Chapter Twenty-Nine
To This Burning

Sunlight filtered in through the slots in the shutters, the rays slithering through them like graceful serpents to rest upon the softly breathing forms on the grand bed. The bed's hangings were drawn a little to prevent the light from reaching the newborn infant or her exhausted 'mother'. Inuyasha emitted a low, rumbling groan as his lashes fluttered, eyes opening and his sleepy gaze struggling to focus on the room. The arm that had been encircling his still slumbering daughter stretched forward, finding the comfort of his brother's body no longer in the bed, even his warmth had long left it.

Inuyasha sat up a little too quick, his arm propping him up on the bed. Tsukihime stirred a little, whimpering lightly, and he gnawed his lip, unsure of how to calm her before she woke up completely. Slowly, apprehensively, he rolled her onto her side, his comparatively large palm stroking from her velvet ears and down her back in careful strokes, as if scared of breaking her fragile little body with such a manoeuvre. The whimpering died and the child's breathing eased back into its sleeping state. Inuyasha himself sighed in relief and no little amount of shock that he'd actually managed to send his daughter back to sleep without any aid from Nannami, Takara or that wench Kokoro.

Something inside him burned at the recollection of the last few nights (barring last night). His daughter had been in the world for 3 nights and he had not even known how to make her go to sleep on his own, she would cry to be with him but once he had her she would whine and fuss in his clueless embrace. He was sure he felt bile creep up his throat when he had been forced to let Kokoro send her to sleep. Jealousy was his worst trait, yet it ruled him so easily, with Kagome, Tsukihime and yes even Sesshomaru.

No more, he thought resolutely, quite proud of his achievement, and for the first time began to believe what Sesshomaru and Hikireimaru and all the others had been saying from the start, that his body was an ingenious and perfect creation that stole abilities from both his human and demon heritage to fix any problem it came across. Looking back on himself in the last few months before Tsukihime, he thought of how young he had been, even for his age. Young, as in not understanding so many things that he could see all-too clearly now, as if the fog of his naivety had been lifted.

Still staring down at the infant, his clawed hands reached for his neck, and his fingers traced his mark absently. Sesshomaru, he thought. The mist over so many previously bewildering things had cleared his path to see now, a great deal about his brother than he'd never dared to assume before...

"I do not think I will ever be able to say those words - to anyone, however I...I wish for you to know, that I feel it all the same... I adore you, I indulge you, I desire and worship you, I can say any of those things, because they are the truth. But the one truth I wish to divulge to you...I cannot force out of my mouth... But you understand?"
"You...love me?"

Sesshomaru had not answered him, and Inuyasha was partially glad of that. His cheeks grew hot with embarrassment even now, upon recollecting it, and upon realising that all those glances previously, when he'd sworn he'd seen such an emotion flicker in his brother's gaze when it lingered over him, that it had been real. Sesshomaru loved him? It was such a strange concept, but then, to him it was strange that anyone loved him, least of all Sesshomaru. He'd done nothing but make things difficult for his brother, insult and upset him, inconvenienced him since the moment he had stepped foot in the castle. So what had he done to earn such affections? How had Sesshomaru fallen for him at all?

Suddenly a startling twinge tickled his mark, and his back arched forwards a little. He tore his hand away from his neck, realising that he had been giving such reactions to Sesshomaru (wherever he was) by accidently by stroking his mark. He really had to remember to stop touching his neck so carelessly.

The door to his chambers opened, and Sesshomaru appeared, closing the door awkwardly behind him, but it was what he was holding that made Inuyasha frown. "Why are you bringing that up?" he asked, watching his brother set the tray of food down on the side of the bed. Sesshomaru raised a brow, sitting in the chair at the bedside and gazed at his brother impassively.
"I believed you may be hungry, you have hardly eaten the last few days," He answered simply.
"Yeah," murmured Inuyasha, turning his body to face his brother more comfortably - he still found a lot of positions a great deal too painful for his body to manage (considering which orifice it had been that he'd pushed his new child from). "But why did you bring it up?"
"You are still unclothed," Sesshomaru said matter-of-factly, not looking at him, but instead pressing the tray of food towards him. "I took the liberty of ordering your favourites," he murmured, then getting to his feet slowly.

Inuyasha stared at the tray, carefully choosing his words before daring to speak. "Sesshomaru...listen I really..." His words were stopped as a clawed finger traced his lips, turning his face so that their mouths locked together. He felt Sesshomaru's hand come to the unmarked side of his neck, stroking his throat gently as that tongue skittered over his own. Inuyasha moaned softly, there was no arousal in his brother's scent at all, not really, so why was he doing this if he didn't want to relieve the stress of his heat on him? For Inuyasha could sense that his brother's heat was still causing him trouble...

