Ch 49 Introduction to Society

Inuyasha watched Sesshoumaru depart until his eyes couldn't see him anymore and he was scared; not nervous, or apprehensive, not worried or concerned but downright scared. He was suddenly alone in a strange Palace; full of probable hanyou hating youkai, with the female that his own father had betrayed, being the only person he knew. How had he been talked into this state of affairs that was frought with danger? Then he pulled himself together; Sesshoumaru had told him that he would come and get him if there were problems and he was being less than gallant, if he was thinking that Lady Mother had any thought to harm him.

Finally he decided that he should show everyone that he was not only his father's son; but he was also Sesshoumaru's brother and he would hold his head up proudly as he was representing the Western Lands. So why did he feel like snivelling like a tiny whelp, just because he was on his own? There was no logic in it; he'd been used to being alone and fighting to survive without crying all the time, since he was very small. But that was before he had known the love of family and friends; now he truly knew what he was missing, but he would cope as he always did. So after composing himself and freshening up, he rang a bell for someone to show him to the Lady in the dining room.

Head held high, Inuyasha followed the servant taking him to Lady Mother; who greeted him by extending her hand allowing him to take it, to kiss her fingers. Her keen and experienced eyes saw all and she softened her face with a genuine smile of welcome for the forlorn boy. Indicating that he should sit and dine with her; she ordered the servants to bring in the food and having seen often enough what Inuyasha liked to eat, there was plenty to tempt him. The Lady was a most pleasant dinner companion and she was interested in hearing all about Inuyasha's life. She told him that she had known about some of the things that had happened to him, but it was not for her to interfere; even had she wished.

After dinner, Inuyasha was dismissed to his room with promises of an interesting day to come; he was tired and not sorry to crawl into bed, in fact his eyes were so tired that they watered, or at least that is what he told Lady Mother when she came in to check him. She smiled seeing the room almost empty except for a corner where Inuyasha had everything piled up; he was wedged between the wall and his red cushion, she could also scent the rest of his family and knew that somewhere he had keepsakes of them tucked close to him.

"You feel melancholy Little Hanyou." She stated.

"No...Lady Mother, I am fine; my eyes are just gritty from being tired that's all. Thank you."

"I have told you this before Inuyasha, you do not lie very well; you are suffering from what humans know as homesickness."

"Keh! I do not understand."

"It is what your Mama called it, when she badly missed her family and she was feeling sick and miserable; when her throat closed up so much because she wanted to cry, but couldn't. That is how people feel when they are homesick and you child, are homesick." Inuyasha was silent at her comments, feeling strange that his mother had felt the same as he did now; but for different people, it was a new concept to him. Lady Mother came to him and sat down with his head in her lap, stroking his ears and hair.

"I know you will miss your family futon at night, but if you need anything I shall be close at hand."

"Why Lady Mother? Why are you being so kind to me, you have no reason to be so?" Inuyasha was serious and the Lady looked down at him askance and he was greatly reminded of her son.

"I have told you some of the reason why, Inuyasha; but you are correct, there is more to it. Your father and I had arranged that you would both come to live with us again once your mother passed of old age and I would raise you along with Sesshoumaru, as the younger sibling I could not give him. You must understand that although I was angry about your father begetting you, I still loved him and he returned that love; but I was prepared to allow your mother the fifty or so years with him, so that he could fulfil his obligation to you both by protecting you. We had not foreseen the cost of that protection; nor on it being so soon required, on top of his battle with the dragon."

"Does Sessh know all that?"

"He does now, I told him some while ago after he 'adopted' you." She looked in a puzzled way at the nervously laughing Inuyasha. "I am amusing you pup?"

"I was just thinking how I was nearly your adopted son; but instead I am your adopted grandson. Yet really I only caused you pain."

"No Inuyasha, you have never caused me anguish; only the circumstances that led to you, not you yourself. I am very happy that you are now one of the family." Then she left, after finally telling him to let himself go and get rid of the lump in his throat and the burning behind his eyes. He found however, that he couldn't cry or release the awful tension; the emptiness went too deep and he spent a restless night listening to the strange stillness of Lady Mother's Palace, that lacked the soft and gentle breathing lullaby of his normal sleep companions.

