Written using Bad Things Happen Bingo: Cradling someone in their arms
-oOo-
Eyes of liquid gold stared in mild offense at the tiny half demon fast asleep in her bed. Brushing the white hair from in front of her gaze, she knelt down, running a hand over the child's face. She tilted it up, recognizing the similarities immediately. While their son did take more from his mother than father in appearance, it was foolish to ignore the way this young boy resembled both Sesshomaru and Inutaisho.
Inukimi stood straight, slipping her hands into the long bell sleeves of her elegant dress. She let a heavy sigh pass through her lips before turning her gaze onto her Lord husband. "I feel I should find insult in here somewhere."
Inutaisho chuckled deeply, looking his wife in her eyes. "We did have an arrangement. One you proposed in the first place."
Waving a dismissive hand, her gaze once more feel onto the boy. "An arrangement, yes. But if I remember, that arrangement worked only if it was not brought home."
"You knew of Izayoi. I told you the moment I learned she was pregnant."
"I at least had the decency to not produce bastard children to bring home." Even as the words escaped Inukimi's lips, a sense of shame crossed over her. She eyed the boy, who curled tighter and tighter into himself. He was whimpering softly, hands dug into the cloth covering his torso. An ear twitched as the child cried out.
Inutaisho moved quickly, drawing the trembling child into his arms. He sat on the bed, whispering words of comfort to calm the boy as he cradled him in his arms. She watched as the little boy's face began to soften, the tears forming in his eyes dried. As much as she hated to admit it, a sense of familiarity went over her as she remembered her husband doing the same to a young Sesshomaru; it had been far too many years since their teenage son had allowed such comfort.
"I could not leave him," Inutaisho whispered. His eyes trailed up to her. The edges of his gaze were soft and desperate, an expression he rarely allowed anyone - not even her - to see. The Great Dog General was bare before her. "In all this time I had thought him dead. And when I found him in that village... he was in the hands of slavers. The thought of what those men have done to him. How long he has been in their hands. The abuse the boy has suffered."
Bruises were slow healing on his face and neck. The scars around his wrist were still deep shades of purple. He smelled of cleaning herbs but the scent of blood was still faint on his skin. As cruel and disdainful as the persona she embraced was, even she was not heartless enough to ignore the clear abuse of this child.
"You wish for him to stay?"
"I will not throw the boy out," Inutaisho responded. The boy began to stir, his frightened gaze glazed over from exhaustion. His father cradled him closer in his arms, rubbing a hand over the boy's back to calm his panting.
"Even at the cost of me?" The steel set in the Lord's eyes was enough of an answer. Inukimi merely smirked. "You don't have to answer. I won't put the ultimatum upon you."
"Do you plan to stay?"
"I do. I will not leave our home over something so trivial. Not while our son still resides here. You and I both know if it came down to it, Sesshomaru would not leave your side." The Lady settled herself onto the bed, facing the child. She raised a hand, taking note of the flinch he made. With a comforting touch, she tangled her hand into the mess of white locks. The child was still tense; he watched her with curiosity and hesitation. After a moment he relaxed slightly under their touches.
Inukimi trailed her hand back, brushing against those ears. He once more tensed, but she pressed forward. Wrapping a petite hand around the soft fur, she rubbed a finger around the point little ears. They were so soft under her touch that she found her attention solely on those ears.
A content sigh caught both dog demon's off guard. The boy was leaning into the touch, his face completely relaxed. There was still a tinge of fear embedded into the child's eyes, but he looked upon the women in search for that comfort. Without thinking, Inukimi took the half demon from his father, and cradled him against her chest.
He reacted instant, gripping the silk of her dress and burying his face into the soft fur lining. She could feel the slight shake of his shoulders, the aura of distrust embedded into the boy's soul, but it did not stop his desperate desire for comfort. He clung to her carefully, almost afraid to hold too tight, but too afraid to let go. The boy reeked of half demon blood, but she kept him close despite it.
"What is the child's name?"
"Inuyasha,"
"Inuyasha," Inukimi breathed. The little half demon in her arms looked up at the voice. "Welcome home, little one."
Inutaisho breathed a sigh of relief seeing his wife of centuries cradling his youngest son. That relief was put on halt when she turned a glare of glistening gold onto him. "No more bastard child. I will allow this one, despite every fiber of my being telling me otherwise, but I will not be so understanding again."
"I can assure you my Lady," Inutaisho smiled softly at her, "I have no more undisclosed children running around. And I have had no desire to participate in my side of the arrangement since Izayio."
"Good," the Lady nodded. She continued to run a hand over the child's hair, noting that his relaxed breathes were due to his falling asleep. "And how has Sesshomaru taken to his new brother?"
Inutaisho sighed. "I was hoping you could speak to the boy. He did not allow me to explain beyond their relation as brothers before he stormed off."
"That sounds like him. I will speak with our son, clear the air on the situation." She glanced down at the child. While sleeping, she was filled with memories of when Sesshomaru had been so small.
-oOo-
The Lady found her son in the gardens. He was nestled on the rail of the balcony, a book in his hands. Gold eyes trailed up at her arrival, before going back to his book. "Good evening mother. Have you spoken to father?"