Suddenly Sesshomaru's hand slid down from his neck too quickly, brushing over Inuyasha's chest, making the Half-demon flinch. Sesshomaru pulled back, staring down at him with oddly apologetic eyes. "I am sorry, Inuyasha, did I-"
"-It's nothing, don't worry," Inuyasha murmured, rubbing his tender nipple carefully. "It just really hurts..."

Sesshomaru, who was obviously none-the-wiser when it came to breast-feeding or childbirth, merely raised a brow at him.
"Why?"
"Well how the hell should I know?" Inuyasha snapped, not for the first nor last time pitying their female child for being 'blessed' with two (clueless) male parents. "It's full of milk ya stupid dummy!" he hissed, flushing a little. Sesshomaru straightened up as the child on the bed began to stir once more.
"It is odd, your chest does not look any different, yet it's producing milk...it is...strange to me is all," Sesshomaru murmured in his usual monotone. Inuyasha snorted at that as his brother encircled the bed, coming to sit on his other side.
"Keh, try being the one who breast feeds..."
"You are the one that wanted to, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru retorted calmly, scooping the fussing child into his chest, though she did not calm. Inuyasha watched him, frowning a little at the way his brother held her.
"Sesshomaru-"
"-At least be grateful you can see past your stomach now. It seems to have gone straight back down to its usual state. I wondered if you could even see your penis during your pregnancy."

Inuyasha scowled at his brother's bad sense of humour. "You're the one that fucked a half-demon the size of a baby whale so shut it," he growled, reaching for his pup when she started to cry with her tiny hands clenching into fists against Sesshomaru's chest, but Sesshomaru pulled back a little, frowning.
"Am I forbidden from even embracing my daughter?" he asked. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"No, but she don't like you," the Half-demon replied with a devious smirk. An uncharacteristically stunned expression crossed the Demon Lord's face.
"I am her-"
"-It don't matter what you are," Inuyasha grinned, still reaching for the girl, "we may be family, and we have to love each other, but no one said we have to like each other," he said, trying very hard not to laugh at Sesshomaru's bewildered expression when the child started to cry even harder when he refused to relinquish his hold on her.

"You ain't even holding her right!" Inuyasha growled playfully, "Give her here ya moron - SHIT!" He screamed his last words as he reached forward a little his body tensing in the most gut-wrenching agony. He fell against the mattress and screamed. Sesshomaru shuddered as his mate's pain burned in the mark on his hip, coursing through his blood, and hastily tilted his suddenly silent pup into one arm, while the other steadied Inuyasha up against the pillows.

"What is the matter, I thought you were recovering well considering-?"
"There's something wrong..." Inuyasha whispered, his voice uncharacteristically pained, it sent chills down the Demon Lord's spine. He didn't want Inuyasha to be in pain. A tiny movement caught his eye, and Sesshomaru looked down as a silent, though tear-stained Tsukihime reached out to an obviously distressed Inuyasha. This was serious now, and as the Half-demon reached out for the infant again, Sesshomaru saw any hint of teasing gone from those golden eyes. Leaning forward he laid the silently fretting pup on Inuyasha's chest, pulling the blankets up around them both carefully.

"Do not dwell over the pain too long, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru all-but purred, never tearing his eyes from Inuyasha's face, even as the Half-demon's eyes fixed on their pup while he stroked her ears thoughtfully. The Demon Lord felt a twinge of jealousy at having his mate's eyes so entranced by the pup when not a single glance was spared for him. So much love and devotion, but never to him, and he grinded his teeth a little at the hopelessness that possessed him then. But he didn't resent Tsukihime for it, far from it, it inspired some form of bliss inside him to see his pup and his mate together, but still...he couldn't help but desire some of that attention and sweetness too...

"You have only just begun lactating for our greedy pup," Sesshomaru continued, trying to make the situation lighter to bear for his brother, "Demon children take more from the mother than mortal children, since it is the nutrients from you that allow not only her body but her powers to grow also. That paired with the fact that her senses and abilities accelerate quicker whilst she is so young, although she herself remains young." When he saw Inuyasha's confusion, he elaborated with a soft smile.

"It is how demons survive - when they are infants, they develop certain skills a little quicker. This will only last for the equivalent of a human ya few years however, it is only to make her body a little stronger more quickly to enhance her chances of survival." To this, Inuyasha smirked weakly, a little of his old self seeping into the expression.
"We're her parents, she don't need much more enhancement on her chances of survival," he murmured. Sesshomaru smirked.
"I brought your favourites up," he reminded the Half-demon after he sensed an awkward silence brewing, "you should eat-"
"-I'm sorry, but...really my stomach can't handle heavy foods like that right now." He turned his head to meet Sesshomaru's eyes for the first time. "Thanks though...I err...It was..." he paused, considering the words Kagome had said on the rare occasion he had done something for her...

