Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

AN: Well, deleted my previous account so this is a repost! I've made a few changes, not much. I just hope my account is not deleted again.

Midnight interlude

Chapter one

Was it a mistake or a blessing? He was uncertain. Through all the pain he found a ray of hope that engulfed him. He had nothing of what he had before, no real friends, no real enemies. His life was almost achingly peaceful. He played being a coward for the first time in his life. For the first time, he ran away.

He could deal with anything. He could face an enemy stronger than him without any hesitation. Physical wounds really didn't bother him that much, it was the emotional turmoil of his ordeal he wasn't ready to deal with. After all, he too had the right to be a coward at some point of time.

Naraku was over and done with. He had his revenge when he wet his claws with that vile blood. His debt to Kikyou was payed and she was up above, his hime, surely she was the princes of heaven. Kagome... sweet Kagome, he had no idea what happened to her. Did she stay in her time? Or did she come back to look for him? He knew she loved him. At one point of time he loved her too. All that changed though, it changed during that one heavenly midnight interlude.

The fruit of that one careless action was right before him, his son, Kiyoshi.

Inuyasha sat under a large tree, watching his son and other demon pups play amongst each other, without the care for the world. His son, Kiyoshi was now eight human years old was almost up to his shoulder. His pride and joy and sometimes a mighty pain in the hind. He smiled softly as he silently watched over his boy.

Everybody in this demon village adored Kiyoshi, they treated him as a prince, a pampered prince. He would get anything he wanted from them, be it sweets, or toys, not that Kiysohi likes sweets and toys. No, his son was too proud to admit that he had a large sweet tooth.

He chuckled at the thought. His son always tried to act as though he was a tough guy. He would rather train than spend time with the village children and other demons his age. However, Inuyasha never received much resistance from him when he insisted that he go play.

Kiyoshi behaved like the prince he was. Silent and deadly with calculating eyes. They were the eyes of a shrewd leader and he often found himself wondering how Kiyoshi would grow up to be.

Inuyasha was glad that his son did not suffer as he did when he was a child. He was glad that he was accepted. There was no reason for Kiyoshi to be despised as he was, his son was born almost a full demon. What little human blood remained in him gave him his kind heart. He was his father's son, there was not an ounce of Inuyasha in him and it pained the hanyou. Every time he looked at his son he was reminded of Kiyoshi's father everything about his son brought fresh memories and more pain.

His gaze left the boy and looked at the large branches above him, 'Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, I miss you guys. I miss the comfort you gave me, I hate being so alone, so helpless, if it were not for my son I doubt I would ever have the will to live.'

"Thinking about the father again are you?" came a soft voice of Midori, she was one of the village warriors like him. She was especially close to him. She knew everything, how Kiyoshi was conceived and who was the father. She was clueless so as to why Inuyasha still loved him.

"What else can I think about?" Inuyasha replied calmly, his eyes half lidded. Kiyoshi's father was always on his mind, how cold he not be? His son was a constant reminder of his former mate.

Yes. Mate. The very word sent a wave of pain rushing through him. If the feeling of being used and discarded was not enough, the feeling to having no contact with his mate was a nightmare. It was a bond that could never be broken, no matter how much Inuyasha wanted his freedom. There was a thin line that connected him with his mate even after all these years. The constant ache in his chest was the reminder of that connection. Sighing softly, he leaned back and closed his eyes. There wasn't much he could do about it now.

"You should forget about him. You have Kiyoshi now, and all the demonesses in this village absolutely adore you and would give a hand or leg to have you. Forget that prick and get mated, at least Kiyoshi gets a mother." Inuyasha shook his head, his long silver hair falling about him gracefully and he smiled, a mature, somber smile. "No Midori, it just would not be fair, I have nothing to give, my heart has nothing left. All of them deserve much better. I have Kiyoshi, that is all that matters now. You will understand once you have your own pup." Midori sighed and returned his smile saying, "You are absolutely hopeless!"

Inuyasha chuckled. Yes, he was hopeless. He was a fool hopelessly in love with a man who'd rather have him dead. Sighing, he turned to look at his son and frowned, 'Where is he?'

He took a slight sniff of the air, the lingering scent of his son entered his nostrils, leading in the direction of the dense woods that surrounded the village. Lazily he stood and stretched his aching muscles. "That brat is gonna get it now. This is the fourth time in this very week he ran off alone into the forest." Midori stood up as well, "Well, good luck" and she walked off. Stretching once more, he crouched low and leaped towards the forest. Moving swiftly and nimbly through the trees and bushes, following his son's scent and smiling, 'Little guy, what are you up to this time?'

When he reached to where his son was, his heart stopped beating for a moment. There he was. Sesshoumaru was kneeling in front of his son. His chin in Sesshoumaru's grasp and an intrigued look was on his beautiful brother's face. His son, did Sesshoumaru know? Did he know that Kiyoshi was born to Inuyasha? Did he want Sesshoumaru to know? Gathering himself, he called out to his son.

Xxx

Kiyoshi grinned as he slipped into the forest without his father noticing. He had seen the pained look on his father's face and hated it with passion. He hated when his father got sad, which occurred more often than not. So he always did something to take his mind of his sadness. He gazed back while running. He knew his father would come after him soon and they would have a wild chaise and then a spar before going back home. His father would half heartedly reprimand him for going off alone into the forest and he would just smile inwardly seeing his father's beautiful eyes shine in pride while looking at him.

Not paying heed to where he was going he bumped into something. Instincts kicked in as he jumped back, slipping into a defensive stance. In front of him was a very tall youkai. The similarity between his father and this youkai was astonishing. They had similar beautiful gold eyes and silken silver hair.

