The Taisho Legacy

Inuyasha watched Kagome and Rin embrace awkwardly then comfortably chat with each other in hushed voices, the reality of the situation becoming clearer as he grew more coherent. He glanced around the small bedroom, at the small bookshelf loaded with books on the shelves, the low table by the window and his sword propped up against the corner with a couple of other katana. He noticed that everyone had been staring at him. Realization dawning on him he muttered, "So did I…in front of everyone."

"It's okay," Kagome softly replied.

"No it's not," Inuyasha huffed crossing his arms and looking down at his lap. Kagome silently gazed at him unable to respond. She knew his fragile pride had been hurt and no amount of words would make him feel better. Kagome slowly reached out for him but quickly pulled her hand back as she heard the Shoji screen door slide open.

"Can I talk to my brother alone," Sesshomaru said from the doorway of the small room, cradling something in his arms. Everyone nodded and slowly cleared out of the room and the door was slid shut behind him.

From the futon he had been resting on, Inuyasha frowned as his brother approached him then knelt beside him. The familiar feeling of anxiety stirred within him upon seeing his brother approach but that soon dissipated as he saw the bundle of blankets move ever so slightly.

"This is your goddaughter Yuri," Sesshomaru quietly said passing the bundle to his brother. Inuyasha tentatively took the child in his arms, never having held one before.

"Make sure you cradle her head," Sesshomaru explained to his nervous brother. Once in his arms Inuyasha got a good look at the infant, the first infant he ever held. She had tufts of dark hair and small dark dog-ears atop her head. As the infant opened her eyes to look at him, he could see familiar amber eyes gazing back at him.

"Goddaughter?" Inuyasha choked as the infant gripped one of Inuyasha's fingers with her hand, causing him to gasp in surprise.

"Yes, Rin and I have discussed this and we have decided that we want you do be the godfather of Yuri."

"I suppose," Inuyasha, said a hit of uncertainty in his voice. To be responsible for another being was a frightening concept to him, but it was also rather appealing. Sesshomaru sighed and spoke with frank honesty, "I suppose you are wondering why Rin and I don't have more children for being together for five centuries."

Inuyasha just gazed at his brother but said nothing as Sesshomaru continued. "It had been several years since the destruction of Naraku when Rin was carrying our first child. We had settled in the western lands and I was planning to rebuild our father's empire. But on the night before the birth, Rin had seen terrible visions. I told her not to worry and that everything would be fine."

"But little did we realize how true her visions were," Sesshomaru choked, emotion not hidden in his voice. "The empire as our father had fashioned would never rise again." He paused finding the words harder and harder to come to the surface.

"What happened to the child?" Inuyasha asked, holding Yuri closer as he dreaded his brother's answer. Sesshomaru bowed his head and closed his eyes, "The child, she never lived to see a year."

Inuyasha winced at both the tragedy and the pain it caused Sesshomaru. "I had procured a nice home for us and no youkai dared approach us. And any who did met with dire circumstances. The few humans we encountered were polite but I could see in their eyes their contempt for Rin and little Moriko."

"I had gone out to hunt that day. I remember it so well. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze. But as I soared above the treetops, I could feel my body grow cold. So I quickly returned to our home to find Rin tied up wailing. There were three men I recognized from the nearby village, one of them was a village elder with his son and the third a monk who had been staying in the village for a few weeks."

Sesshomaru paused to gaze at Inuyasha, tears brimming the edges of his eyes before one leaked out and ran down his cheek. His grief was so complete he did not brush the tears away, "Moriko, our daughter, lay slain before Rin," Sesshomaru paused before continuing with anger in his voice, "And the elder's son had his hands all over Rin, violently pulling her kimono off calling her a fucking whore!"

"I was angry. They had taken my daughter's life so I took theirs. The stench of their blood on my claws was sickening. I have never been so ashamed of myself. I should not have allowed myself to fall to their level, but…"

"I would have done the same," Inuyasha whispered looking down at his niece, his goddaughter. The infant was so small, so helpless, yet the hanyou found that he wanted to defend her with all his might. All anxiety had drained from Inuyasha, as he now understood his brother's pain.