"It was sweet of you anyway." His eyes widened, cheeks flushed as the words left his lips, and he realised he'd said them aloud upon recalling them, without even considering what he was saying or who he was saying them to! He wanted to smash his head against the wall in embarrassment! He'd just called Sesshomaru sweet! HE - Inuyasha, had said the word 'sweet', and when he caught sight of Sesshomaru smiling teasingly at him, he felt an uneasy feeling swell within him. Sesshomaru smiling was never a good thing...

"Inuyasha-"
"-Don't even say it!" Inuyasha cut him off, not meeting his eyes, instead busying himself by rocking his pup absently. Just then, Sesshomaru smiled once more, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his Half-demon's head, before drawing back to consider the boy's shocked expression.
"Do not concern yourself over my efforts - Be well again before you bother yourself with such trifling matters." He stood, regaining his stoic composure as he did so. "Would you not eat if I should find some of your 'soggy string'?"

Inuyasha nearly laughed, but shook his head. Sesshomaru was determined to keep his Half-demon smiling now that he had a good feeling between them once again. He was so anxious that something he might say would shatter that goodness, and he, Lord Sesshomaru had never been anxious about anything in his life. Yet, that was merely proof that, somehow, along the line, he had fallen for him. And this, he had recently decided, did not bother him as much as it should have.

How far we have both come since the day we both came to this castle together, Sesshomaru thought, watching Inuyasha bounce their very wide-awake daughter absently.

"I will take you outside if you wish?" Sesshomaru suggested, "Perhaps some fresh air would-"
"-No, I...I just feel a bit better today so... Tomorrow, maybe. I just-"
"-Are you alright, Inuyasha?" the Demon interrupted, frowning. "You seem unlike yourself today. The Inuyasha I thought I had known would have already attempted to crawl out the window by now." His frown deepened as fear throbbed heavily in the mark on his hip. "You are afraid," he acknowledged. At this, a fire flickered to life in his mate's eyes.

"I'm not afraid of anything," the Half-demon hissed, a telltale loathing for such weakness sounding in that whispering growl, the kind the stubborn old Inuyasha had be known for.
"You forget, Little Brother," Sesshomaru responded, tapping his hip carefully through his hakama. "I am connected to you."
"Well how's about I connect with your face?" Inuyasha growled, "Why's there always gotta be something wrong with me, according to you? Huh?"
"Inuyasha, I-"
"-Because as far as I can see, I may be a screw-up but you're the one who must be wrong in the head for falling for a pathetic half-demon who couldn't even stop himself from being captured by a freak like Hikireimaru!"

A long silence polluted the air, and Sesshomaru watched as Inuyasha's eyes widened. The Half-demon averted his gaze and struggled to his feet in order to slide Tsukihime into the bassinet by the window. Completely disregarding his nakedness, Inuyasha threw the shutters open and rested his crossed arms on the sill as he stared out across the summer's day, looking at anything that would prevent him from locking eyes with his brother once more. Because he'd realised what he had betrayed in his words just then, and he loathed himself for it. For some reason, having Sesshomaru know he was afraid caused bile to rise in his throat with the sickened feeling that suddenly seized him.

Slowly, warmth pressed against his naked back and two arms enfolded him after sweeping the hair off his neck and over his shoulder. Soft lips skimmed over the nape of his neck, and he grit his teeth, withholding an instinctive shudder.
"Is that what this is about, Little Brother?"
"Don't call me that," Inuyasha snapped, his voice still a whisper, "You used to call me that when you hated me-"
"-Now I call you it because I love-"
"-Shut up!" Inuyasha cut across him, spinning in his embrace to face him with enraged eyes. "Don't preach love and pretend to understand me - you understand nothing! You know nothing! You've never had to fight for anything in your entire life!"
"On the contrary, I fought for you." To this, Inuyasha fell silent, insantly regretting his words as the anger died, and he recalled the few secret reasons as to why his brother was who he was.

"But if this fear stems from Hikireimaru, Inuyasha, I thought you were over his capture of you?" Sesshomaru suggested, Inuyasha snorted, averting his gaze once more.
"You don't just get over some sick bastard tying you up, molesting you and cutting your hair off before making you piss on yourself," he growled brokenly, anger boiling in his chest in recalling what he had been reduced to that day. "I want to kill him..."
The Demon Lord stared at him incredulously at the sheer malice in that voice. A little of the subdued demon flickered in that husky tone, and Sesshomaru was slightly unnerved to hear it in his suddenly precious little brother's voice. "I'm going to kill him for what he did to me, but I..." he trailed off, and his mate knew exactly why. Slender. clawed fingers slid into Inuyasha's hair, drawing his head to the Demon Lord's chest so that the fear within them need not be betrayed.

"Do not attempt to hide your emotions from me, Inuyasha, as I made the mistake of doing when we were first joined. I did not permit you to feel the full brunt of my innermost secrets, but I shattered the walls around me for a reason - to let you in, do not repay the favour by shutting me out."

