The look was now complete, and it was time to join the others for the reception.

InuYasha strolled into the Great Hall of the castle which was already teeming with guests from all over the Western Lands. He even noticed some former adversaries present, namely the Panther demons he and his brother fought a few years back. The peace that was made after that battle had held, and now even they were welcome. Things really had changed.

Miroku and Sesshomaru were standing at the far end of the hall, receiving their guests. As InuYasha made his way towards the pair, he was flanked by Kagome and Sango. Kirara and Shippo were observed mingling with the other small demons nearby. Kagome took InuYasha’s arm, and as they walked she reminded him, “Now be polite and remember everything I taught you. And whatever Sesshomaru says, don’t argue with him. We want this to be really special for Miroku.”

InuYasha shot her a look that could have sent most people running for their lives, but he knew she was right. He just didn’t like being reminded about his manners. “Its okay, Kagome. I’m here for Miroku. I ain’t gonna ruin it for him.” They approached the couple, and InuYasha shook Kagome from his arm. He marched up to his friend and brother. Remembering what Kagome had told him, using proper etiquette and bowing to his older brother and then to Miroku.

Miroku was glad to see Kagome’s instructions were taken to heart. This didn’t go unnoticed by Sesshomaru, either who actually seemed pleased with his younger brother. Nodding to InuYasha, he said, “I see you approved of the choice of clothing.”

InuYasha didn’t realize he had been slightly slumped over, because at the mention of the clothing, he stood up tall, chest extended in pride. “Yeah. Thanks for letting me wear them. Did they really belong to our father?”

Sesshomaru gave a minute grin. The fact that they were his father’s clothes really did mean something to his little brother, and that did please him. “They are not on loan. I am giving them to you. Consider it a gift from Miroku and me.” He turned to look at Miroku who was smiling like a blushing bride. It apparently was his idea as a peace offering, and Sesshomaru had, at first reluctantly, but finally, agreed. Besides, he had others that also belonged to his father.


This was the start of a pleasant evening. InuYasha settled into the environment, talking with others and no one made a single comment about him being a half-demon or anything else derogatory. It was refreshing, and after a few hours, it was time for bed. The next morning would be the mating ceremony.