Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THAT OF WHICH I CREATED...which in this case is practically nothing...not anything worth while...not like Inuyasha or anything *sigh*

The Plan

Last chapter, we got a good whiff of Inuyasha's self-image and self esteem. Fortunately, Eriko seems to have made him truly look at himself and recognize what is and not what he isn't. And, for those of you that caught, seems Inuyasha is aware somewhat of his feelings for Kagome, even if he's not ready to admit it. Now only two problems, Hideko and Taisho ojii-dono. But they're racing towards the wedding, is there really anything that could stop them?

...

Izayoi watched her son carefully as he walked into the house. Although she hadn't meant to, she happened to overhear his conversation with Eriko and she was a great deal happy that her best friend had managed to give birth to such a reliable companion for her son. Even though they weren't as romantically compatible as she and Sakura had originally hoped, Izayoi did get the feeling it would take a lot of work to split the two of them apart.

She watched her son start up the stairs with a renewened smile. The problem was done and dealt with, he could be happy now and feel comfortable with Kagome, but Izayoi's mouth still twitched with the urge to say something, anything. She felt like talking to her baby again, like she used to. She just couldn't out her finger on what.

"Mama," Inuyasha stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to his mother, "Can I start training again?"

Izayoi blinked, "You think Taisho ojii-dono will have someone train you like before?" Her voice trembled with uncertainty but deep down, she knew she'd feel happy if Taisho ojii-sama turned the offer down. He was very harsh and unreasonable with her son, she didn't want to place him in that kind of danger again. She knew the scars would heal, there wasn't a trace of them now but that wasn't the point.

Inuyasha stopped, pausing and thinking for a moment. "You think Dad will do it?"

Izayoi smiled brightly, "You'll have to ask him for yourself, sweetie. But I'm sure he'll train you whenever he has time."

Inuyasha seemed to cheer up a bit more at the thought and turned to leave again.

"Son," Izayoi's voice surprised herself, "Are you sure you wanna go through with this?"

Inuyasha blinked, "The training?"

Izayoi sighed, "Not not that..."

Inuyasha blinked again before his voice came out, rather soft, "The marriage...?" It wouldn't make any sense to him why his mother would be opposing that, she was the ringleader of the wedding planners.

Izayoi sighed, "Not exactly...this whole butting heads with your grandfather...I don't want you to get hurt...again...."

Inuyasha rubbed his wrists awkwardly and looked at them for a moment. Before turning to his mother, "It's the only way to ensure I'll be happy and he can't do any worse than what he's already done and is currently trying to do."

"Yes, he can," Izayoi blurted, "Yes he can, son, he can. Look at what he did to your brother, he's taken him away from his family, Inuyasha, away from his mother."

A dark shadow fell over Inuyasha's face. "He doesn't favour me enough to do that, not for good. If he did, I wouldn't be here. I'd be with that half-brother of mine."

"And I'm worried...about Kagome. She may be strong now but...but so was I..." Izayoi replied, "I don't want him to break her... to break you both, I'm worried, baby, I'm so worried for the both of you." Her eyes fell to the ground, "I heard about the rape, Inuyasha. Even though Taisho ojii-dono didn't orchestrate that, I can't help but blame him. Thank God, it didn't get that far." When Izayoi looked up, tears were falling down her face. "I'm too weak to protect you now."

"I needed to be rescued. What if...what if I wasn't the one being...being...what if it was Kagome or someone else important to me in my position? Would I have been able to do anything? What if it was me who needed to do the rescuing? Would I be up to par? If I couldn't even save myself without someone else's help? Without Kagome's help?"

"Mama, don't think that!" Inuyasha snapped, "You can always get stronger... that's what I'm going to do."

"I don't understand why everyone is just letting this happen!"

"We've got to stop cowering in fear," Inuyasha continued, "Taisho ojii-dono is just one old man. I feels stupid now for how I've let him run my life, don't you Mama?"

Izayoi wiped her tears. "Yeah, I do and your father as well."

Inuyasha smiled, "Then we're going to take that man down, this engagement is only the first step."

...Elsewhere...

Inutaisho burst into his father's office, his adrenaline pumping.

Taisho ojii-dono sighed and looked up at his son, who entered through the swinging doors. He was probably worked up over something, Inutaisho liked to try and make little scenes whenever he was worked up over something. It was an annoying habit that had carried over from his childhood.

"It makes my problem seem more important," a seven year old Inutaisho explained with a toothy grin, "It makes me feel like Daddy."