Inuyasha stood there motionlessly for a while, just relishing the warmth surrounding him, and falling into that evanescent bliss that came with it, believing this warmth and these arms were all that mattered in the world. But then his brother spoke again, his words shattering that perfect illusion.
"It is normal to be afraid, and merely sensible to fear someone with powers as great as Hikireimaru's," The Demon assured him, stroking downy ears absently.
"Keh, yeah right, you telling me you are scared of that asshole?"
"Naturally..." Sesshomaru murmured, surprising his brother enough that the Half-demon drew back, meeting his eyes, his confusion heightening at the unreadable expression dancing there. "He has been lurking within the folds of time, and never once has he failed to get what he wants... He is powerful - yes, more than I, and now he has set his sights on something I have come to treasure, I am terrified of him."

His words remained as stoic and unemotional as ever, but their meaning betrayed something that made Inuyasha's insides freeze. He had never even stopped to think that Hikireimaru was more powerful than Sesshomaru. He knew Hikireimaru was strong but, somewhere inside him, there was a part of him that had only ever seen his brother win. Even when Sesshomaru was his enemy, he was the most powerful creature he had known; even Naraku did not succeed in killing him. Now the one he'd unwittingly counted on to always be better, he was saying that, Hikireimaru was stronger?

A kiss to his forehead drew him from his thoughts, and he watched as Sesshomaru drew away. "Do not fear for your life, Inuyasha, despite the difference in our strength, I am still powerful, and have no intention of permitting you to fall into his hands." To this, Inuyasha flushed darkly with embarrassed indignation. "I merely..." Sesshomaru could not say it aloud...

He knew that Inuyasha nor Tsukihime would fall, and nor would the West as long as he had a breath in him. What he feared was something much more ancient and sinister... the slow and inglorious death that love seemed to bring to the males of his family. He feared it because he had seen it for a long time coming, hence why he had tried to avoid such emotions beforehand. But here he was, and he had dragged his doom in through the front door, he had coddled it and made love to it. Ensured it would stay. He had forged an unbreakable bond with his brother, and in doing so had sealed his fate.

"One day," Sesshomaru said at last, surprised that his voice remained distinctly even, "Hikireimaru will come for you, and I will stop him, I will save you and I will die."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, and he stepped forward to Sesshomaru but the Demon shrugged him off. "I carry many regrets, Inuyasha, but bringing you here and becoming what I am to you, is not one of them. If holding you close kills me, this will not change." With that he turned for the door, until a small whimpering cry came from the bassinet, and the Demon turned to watch as Inuyasha leaned down to pull the infant into his arms.

"Now you've made her cry with all this cryptic rubbish," Inuyasha said with a smirk, and Sesshomaru reciprocated the expression barely, noting how Tsukihime watched him with glassy eyes, her little fist firmly in her mouth as she chewed on it. Without really thinking what he was doing, he approached, and Inuyasha did not resist as the Demon drew her into his arms. The whimpering became more pronounced, and Inuyasha could not help but laugh a little. "She really doesn't like you too much, does she?"

Takara sighed as he pushed the last-but-one of the papers to the side of the desk. He had been working endlessly to get rid of some of the work that had built up over the last few days, where his Lord's attention had been (rightly) focused on Inuyasha and the new addition. He smiled absently. The demon he had all-but raised had found something he deemed so important, that was nothing to do with the Western Lands.

That he has set Inuyasha as priority is a feat indeed, Takara thought.

Suddenly the door opened, and Takara rose to his feet at the sight of Sesshomaru entering the room with a whimpering Tsukihime in his arms, the infant's teary eyes fixed on him sulkily. "Lord Sesshomaru," Takara said airily, offering his usual heartfelt smile. "And with Lady Tsukihime? I thought Inuyasha had forbidden her from leaving the room?"

Sesshomaru looked severely irritated, though he answered anyway. "He permitted me to bring her to here under the 'strict condition' that no one else is to touch or breathe near her - that Half-demon is getting quite brash, presuming to order me about in concerns of my own daughter, as if I am incapable of looking after my own pup..." But with his words Tsukihime cried out again, and he winced at the noise. "Takara," the Demon Lord said stiffly, "you have been my advisor since before I ascended as Lord of the West."
The elemental raised a curious brow at this suspicious behaviour.
"Yes Sire."
"You have never been dishonest with me, or failed me in any way," the Demon Lord continued.
Takara set aside the last of the papers and considered his Lord's expression.
"Does this flattering realisation have a purpose, My Lord?" he asked quizzically.
"Tell me, am I holding her wrong?" Sesshomaru asked tersely. Takara bit his lower lip, struggling to withhold a grin.
"Your holding skills seem more than adequate, Sire." At his words, Sesshomaru seemed to regain some semblance of (unintentionally amusing) arrogance.
"Yes, I thought so," he murmured, but then Tsukihime cried even louder. "So why must she continue to make such irritating sounds?"
"Well, perhaps she just doesn't..." But Takara trailed off. Sesshomaru's gaze narrowed suspiciously.
"Go ahead, complete your sentence, Takara..." he growled dangerously.
Takara blinked a few times, torn between being amused and afraid of his Lord's temper.
"Perhaps, Sire," he began after a silent moment of gathering some courage, "Perhaps due to the intense bond shared with Inuyasha, and the stress and animosity you feel towards others because of your protectiveness of him...she is sensing such a build-up of negative energy from you and she...she does not...like you very much at this present moment."