But he was not the only one who felt the lack that night; in the Western Lands, the family futon felt strangely too big without Inuyasha. The smaller pups were restless knowing that he was missing and Rin too felt bereft, as she was normally tucked up next to him; Kagura and Sesshoumaru didn't like the feeling either, their nest was missing one of its pups. The Lord of the land stayed awake too, unable to sleep; he knew that Inuyasha would be miserable and he was powerless to help and as with any parent, it was a feeling that he hated.

The night eventually ended and the two brothers were relieved to see the dawn, albeit many miles apart; but from now on for the next year or so, their lives would be spent in different circles. For Inuyasha, after breakfast he was called to his Lady Mother's suite where she had something of importance to give him and something she wished to change.

"Dear Little Hanyou, I see you did not take my advice last night; I have a favour to ask you child, I wish you to call me Grandmother."

"Lady Mother?"

"I am more your grandmother than mother boy; you are more like Sesshoumaru's son than his brother, in my eyes. Would it concern you to humour me thus?"

"...No, I don't think so, but what of Sesshoumaru; would he not feel it too familiar, I do not want to upset him?"

"It was Sesshoumaru's idea; he felt that you having to call me Lady Mother was far too formal, as if you were on the outside of the family to me. As such is not the case, I was happy to agree."

"Thank you...Grandmother."

"Now, I have something to give to you that was left in my keeping." She moved to a small room set off from one of the bedrooms of her suite and showed Inuyasha a large wooden trunk, decorated with a crest that was only vaguely familiar to him. She went and stroked across the wood and told him that it had been here for many years untouched. "This chest contains items that were given to your father by your maternal grandfather, to serve as your mother's dowry; to be given to the man she would marry. As far as your grandfather was concerned this was just for show, as he believed no human would want to marry a youkai's cast-off; a position she was placed in by her loving relatives."

"These were Mama's things?"

"They were not personal to her, they were a payment; your father felt them an insult to the girl in the circumstances, but they have not been touched since they were catalogued. They belong to you now, they will add to your wealth and there are some things in the chest to offer as gifts to your future mate perhaps."

"I have not got a mate now, Kagome does not know me anymore and she is gone."

"You are far too young to give up on the prospect of a mate Inuyasha."

"I will never find another like Kagome, she alone accepted me without a second thought; I never had to pretend with her, Kagome was to be my mate, she even loved me as a hanyou."

"She was certainly a loving child and she helped you to accept yourself; but she will not be the only one to do so and to be honest, I would rather you found someone who would not try to win every arguement or punish every perceived slight, by causing you more pain via a spell."

"I had been a threat to her Grandmother. I sometimes think she did not fully trust me."

"That is as maybe, but you were not being a threat every time she used the rosary; she was a child with power and sometimes she abused it. You need to find someone who understands the loyalty of the Inu nature better, someone who will understand your previous affections and not blame you for your care of them. She is out there, I promise."

"May I look inside?"

"Of course, it is yours." She gave Inuyasha the key and the morning flew by as the two of them discovered the wealth hidden amongst the fine materials, jewels and rare items that had been his mother's dowry; or bribery for the youkai to keep her, according to his Grandmother. Inuyasha didn't care for the long lost meaning of the chest; just that it was a link to his mother, but Grandmother had something even more special to give him. In another corner of the room was another box; smaller than the chest, but this one contained the personal belongings of Izayoi.

Inuyasha recognised some of these items, hair combs and decorations; makeup and various things that had been familiar to him in his first few years of life. These things he thought destroyed when his mother died; he had only been able to escape with his life and the small shell of lip colour and some ribbons. The Lady explained that she had rescued these items, one of her own household had seen the catastrophe and although he had not seen the tiny hanyou and feared that the child had expired with his mother; he had brought out the belongings of the young woman that he knew had been a pet for his mistress.

Grandmother was prepared for a few tears when Inuyasha was reunited with his mother's possessions; but there were none, he handled the individual items almost reverently, but with no other sign of emotion. He was suppressing his feelings which would not be good if it went on too long; she had seen him when he coped before, by being aggressive and rude and she was not going to have repeats of his old way of life if she could help it. Inuyasha was willing to keep the box and chest where they were for now, in the care of Grandmother. It was going to take a while for the title to seem comfortable to use, but it was becoming easier to think of her as such in his mind.