"And as I kneeled on the grass my claws covered in blood I thought of you," Sesshomaru hissed. "I had failed my wife, my daughter, and I had failed you."

Inuyasha glared at his brother, not sure what to say and uncertain of the meaning behind Sesshomaru's words. Sesshomaru's gaze caught his brothers, the tears now gone from his eyes, "When your mother died I should have been the one to look after you but instead I turned my back on you."

"I vowed from that day on if I ever met you again that I would start things over between us once again. Then a year ago, Sensei Ishii had told me about a time traveling miko and hanyou. I accompanied her to watch over the Higurashi shrine when I spotted you."

"I wanted to go to you, I was so eager to set things right," Sesshomaru continued. "But Sensei Ishii forbade me. So I waited until you stumbled on this world. And I vowed to help you succeed in it."

Sesshomaru, having finished his story, watched Inuyasha who looked back at him thoughtfully wondering what his brother was thinking. Looking down at his garments for a moment, Sesshomaru asked, "Do you have the key that came with the letter?"

"I do," Inuyasha replied adjusting Izayoi in his arms.

"That key opens a vault at Chuuou Bank in the Hoshi District in Tokyo. Inside that vault is some money set-aside for you for your school supplies and such. And this bedroom is yours for when you come to stay."

Inuyasha nodded unsure of what to say and gazed at his brother, recognizing that he was staring at a completely different person than the one he knew to exist 500 years in the past. Sesshomaru smiled as Inuyasha diverted his gaze to look at Yuri, who had fallen asleep and had let go of his finger.

"She's so small," Inuyasha whispered. Sesshomaru laughed softly, "She is only three months old."

"So how is it," Inuyasha slowly asked in a hushed voice as he watched over the infant, "that Rin has lived for 500 years."

Sesshomaru swallowed and carefully explained, "I have extended a part of my soul so that her life span could be extended to that of mine. But, it is an ancient and almost forbidden ritual, yet it is still practiced by many youkai today. You won't find it in any book. But when the time comes for you to present a comb to Kagome I will share these secrets with you."

"Who said I was gonna give Kagome a bridal comb?" Inuyasha protested. Sesshomaru smiled slyly, something Inuyasha was not used to seeing, and stood up and walked to the door. As he left the room he smirked, "I'll hold you to those words, little brother."

Alone with his niece, Inuyasha softly gazed down at the sleeping infant in his arms. He wondered how he could feel such strong emotions for the child having barely known her. Kagome quietly slipped into the room and gracefully sat down next to Inuyasha careful of her flowing garments. She leaned over the infant and smiled.

"This is my goddaughter, Yuri," Inuyasha whispered. "Do you want to hold her?"

"That's okay," Kagome whispered. "She's asleep." Also, the sight of Inuyasha holding an infant, his goddaughter, made Kagome feel warm on the inside. There was no scowl or anger on his face, just calmness and wonder.

"She smells really nice," Inuyasha whispered with wonder and awe in his voice, "and when she's awake she likes to grab my finger. Her hands are so small; they can barely curl around my finger. And she has the cutest little claws." Yuri stretched in her sleep and the blanked shifted exposing one dark dog-ear. Kagome gasped having never seen a hanyou infant before, "She really is beautiful."

"She is," Inuyasha agreed smiling. Inuyasha and Kagome heard soft giggling and looked towards the doorway where Aki and Masako had filed into the room and stood, smiling.

"Shh, we have to be quiet when we are around Yuri," Aki whispered to Masako who nodded. They slowly walked to where Inuyasha and Kagome were seated and sat down next to them. A third girl Inuyasha had not met yet carefully stepped into the room clad in a long trailing black kimono with pink rabbits and had her dark hair delicately arranged atop her head and adorned with large red floral kanzashi hairpins. She appeared human in appearance; the only indication of her youkai heritage was her amber eyes. Gracefully she sat down next to Kagome tucking her legs beneath her keeping her eyes fixed on Inuyasha.