Sesshomaru seemed angrier more than anything else. "But I am the one that wanted her in the first place," he argued bitterly, "Inuyasha spoke of ripping the unborn whelp from his belly and yet she adores him more than anyone." As those words ushered past his lips, Takara smiled kindly, manoeuvring round the table to stand supportively beside his lord.
"What does the Young Sire do that you do not, Lord Sesshomaru?" Takara asked patiently, as if he were talking to the irrational young lord that Sesshomaru had once been. At first it did not look as if the Demon Lord were going to respond, but then...

"He feeds her, he coddles her constantly, he talks to her - he...well, he does everything."
At this Takara smiled.
"Indeed, My Lord. He wants to do everything for her, because he is so desperate for her love and approval. Lord Inuyasha, Sire, is very dependant on that. After everything he has experienced, he wants her love just a little bit more than you do." A slight blush tinged the Demon's cheeks, though it was barely noticeable, and he stared down at the suddenly silent baby, meeting her wide golden orbs thoughtfully. "If I may be so bold, Sire, from what I have seen... You crave for Lord Inuyasha's love more than Lady Tsukihime's..."

A sad silence fell over those in the room, and Sesshomaru passed Tsukihime into Takara's arms. "Well it matters little, as it seems I cannot have the adoration of either," he murmured, before exiting from the room, leaving Takara holding his deathly silent pup.

Inuyasha hoped that by allowing Sesshomaru to take Tsukihime the infant would warm up to her 'father' a bit more. Despite his teasing, he didn't really want the girl to keep crying whenever the Demon held her, perhaps it was the recent events that had connected him to his feminine side but, something in him didn't want to feel Sesshomaru's hurt when it occurred.

Slumber had caught him as he waited in the room alone, and he shifted restlessly from troubled dreams. The shadow of someone he was sure he knew was standing over him, and yet he could not shake himself awake. Even unconscious he could feel sweat beading down his forehead as heated breath (that was not his own) steamed over him, and those eyes watched him sleep . And Inuyasha choked on his voice as he tried to cry out, but no sound came, as if something was smothering him.

A voice, dark, coarse and grating whispered in his ears, filling his head. "Inuyasha..." His name caressed his senses with a snake-like hiss, over and over. Louder and louder, though the repetition was still whispered it was booming, overwhelming him until he did cry out, opening his eyes, he found he had screamed to his empty room - he was awake, drenched with sweat.

Staring panicked about him, he felt his insides clench. Tsukihime and Sesshomaru were nowhere to be seen. He didn't know why but, he felt a horrible feeling rise like bile in his throat at Sesshomaru's absence. Like something was wrong, and he could feel it. Suddenly his hand clapped to his throat, to his mark and he winced at the stinging pain that invaded it.

Struggling to his feet, Inuyasha felt a little of his old strength return to him, and though his balance wavered a little (not yet used to the regained lightness to his body) he seized his fire-rat garb from the side where it always remained, neatly folded, and pulled it on before charging through the open door. Something was wrong with Sesshomaru.

The upper halls of the family or those close to them were deserted as usual, as he sped down them, surprised to feel his old agility back at least a little. He was unsteady and a little pained by heavy steps, but he had no time to spare for such things right now, and he took the stairs two at a time. Sounds echoed from the bustling hall, even as far as the grand foyer, but his nose and other senses told him Sesshomaru was not there so he bypassed. Instead, he headed across the foyer thoughtfully, trying to find a scent trail.

With no luck in finding a recent smell, he scratched his mark gently, hoping for a response, but none came, and after a few tries Inuyasha had to assume that his brother was ignoring the irritating itch that was his concern. "Come on Sesshomaru..." Inuyasha murmured, standing there senselessly. Panic raged in his veins, and he made sure to permit every shred of it to his brother. If Sesshomaru sensed it, surely he would come running? Surely...

But moments passed by, the inanely loud chatter from the hall his only comfort as he began to fall back upon terrifying assumptions. Assumptions that, if Sesshomaru did not come to him when he was sending such clear waves of panic, then it could only mean that he could not...