However, Inutaisho hadn't been worked over something in while. Well, not enough to remind his father of his annoying little habit.

"Did we run out of staples again?" Taisho ojii-dono replied in a bored tone, "Did one of your sons make the soccer team? Does wife need a new dress?"

Inutaisho scowled and Taisho ojii-dono could see immediately where Inuyasha got from. It's weird I hadn't noticed it before.

"Let Sesshomaru see his mother," Inutaisho replied, a little annoyed at how his father had stopped taking his problems seriously.

Taisho ojii-dono rolled his eyes. "Sesshomaru is far too busy to see that wench."

Inutaisho gritted his teeth and swallowed his rage before responding, "He needs a mother in his life."

Taisho ojii-dono pretended to be preoccupied with something in his claws before turning to Inutaisho and retorted, "Sounds like you could do a very good job at that."

Inutaisho opened his mouth to say something but his father wasn't done.

"I'm not about to let you and that Katsuko woman baby a daiyoukai like you and that woman have babied Inuyasha," Taisho ojii-dono continued, "Inuyasha is weak, admit it, and it's all thanks to you and his mother. Sesshomaru is far too old to need a mother anyways."

Inutaisho couldn't believe his father. "You're never too old to need your mother."

"When was the last time you ever needed your mother?" Taisho ojii-dono remarked.

Inutaisho shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze. "She hardly counts as a mother," he looked at his father, "Don't you agree, Father?"

Taisho ojii-dono made a snorting sound at the mention of his wife. He decided to side-step the topic and return to the topic at hand. "You turned out just fine without her, haven't you?"

"I would have turned out better with her," Inutaisho retorted, "And if you're going to make him marry Kagura, you have to at least offer him something in return." The moment the words flew out his mouth, Inutaisho felt a bit guilty for making Kagura sound like some sort of punishment, but that was how Sesshomaru seemed to see her. "Can't you just give him this one thing?"

"What about the Rin girl? I let him have that."

Inutaisho winced at his father referring to a child as 'that'. "Yes but... she's hardly a reward for all of Sesshomaru's obedience. Can't he got something more?"

Taisho ojii-dono met his son's pleading expression with contempt, "You're already doing it, you're already babying him. Are you going to do this every time your sons ask you for something? Plead or beg or, dare I say, cry? Inuyasha wants to marry some miko girl, and that 'is his right'. Sesshomaru wants to, for some odd reason, see his mother, and 'he deserves it'. What's this nonsense? Will you come prancing over here if one of them wants a pony?"

Inutaisho rolled his eyes. His father had the tendency to belittle everyone else's problems by comparing them to things that mattered less than one hundredth of the actual issue at hand. "Wanting to marry Kagome or wanting to see Katsuko is nothing at all like wanting a pony as you so nicely put it. Women are not like animals. And those two aren't necessarily something that can be denied to them."

Taisho ojii-dono sighed, "No. Absolutely not on both of those. I will not have Inuyasha marry that miko and I certainly will not let Sesshomaru see his mother."

Inutaisho felt his anger flare. "These are my sons!"

Taisho ojii-dono smirked, "Then why'd you even bother coming all this way to ask me?"

"Out of respect for the former head of the Taisho family," Inutaisho spat through clenched teeth, "But now I realize that this is a waste of time. I will not allow you to deny my family happiness any longer." Inutaisho looked at his father with the most rebellious and angry golden orbs. They made him look younger.

"So you really intend to marry this...this...!"

"With or without your approval."

Taisho ojii-dono tried to recall which of them had said that as Inutaisho childishly stormed out, slamming the door. Inuyasha or Inutaisho. With a sigh, he realized it was probably both. He stared at the two doors of gold.

"I slam them because I want you to know I'm angry, just like you hit me when I don't approve," Inutaisho spat, "Sometimes I wanna hurt you and this is the best way I know how, Father."

How old must he have been then? Thirteen was it? Taisho ojii-dono stared up at the ceiling. His son never seemed to change.

Heh...sorry for the wait...I was on a bit of a hiatus...time seemed to escape me and the words were having a lot of trouble flowing out of this noggin of mine...sorry...

Oh and for those of you who didn't quite catch it or understand why Inuyasha looked at his wrists earlier, it was because he used to cut them because of his grandfather.

So...was it worth the wait?

***Oh wait, before you answer that question, guess what? DOUBLE UPDATE! YAYER!