Lunch was served in the garden and once again Inuyasha could not find fault with the food or the conversation; Grandmother was full of pup stories about Sesshoumaru and even some of his father, as she had known the Inu no Taisho since childhood as well. Then he was free for the afternoon to do as he pleased; everyone of the household knew who he was by now and there would be no trouble and that evening Grandmother wanted him to meet some of her guests that were coming to welcome her out of seclusion.

The gardens were beautiful and Inuyasha could see where the original influence for the Western Palace had come from, but he was lonely with no one to share or play with. The afternoons had been his special times with his brother and he had valued them greatly; besides there was none of the background noise that was now a permanent fixture in the Palace wherever all the pups were, coupled with the gentle laugh of Rin as she either ran after them or was being chased. Inuyasha swallowed the familiar lump and blinked quickly to rid himself of the burn in his eyes; chiding himself for being so stupid, he was no tiny pup.

When he went back to his rooms to prepare for the coming evening, he found that he had a new set of clothes laid out and ready for him to wear after his bath. Two attendents had been provided for him to help him wash up, despite his assistance that he could manage on his own; he had never got used to the idea of just standing while someone scrubbed him clean and he didn't think he ever would, but the Lady was not to be disobeyed. When the bath was over and his hair shone with silver lights, he sat on his cushion to write his first letter home.

He told Sesshoumaru and the family that he missed them but that Grandmother was kind and he had his first dinner party to attend that evening and a new kimono to wear.

There was nothing else to say for the minute, as he didn't want to mention his mother's legacy in a letter. Having used his seal, he asked for the servant to send it to his brother and then with dry hair, he was dressed into his new kimono. Then he saw for the first time the crests embroidered on the obi; he recognised his own crest, the one proclaiming he was the younger Prince of the West, but there also, were Sesshoumaru's and Grandmother's crescent moons. She was admitting a relationship publicly with him; legitamising his existence and he was overwhelmed.

Inuyasha went to the Lady's suite to collect her for the evening and she walked out, resting her hand on his arm. Inuyasha was astounded at her beauty once again; she was regal and dressed impeccably, but fairly simply and it was easy to see how she would captivate any whom she chose. Grandmother could feel the tension in Inuyasha's arm and also feel that his aura was stressed; so she patted his arm and gave him a loving smile, telling him not to be so nervous. She laughed at him when it didn't work; which made him annoyed, that however satisfied her as it put the spark back into his golden eyes that had been missing since he'd arrived.

They entered the Banquet Hall and Inuyasha's face flushed scarlet as all eyes turned to look at them; there seemed to be hundreds of eyes, but in reality it was not a big gathering. Grandmother had decided to start her socialising gradually, with a few of her oldest aquaintances. She did not let go of Inuyasha's arm the whole time that she was making the rounds and she had no qualms about introducing her 'Grandson'. Only one of her friends was heard to wryly comment on the relationship;

"We all know of your mate's hanyou by- blow, we just didn't know the new word for it was grandson." Grandmother was serene as she answered;

"You clearly missed the latest news then, of how Sesshoumaru has adopted the boy almost as if he were his own son. Therefore I am Grandmother to this charming lad, as well as to my other grandchildren."

"But not an actual blood relation. Well, allow me to be the first to congratulate you then and you too Inuyasha; you have landed on your feet haven't you?" His insinuation took a while to register with Inuyasha as he didn't understand; but when he did, his fists clenched and his face flared with heat. But Grandmother squeezed his arm tightly and shook her head slightly, but it took all of Inuyasha's control not to punch the youkai on the nose. She told him that he would hear many such stupid ideas as time went on and he was going to have to learn to ignore them all.

Inuyasha's own fame though had spread and all the guests knew of him and all he had done; many came up to talk to him, some even flirted openly and praised his looks and bravery. The shy hanyou didn't know what to make of it all, he only wanted to escape and if he was honest to go home; if this was a small party what on earth were the bigger ones going to be like? Grandmother had told him that there was going to be a ball at the end of the week and they were to start to travel the next day to reach the castle it was to be held in.

TBC