"It is a pity to see one as vulnerable as you around, Lord Inuyasha."
To that grating, irritating voice, Inuyasha turned, grating his teeth upon locking eyes with a particularly malicious looking Ran, who sporting a dark purplish bruise on her cheek, most likely where he had struck her a few days ago at the Midsummer's eve gathering.
"And without your bodyguards? No Takara, Nannami or little shrimps to baby-sit you?" When he did not give her the dignity of a response she stepped closer to him, her gaze hardening, "such a pity..."
"Piss off," he sneered, pushing past her, "I don't have time to deal with jealous wenches like you-"
"-It was meant to be mine," she cut him off, seizing his arm in her razor talons as he passed. The claws caught his fire-rat kimono, which (unknown to her) protected his flesh from their wrath. "This castle, the lands, the title, the pup - Lord Sesshomaru - they were meant to be mine..."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, shrugging the woman's cringe-worthy touch off of him. "Everything is half mine through birth, and if anything happens to Sesshomaru I am the heir to everything whether or not Sesshomaru chose me - and yes, chose me is exactly what he did." Those were the words he could tell had struck her deepest. She emitted a low, dangerous snarl, which merely brought a smirk to the Half-demon's lips. "And as for my pup belonging to you, well, if she had been unfortunate to have you as a mother she'd probably have been born as ugly as a diseased rabbit that had been dragged through a hedge backwards!"

That was it. She snapped. She lunged. Inuyasha dodged her easily, even without his full agility. He dropped to a crouch and his leg swiped round to knock her legs out from under her. She gasped, evidently expecting him to be no more skilled than some common concubine, particularly not a warrior.
"The blood of one as perfect as Lord Sesshomaru should not grace the likes of you!" She snarled, lunging, her talons slicing across his cheek. He cried out as blood cried free from the wound, but leapt towards her, knocking her into the pillar which winded her, before sending her hurtling across the room.
"In case you forgot idiot," he responded, chasing after her as she skidded across the pristine floors, "I am already 'graced with his blood' - my father was his father."
She sneered as she spat blood on the floor.
"A temperamental old fool who fell for a mortal. Pitiful. The greatness Lord Sesshomaru possesses is not from a broken old man..."

Inuyasha smirked, bounding over and standing with one foot against her cheeks, crushing her face to the floor. "You think my brother's greatness comes from a selfish whore who abandoned him before he was old enough to open his eyes?" he asked incredulously. She winced as he applied more pressure to his foot. "He is who he is because of our father, because of Nannami and Takara - because he doesn't sully himself with things like you." At his words, a sickening smile twisted her normally stunning face into something ugly and self-righteous.
"You truly believe that you are worthy of him? That you, a half-breed are above me?" she hissed. Inuyasha sneered, leaning closer.
"The lowest of scum is above you, I'm no better or worse than any demon, human, or half-demon. We're all made of blood and bones - we all breathe the same stinkin' air. All except you, and those like you. You're made of the most unspeakable dirt, and your noses are so far up your own backsides all you can breathe is your own crap." A flittering movement caught his eye, and as Inuyasha looked up, he saw everyone standing in the doorway of the hall, listening to every word he said. He flushed, stepping back from Ran and swallowing nervously.

"You have such an impeccable way with words, as ever, Inuyasha..."

Relief all-but drowned him as he turned to that voice and saw his brother standing there, watching him impassively. He as alright. He felt as if breath had finally swum back into his lungs once again after holding it for eternity. But then why...why hadn't his brother answered his mark's call, and why was he now staring at him with that old expression he had thought was long gone?
"Sesshomaru?" he breathed, "I just...Sesshomaru?"
The Demon had turned away, heading out through the archway and into the gardens. With one final look back at those gathered nearby, he took off after his brother, bare feet barely touching the floor. The summer sun stung his eyes as he pursued his brother into the courtyard. "Sesshomaru?"
The Demon's steps quickened and Inuyasha struggled to keep up.
"Sesshomaru? Hey, Sesshomaru!"
Those footsteps halted by the dancing fountain, where the sun flickered in each arc of the water before it fell to meet the glistening pool once more, the pool that betrayed his brother's reflection, even as the Demon stood with his back to him.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha snapped, a little of his old, terse self creeping back into his voice as he grew impatient with this sudden and unnecessary silent treatment he was receiving. "Sesshomaru, cut the crap and say something! Anything! Call me a stupid half-demon if you want just say something!" he demanded. For a moment he thought the demon would continue to just ignore him, but then, the pensive pause was brought to an end...
"You sensed me..." the Demon said blankly, without so much as turning to face his sibling, and Inuyasha frowned.
"Well yeah," he murmured, voice oddly compassionate, "That's why I came looking for you - I was-"
"You did not come in search of me," the Demon cut across him. "The panic and concern was for Tsukihime, not for me."
Inuyasha blinked. In truthfulness (though he loathed himself to admit it) he had forgotten Tsukihime in the sudden concern for his brother. God I am such a crappy parent, he thought, a sadness shadowing his eyes. Sesshomaru sneered upon turning and mistaking the sadness for something else...guilt.