"I have," Inukimi spoke. She stood beside her son, crossing her hands into the bell sleeves of her dress.
"So you've seen the half-demon he brought home."
"Your brother, yes."
"Half brother, at most," Sesshomaru hissed. He flipped a page in his book. "A half demon as well. Have you allowed him to stay or is he gone yet?"
Inukimi snatched the the book from her son's grasp, setting it on to a near by table. "Inuyasha will remain in the castle. He is your father's son and he will reside with this family within these walls."
Sesshomaru rolled irritated eyes upon her. "You are the last person I would expect to keep this half breed around. He is a blight upon this family. A dishonor upon you."
"A dishonor upon me," Inukimi breathed out a chuckle. "Explain to me how this is so."
Sesshomaru slide from the balcony ledge to stand before his mother. He was still so young, but nearly as tall as her. There would come a day when he was taller than her, would no longer require a mother, and it was not a day she was rushing towards.
"Father broke his vow to you. You are mated to him and he went outside such agreements. And he spawned a half breed to further dishonor you."
Inukimi reached out, brushing a stand of his long white hair behind his ear. "Oh my son, so wise yet so oblivious to the ways of the world. I knew of your father's mating outside of our own. I have know each of the thirteen times he has done so, for he has told me himself. And in turn, I have informed him of the thirty or so time I have done the same."
"Done the same?"
"Yes. Walk with me my boy." Inukimi moved from the stone balcony and into the adjacent gardens. The flowers grew high, sending such a lovely fragrance into the air. "You're father and I have been mated for many centuries at this point. There grows a point in every mating, especially one as long as your father's and mine, that one needs to step out time to time. I was the one to first broach the arrangement."
"Arrangement?" Sesshomaru echoed.
"Yes, arrangement. Your father and mine's mating was a political one. At the beginning of his Empire he came to my family's land, offering peace and alliance. My father was impressed by Inutaisho. For one still so young, he had grown quite the empire and when he offered an alliance between my father's empire and his own, well my hand for marriage was on the table. And I agreed without hesitation. Your father was charming, handsome and smelled of power. I took up the offer the moment it was placed upon me.
"That isn't to say that I have not grown to love your father, and he in turn love me. Because I do love him. But at first, it was not so. He was away often while growing his power, and there came a time when the heats set in, and he was no where around. It became unbearable and I sought to satisfy my needs elsewhere. Thus, our arrangement was born."
Inukimi plucked a rose from his steam, and held it between her fingers. "Should one of us come to a point were our primal charnel desires grew to a distraction, and the other was indisposed and unavailable to satisfy those desires, we would allow a way to resolve the urges. I presented this arrangement to your father, and he agreed. It was mutual to us both. There were times after battle were such urges grew to distract him from his conquest, and he admitted as such. The only outline we placed was that for each time one of us stepped outside our mating, we were merely to inform the other of such."
Inukimi dropped the flower on to the grass. She began walking once more. "Of course, all of this was merely to fill a basic primal physical need. Your father finding love in a human women and spawning a half demon child was never something either of us imagined would happen. But it did. And I was fine with it when he informed me. At the end of the day, I was his wife and the one he had home with. And the human women was tolerable enough. I could not begrudge her falling for him, your father is quite charming in fact."
Sesshomaru eyed his mother carefully. "You knew of this half breed?"
"I did. Your father informed me of what had happened and I went to meet this human women. While I was not to fond of the situation, I could find no reason to leave. I had put forth the arrangement. I had agreed to the terms we placed upon it. And his outing with the human and consequential birth of the boy in no way breeched our agreement. A besides, it was not long after when your father regrettably informed me that both Izayio and her pup had vanished, thought dead. And I let the situation rest."
"But the boy is alive. He's here."
"That he is. And I have had decades to resolve myself to what happen. I am not petty enough to hold these events over the head of a clearly traumatized and abused child." The Lady stopped at the edge of the garden. He turned to the boy, leveling him a stern look. "The boy, Inuyasha is his name, will remain in this palace. He may not be of my blood but I have chosen to take him under my care despite it. He is now the son of both your father and myself, as far as I and any one else should be concerned. He is your brother."
"He is a half demon," Sesshomaru responded, as if such a simple statement resolved everything.
"That he is. I am not a fan of human kind. They are weak, greedy and will scorn you until they require your need in which they will revere you. They are fickle and do not live long enough to have any real life. Inuyasha does indeed have such human blood in his veins. But he has your father's blood as well. The blood of the Great Dog General courses through his veins stronger than that human blood. The same demon blood, I will remind you also courses through your blood."
Sesshomaru huffed, looking off. Inukimi could see her words working through his mind. The tightness of his lips were evident of him doing his best to ignore her wisdom.
"I suggest you take heed son, and decide for yourself why you hold such distain for the boy." Inukimi placed a hand on her son's cheek, drawing his gaze onto her. "He is your brother, by full or half, it matters not. The boy will live here. He will grow. He will be a part of this family. I wish for you to help him. To help him grow and learn and become comfortable as a part of this family. That decision rests you on. I cannot make it for you, nor will I force you to accept him. But I truly wish you make the right decision on this matter."