Inuyasha:

The Third Brother

~Prelude~

Inutaisho looked down rereading the missive in his hand for the fifth time even though it was too crumpled to make out half of the words, and crushed it in his fist. Again. He stared out of window thinking of the visit to the wolf tribe he had made four or five years ago. He stood from his chair and looked around the study on the second floor of his castle, and decided he needed to go outside before he burned it to the ground in his mood. He pushed open the heavy double doors leading to the corridor and took off down it at a brisk walk. As he approached the double doors that led to the outside courtyard, the guards standing by to open them scrambled to attention struggling to get the doors open in time for him to walk through without having to slow his pace. Once he stepped outside he saw the one person he didn't ever want to see. He slowly walked over to where a young boy sat with his new governess.

The young boy was reading a book with little help from his governess despite the young age at which he appeared. He looked to be five in human years and was, despite common belief demons age just the same as humans until they turn sixteen then they age slower and eventually not at all. The age when they stop aging is around twenty or twenty one.

Inutaisho studied the boy as he got closer. He was a cute child. he had hair that was white with a silvery hue and eyes a color blue that he had never seen. His eyes were a blue shade that was somewhere between a dark blue and the regular shade of blue it was the color of the seas but brighter and more vibrant, so vibrant it was inhuman. But that made sense considering his lineage, and his mother had blue eyes if he remembered correctly. The boy also had furry little ears on the top of his head and a fluffy tail curled around his waist that looked more suited to a wolf or fox than a dog demon. The boy looked up as his governess, mitsuki, said something to him then he turned his head so fast it must've hurt. His body soon followed as he stood up and faced the lord coming towards him.

Inutaisho saw he also had two blue stripes on his face. That's interesting he thought as he stopped in front of him the only thing he has in common with his mother is his eye color other than that he is my copy. The boy looked up at him and swallowed "hello sir," he said in a clear but quiet voice. it was childish now but in a few years it would deepen into a soothing silky voice. He's going to be trouble with the court ladies Inutaisho thought ahead to when the boy would be older. Then he shook his head and looked back at the boy. His son.

"What's your name, boy?" he asked the child wondering what the wolf girl had named him. The boy looked curious for a moment before saying "I don't have one sir. My mother called me runt or brat, though." He said as if it was normal for a child to be called that. The lord looked darkly at him "and what did the lord of your pack think about this?" the boy went to shrug before remembering he was in the presence of the most powerful lord alive and answered " he called me bastards son" . Inutaisho felt something he never had before, the need to protect his son. "He dared to call my son such a foul name, he will hear of this and it shall not be taken lightly." He declared. The boy looked up at him surprised he had actually called him son. Inutaisho saw the little flicker of happiness at being called son that flashed in the boy's eyes. "Your name is Takeshi and if anybody addresses you as anything else I shall expect to hear about it," he stated. Then he did something he rarely did, he smiled at Takeshi. Takeshi looked stunned for a second, but then he smiled back and his smile could've charmed birds from the trees. He looked a little hesitant for a second as if pondering something. Inutaisho felt a weight hit his legs and realized Takeshi had grabbed onto his legs and was hugging him. He stood there for a second before he dropped to his knees and hugged his first born son back. Mitsuki, the governess, looked on from the side and smiled lord Inutaisho has finally found something, no someone to love and protect.

"My lord!" totosai yelled as Inutaisho walked back in later that evening. He had spent the rest of the afternoon with Takeshi learning about the first five years of his life living with the wolf clan. The first five years of his life that he had not been there for. He growled at the thought of him not being there for his son. Totosai came up to him with myouga, " my lord, me and myouga here were wondering about the, um, well you know…" he trailed off then said "myouga you could help an old man out!" he glared at the flea sitting quietly on his shoulder. Myouga sighed and said "master, we were simply wondering about how you suddenly have a five year old son and ineligible heir, if it's not too much to ask." While talking he had jumped onto inutaisho's arm and began sucking his blood, and by the time he finished, he was talking in-between gulps. Inutaisho sighed "it's fine; someone was bound to ask sooner or later, but come into the study" myouga looked at him strangely for a second before asking "master? Why the study, don't you use that for private subjects only?" the powerful lord only beckoned them to follow him.

Once they were safely seated inside the study Inutaisho spoke "his birth itself is a private subject as is the reason I visited the wolf tribe five years ago." He paused and took a breath in before beginning his tale "five years ago I was stopped on my weekly patrol of the borders by a troublesome demon tormenting human villages. He was fairly easy to kill, but before he died he told me that my firstborn child would be an ineligible heir and that he would anger the gods by falling in love."

Myouga and totosai were both quiet so he continued "after I returned I was worried about what the demon had said so I took a visit to the wolf tribe. The wolf tribe had a girl there that was named Rena, or rebirth, because she was a girl who had been reincarnated throughout the ages. She knew things about the past, present and even the future that no other seer's knew of. While I was there the wolf tribes lord sent a concubine the first night, she was a beautiful girl with honey toned hair and bright blue eyes. Little did I know the next day that I had gotten her pregnant, so I left without worry of a child being conceived. The seer told me that the prediction of the demon was indeed true though."

"Then after six months a child was conceived and its resemblance to me left no doubt of whom the father was." He paused in his telling of the story to massage his temples as though he had a head ache. "For five years he was abused and mistreated by the wolf clan, his mother, and even the lord. For five years I didn't know of his existence, and I was not there for him. Yet here he is an ineligible heir cursed to fall in love and anger the gods in doing so." He sighed and stopped looking up to see both myouga and totosai staring at him. "I also noticed something other people might not have, Takeshi is-" he started to say but totosai cut in "Takeshi (fierce warrior)? Is that what you named the boy?" Inutaisho glared at him "yes it is. Now as I was saying, Takeshi is powerful; even more powerful than me. I believe he has been more powerful than me since he was born."