"I may as well not even exist anymore," Sesshomaru murmured. SMACK! Sesshomaru stumbled back a little, not expecting the blow dealt as his brother's fist crashed into his cheek. He regained his posture, staring dumbly at his sibling. Panting for breath, Inuyasha stared back, though his gaze softened abruptly in realisation. They had both been so anxious, so worried over the same groundless fear, that Tsukihime would 'steal' all of the other's attention away from them.

Despite this, Inuyasha shifted into a fighting stance, quite prepared for his brother to strike back, only to watch him lower himself to the fountain's edge, where his fingertips toyed with the water's surface. The Demon's golden gaze turned to his reflection, but not before the Half-demon captured a glimpse of the fight dying down in his eyes. Sighing guiltily, Inuyasha berated himself for being too busy (and pregnant) to not realise to what extent the combination of stress and the heat had affected his brother. Slowly (and gingerly lest he further aggravate his wounds) the Inuyasha sank to the ground before Sesshomaru, a flush gracing his cheeks as he interlaced his hands with the Demon Lord's. "Come with me," he whispered awkwardly, but when Sesshomaru did not comply his blush dissipated, falling away to a stern, more determined look. "Sesshomaru," he insisted huskily, "Come back upstairs with me."

He did not know what it was that made him follow his younger sibling's lead up the stairs and into their chambers, perhaps it was this uncharacteristically calm insistence, or perhaps the devilishly determined look that flickered in the Half-demon's eyes. Whatever it was, he found the door closing behind him, found Inuyasha's clawed fingers sifting carefully through his silver tresses and brushing back imaginary rogue locks. There was no hair out of place and Inuyasha knew this, though still seemed content to use imaginary strands as an excuse to study his suspecting older brother (who even when they were enemies, he had to admit was...perfection.)

"I know what you're thinking," Sesshomaru murmured monotonously, never breaking eye-contact with Inuyasha. "And if I were as perfect as you deem me to be, then I would not have to struggle for any scrap of your affection like some attention-starved mongrel in the dirt."
Surprisingly, Inuyasha smirked at his words, his impenetrable gruffness returning.
"You don't mix your words do you?" He retorted sharply, shoving his brother roughly back onto the bed. Glancing down triumphantly at his dishevelled sibling, Inuyasha lowered himself to kneel over him, careful of his still not fully recovered body.
"What do you think you are doing?" Sesshomaru demanded tersely, but his brother reached up, tracing the marks on his throat and a shudder of pleasure caressed the Demon's hips so that they arched spasmodically from the sheets. He growled lowly in warning, but before he could so much as draw breath, the Half-demon had spread open his kimono, exposing his torso to the warm summer's evening.
"Your heat is still driving you crazy, don't you think I can tell?" Inuyasha murmured huskily, "It's burning you up because you can't relieve it on me, and that paired with everything else that's happened is making you like this."
Sesshomaru frowned at those words but said nothing. How dare Inuyasha make it look as if he knew him! But then, he supposed, upon gazing at this rationally, Inuyasha (with the exception of Nannami or Takara) knew him better than most. Never before have I let someone in so far, Sesshomaru thought, gazing down as his brother laid open-mouthed kisses to his pectorals.

And by these hands he is breaking me, my icy-cold, he thought. I'm being melted down to something senseless and love-driven...

"Why does everything that has made me all-powerful come tumbling to the ground when you are near me?" Sesshomaru asked the Half-demon rhetorically. The boy paused, glancing up at him. "Are you trying to break me?" The Demon asked. To this Inuyasha smirked, leaning back down to suck harshly at the flesh of his brother's stomach until it bruised beautifully under his affection.
"I don't intend to break you... Just bruise you a little," Inuyasha growled in response, lowering the path of his mouth leisurely, so that the Demon's breath hitched when his mouth stroked him through the material of his hakama.
"Do not tease you little imp," Sesshomaru hissed as he watched the boy nuzzle him through the cloth. "Not when you are unable to finish-"
"-Who said I can't finish?" Inuyasha interrupted, tugging the garment down unceremoniously.

Hot breath steamed over Sesshomaru's skin and a low aroused growl escaped through his gritted teeth. "Your body is still-"
"Well this isn't about my body," Inuyasha murmured, flushing awkwardly, "it's about yours." Pondering the situation no more, he descended. If he dwelt over his actions, his pride would seize him and he would lose his nerve, and still not entirely comfortable with such intimacies after Hikireimaru's assault on him, he did not think his confidence would stand for much doubt.