Rin walked in and kneeled next to the elegant girl and introduced her, "This is Suzuha, our oldest child." Suzuha placed her hands on the tatami mat and bowed so that her head almost touched the floor.

"Hi Suzuha," Inuyasha said. The child sat up and smiled, "Hi." Aki and Masako giggled quiety, catching Inuyasha's attention. "What is so funny?"

"Suzuha thinks she is a geisha," Aki explained.

"Well, its true," Suzuha stated. "When I turn fifteen I am going to join an okiya. Poppa has already spoken to an okiya."

"Really?" Kagome asked looking at Rin quizzically, amazed at Suzuha's ambitions to join a geisha house, or okiya and wondering which of the five districts, or hanamachi, in Kyoto had shown an interest in her. Rin smiled, "Yes, it's true. If that is what she wants to do when she comes of age, then she can join an okiya."

"In one of the Kyoto hanamachi," Kagome inquired, impressed with the girl's ambitions. Suzuha laughed, to which Rin stated, "You can tell them."

"I've got offers from one okiya in Miyagawa-Cho, one in Gion, and one in Harashi."

"Harashi," Kagome and Inuyasha replied, never having heard that name before. "That is one of the geisha districts in the village of that borders your school. It isn't far from here, but it is much bigger than our village and has three hanamachi," Rin explained.

"I would have never thought that there would be Onmyogi geisha," Kagome mused smiling at Suzuha who in turned grinned widely and added, "All geisha are beautiful but the geisha of Harashi are most beautiful. They put on several public dances a year"

"Uh," Inuyasha whispered trying to be quiet but attracting the attention of Rin at the same time. With panic in his eyes, he quietly spoke, "I think she's waking up."

"Oh," Rin smiled kneeling next to Inuyasha as the infant opened her eyes. "I'll take her."

"Did I do something wrong?" Inuyasha whispered as Rin took Yuri into her arms. Rin laughed as she cradled her daughter, "You did fine. She's probably just hungry."

Inuyasha watched as Rin adjusted the blankets around Yuri, Kagome leaning over to get a better look at her. Aki was tugging at Masako's ear and she in return swatted at her brother. He smiled at the scene before him, still stunned at the events that occurred.

Slowly, Inuyasha stood up and quietly walked out of the bedroom. He needed a few moments in solitude to sort out his thoughts. As he was about to slip out of the room, Kagome called out to him, "Hey, where are you going?"

"Just outside," Inuyasha muttered before he slipped out of the room. Kagome frowned and quickly apologized to Rin, "I'm sorry. That was very rude."

"It's okay Kagome," Rin explained. "This is all so sudden for him. Just be patient and give him time."

Kagome nodded and gazed at the direction of the doorway, happy that Inuyasha's family had found him but feeling very unsure about how to help him. She had never encountered emotions like this. And compared to him, her life had been perfect. She felt a soft hand on hers and looked at Rin who smiled, "don't worry, Inuyasha will be fine."

Outside, after speaking a few words with his brother, Inuyasha passed through the bamboo gate and wandered to the boardwalk and lake that bordered Sesshomaru's large house. A small dock projected from the boardwalk where a large and a small boat had been tethered.

He leaned against a post and looked out at the water and the lush landscape that lay beyond it. A flurry of emotions was simmering within him. He could still feel anger for all that his brother had done in the past, but he also felt compassion for all that his brother had to endure. And another part of him could feel elation at the thought of finally having a brother and a family once again. It felt a little strange to have a family, but he knew he could get used to.

Inuyasha sniffed and sneezed then frowned, curious as to what was being said about him. He smiled to himself imagining what Kagome would be telling the others about him. And uncharacteristically, Inuyasha shrugged it off. It was just his family after all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I was worried no one would like this story because it is a bit different than all the other HpxIY crossovers, but I'm really really grateful for everyone that has reviewed. Hoped you liked this chapter.