The demon before him was astoundingly beautiful yet his eyes were frigid. They held no warmth as his father's did. But of course, no one had eyes like his father did, so there was no comparison at all. However, something about this demon was very familiar. Something about his sheer elegance and silent grace rang warning bells in his mind.

This man was a killer. The slight scent of blood that clung desperately onto him only confirmed it. Kiyoshi, however was not intimidated. His father never taught him to be afraid. According to his father, instinctive fear was a good indicator of an opponents intent. One should channelize that fear and turn it into his strength.

Kiyoshi always followed his father's advice.

He eased himself from his defensive stance and raised an eyebrow at the stranger. Kiyoshi would have thought he was an angel but he could sense the incredible youkai power in him and his eyes narrowed, "Who are you?" The youkai looked down at him through frigid cold eyes, but Kiyoshi did not flinch, he just crossed his arms.

Sesshoumaru observed the young boy in front of his, he had to say he was... interesting. There was only one person he knew who could take the full force of his stare and not show fear, that was Inuyasha. "I am Lord Sesshoumaru of the West." The response didn't get any reaction from the boy. Sesshoumaru actually was anticipating an awed look or some fear but he received none. 'He must have been trained. He has the mark of a prince in him, it is not too difficult to sense.'

The boy nodded and asked, "You have some business to tend to here, I presume?" the taiyoukai looked at the boy with sharp eyes. Curiosity caused him to answer, just to see what this little kid will say to that. "It is not your place to question me little runt, leave my presence." the boy looked at him with cool gold eyes, his lips tilting downwards in a grimace, "I know my place Lord Sesshoumaru. This is marked territory, it is you who are at fault coming here without permission. I have every right to question you for this territory belongs, rightfully to my father."

Now Sesshoumaru was intrigued by this boy. He knelt before him and grasped his chin, looking straight into those innocent yet hard gold eyes. The boy knew of his power, he knew that Sesshoumaru could kill him for that, yet he knew that Sesshoumaru would not attempt to kill him. "Very wise, tell me your name little runt." the boy stared back into his eyes and raised an eyebrow again, as though he was as intrigued by him as he was by this boy, "My name is Kiyoshi." the taiyoukai smirked, "What a fitting name, the quite one."

"Kiyoshi, come here." came Inuyasha's stern voice, his eyes fixed on the boy. Sesshoumaru looked up to see his brother standing there with his arms crossed and his elegant clothes swaying in the wind.

He felt his breath hitch at the sight. If Inuyasha had been beautiful in the past, he was simply stunning now. After eight years, his eyes drank the sheer majesty of Inuyasha's very being. His hair seemed longer now, tied in an elegant top knot, it went past his hips in shimmering silver strands. His eyes were no longer wide and somewhat innocent. Wisdom and experience reflected in that gaze that was steady and unwavering on him. Half lidded in a apathetic gleam, Inuyasha was a picture of nonchalance and that infuriated him. Not being acknowledged by his brother after eight years was something he wasn't ready t swallow.

Only now did he sense fear in the boy, not fear for his life but fear for Inuyasha' wrath. That confused the lord, why would this boy fear Inuyasha when Inuyasha would cut of a hand before touching a child with the intention to harm him? The boy moved towards Inuyasha his head bowed he said, "Forgive me father... I did not mean to worry you." Inuyasha nodded and placed his hand on the little head saying, "Go back to the village and stay with Midori, I will be a while."

'Father!' Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed at his half brother. Inuyasha had already produced the first born of their clan. The daiyoukai's eyes glinted dangerously. It was his right to know of Inuyasha's son. The boy would grow up to take the rightful position of the Daiyoukai of the west and yet Inuyasha ignored that particular detail. Sesshoumaru felt his impatience with his brother's insolence rise once again. How the hanyou managed to enrage him every time they met was beyond him.

A soft growl slipped past his lips as he stared right into the rich golden gaze of his brother."Let him stay, after all I have a right to know of my nephew." Inuyasha frowned at that, he seemed to be considering something. He turned to his son and said, "Kiyoshi, this is your uncle, my half brother." the insolent little runt gave him a passing glance and shrugged, "Great, can I go now? Mr. Snow man there is very boring." Sesshoumaru growled low and Inuyasha chuckled, "Like father, like son, wouldn't you say Sesshoumaru?" he turned to Kiyoshi and smirked, "Are you satisfied now? You wanted some reaction out of him did you not little one?" Kiyoshi chuckled and nodded, "Dad if you get pregnant again, don't get me a brother like that."

Both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru froze at the comment. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes on Inuyasha and then turned to Kiyoshi. "How old are you?" Kiyoshi looked at both demons oddly and answered, "Eight." Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru with wide eyes when he saw realization dawn in the taiyoukai's features. "Eight..." his gaze caught Inuyasha's meaningfully and he murmured, "Eight years ago you defeated Naraku, you defeated Naraku carrying a child?" Inuyasha took Kiyoshi's hand and started to walk away, trying to escape, he did not want his brother to know, he never wanted his brother to know. "Well, it has been... fine meeting you after all these years, I personally do not wish to fight now. Bye." he left hastily.

Sesshoumaru frowned in thought. There was something out of place here. Kiyoshi was an exact replica of Inuyasha, except for the dog ears. The kid had elf like ears as his. His eyes were narrowed, not wide like Inuyasha's used to be. One could easily recognize them as father and son. Who was the other parent? He thought his brother had affections for the ningen miko, but now he had an eight ear old son that is more demon and Inuyasha. It meant Inuyasha mated a full demon, a strong one at that. He could see that child would grow up to be very strong, and as formidable as Inuyasha.

If Sesshoumaru did not know better, he would have said that Inuyasha mated an Inu-youkai. Which would be impossible because there were no other Inu-youkai left except for them. And Sesshoumaru did not recall ever touching him. The son and father were both intriguing, he just had to meet Inuyasha' s mate.