-Scene censored, to read chapter will full scene please see links on my profile-

A long, breathless moment passed and they lay there shamelessly, unable to persuade their exhausted bodies into movement. That was until the Demon Lord straightened up, looping his exhausted brother's arms around his neck and shifting him up the bead to press his weary head to the plush pillows. Smirking he savoured the way Inuyasha's arms came to wrap around him pulling him closer.
"Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked breathlessly, after his brother had done cleaning him. Sesshomaru smiled tiredly, meeting those glassy eyes once more as they glistened in the dim light with an almost otherworldly beauty. "Was I err...okay?"
"Such futile concerns," Sesshomaru responded, resting his head on Inuyasha's. His eyes closed as he breathed in deeply, committing this night to memory. "Every time with you is perfection, Little Brother..."

Thunder rumbled loudly in the distance. A storm was approaching swiftly they could tell, though the promise of bitter rain and thundering sounds drew them closer beneath the sheets unconsciously, a warmth radiating from the other's body that neither had known from another. Pressing his face into the hollow of his brother's throat Inuyasha sighed contentedly, his own eyes fluttering closed. "Sesshomaru?" he asked quietly.
"Hnn..."
"I...I think I..." He was cut off by a knock on the door, and Sesshomaru growled lowly in irritation, plotting a most unmerciful death to whoever stood beyond the door. He straightened up, Inuyasha leaning up on an elbow as he bid whoever it was to enter.

Nannami walked in, smiling knowingly at the two of them, a slumbering baby Tsukihime in her arms. "I waited as long as I could My Lords," she said cheerily with a wink at Inuyasha, who blushed profusely, "But its time to settle Rin and Kazuki down, so I really must bring Lady Tsukihime back to you now." She moved across the room, setting the precious treasure down in her basinet (which stood by the wall nearest Inuyasha's side of the bed). "She will probably wake in an hour or so for her feed, Young Sire," she told Inuyasha with a smile, before turning to her oldest Lord. "And the servants are requesting your presence before they settle, My Lord, that and the guards await instructions to lock down the castle for the storm."
At her words Sesshomaru sighed heavily, standing (regardless of his nakedness) and pulling on a sleeping kimono from the side. "Of course," he murmured monotonously, "I will be with them shortly, Nannami, please continued to settle the children."
She bowed to him slightly, never as low or as courteously as the others, and always holding his gaze as she did so, the flicker of emotion in the Demon's eyes always betraying that this, to them, was their alternative to an embrace. The door closed behind Nannami, and Sesshomaru looked to his brother, brushing back rebellious bangs from the boy's eyes to lay a kiss on his forehead. "You get some rest, I will be back shortly."
"Whatever," Inuyasha murmured, a little embarrassed at some of the words he'd said during their encounter, and also at the fact that he almost wanted to ask his brother to stay here. Yet the Demon was at the door, it was open and he still had said nothing more, until...

"Sesshomaru?" he asked, not sitting up but remaining exhaustedly beneath the sheets, watching his mate carefully. The Demon turned to him, his hand still on the door. "Smile at me," the Half-demon requested quietly. Sesshomaru's gaze softened to express an affection very few ever saw and a smile flickered at his lips before he continued through the door, closing it behind him.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance, getting closer slowly. Inuyasha closed his eyes, his exhaustion taking him swiftly. He knew Tsukihime would be up with the storm a lot of the night, and intended to catch whatever rest he could now before it woke her. Hazy, dark images of roaring skies and shadowy realms clouded his sleep, he felt an uneasiness approach him from the empty side of the bed where Sesshomaru's warmth should have been, but he could not shake off his slumber. Something inside him was anxious, and it had nothing to do with the now raging storm pounding against the shutters, or the roaring thunder nor screeching lightning. Something was not right about the real world he had left behind for sleep, yet even as his features contorted with unease, he still could not awake...

As each flash of lightning died, the shadows crept back across the room, one in particular sliding forwards, detached from the others - alive, and standing at the end of the bed, gazing pensively at the slumbering Half-demon. That was until its crimson gaze wandered to the ornately dressed bassinet, and the silver-haired angel within. Golden eyes stared up at him widely, with some sort of horrified recognition flashing briefly within her expression until it fell away to her father's blank acknowledgment that he was there and watching her carefully.

Long, slender, evil fingers ran over her porcelain-pure cheek, her warmth shocking against his cold fingertips. A smile crept over the obsidian shadow's lips. "It has been a long time has it not?" Hikireimaru asked. "I have finally found you, Touya..."

~To Be Continued...


A/N: Dun dun dun dun! Please no death threats, and HAHAH! I've been planning this from the second Hikireimaru stumbled into this story so I'm so excited to reveal what I've been so deviously planning all this time! *squeeeeeeee* See, it wasn't Inuyasha at all teehee :D Read and Review and I will update asap!

TO SEE THE PICTURE I DREW OF TSUKIHIME follow this link (without the 3 spaces):
htt art. com/art/WTMFR-InuSess-Puppy-Tsukihime-93499158

Ta Ta For now wonderful people *hugs you all*

Shigure-san
x chuu x