A/N: If you want to read a bonus chapter with Kagura and Sesshomaru ad Rin's backstory, let me know. As it is now, I'm on the fence about typing it down since it has nothing to do with the man plot.
Now, let's witness the hot mess that is my Sesshomaru's point of view.

The Great Dog Observes

Sesshomaru watched the miko impassively. Was she stupid or brave, waving that flimsy ward at him? It had to be a mixture of both, spiced heavily by desperation - desperation to get the hanyou free from the coils of his mokomoko. She was full of passion, of concern. He doubted a human interested only in their well-fare and business would yell at a daiyoukai like him for the sake of a hanyou they controlled.

Her words, for the most part, rang true. He had been neglecting his duties towards the pup when he had come to his castle. He had been mourning his father' death - which had been for the sake of the human wife and hanyou - and had dealt with foes and issues that had arose with the change of the ruler of one of the major lands. He had been young, spiteful and hurt, stubborn and short-tempered, furious when his orders hadn't been heeded, even if not by the lack of trying on his subjects' part. He had lacked the confidence and maturity to take care of a pup that he had seen as the reason of his father's demise. He had been too blind to realize that his path was not the same as his father's, that he had had no need of relying on his father's power to follow his desire.

Still, there as no need to explain all that to a human, there was no use in admitting the foolishness and flaws of his character from centuries ago. He merely addressed the part of her tirade that had not been true, he ha not ordered his half-sibling to be tortured or starved. He had been not aware and had not wondered how his half-brother had been treated by his servants. He had seen only weakness and petulance of the boy that had been in his castle for short weeks, refusing to give him the Fang of his father.

And now he was standing there, in the apparent realm, facing a priestess yelling at him that she was going to make sure his little brother could choose whatever he wanted to do and where to be, challenging his right to command the inu that should have been a part of his pack, the royal family. While the said hanyou tried to get loose from the pelt, that protected him from injuring himself and foolishly attacking Sesshomaru, who had already won their fight.

He raised an eyebrow at the miko, who dropped her paper and turned hot pink, covering her mouth with her hand, clutching on the mighty Tessaiga. The movement ad muffled cursing from within his fur ceased and Sesshomaru blinked, when he saw that the miko was no longer glaring defiantly at him, but staring in mortification at the mokomoko.

For a moment all was still and only the tree limbs swayed on the wind. Then, out of a sudden, the miko glared once more, still focused on the top of Inuyasha's head ticking out of the coil of his fur. Inuyasha's ears twitched madly when the girl looked at them in mounting anger.

"What do you mean: really?" she cried out. "You know I don't lie!"

A pause.

"What?" the miko sputtered. "I tried to make a point there - you have a cho-" She paused again, as if someone cut in her tirade. "You're supposed to say something nice, not poke fun at me!" the miko growled. "Okay, so I didn't plan to say that right now, it just came out! ...says the guy, who..."

The one-sided argument was somewhat amusing. It was not a common occurrence for his opponents to focus on something else when he was a threat to them.

Ah, Sesshomaru blinked. It seemed that the girl was not struck with insanity, but shared a some kind of mental bond with his little brother. Mot Peculiar. It seemed there was much more to the relationship between this human and his little brother. The hanyou had developed a bond with her and it was plain to see that if he tried to step between them, they both would try and oppose him. Their efforts in such a scenario would have been futile, but that also would have destroyed any chance for him to see if he wanted to undo his past mistakes and accept the boy as his kin, like his father had wanted. Tenseiga at his hop pulsed n agreement to this thought.

He glanced up to where Kagura and Rin stood, both observing the scene with clear amusement. Kagura opened her fan and peered back at him while covering her smile with the elegant weapon of hers, eyes glimmering. She was there, real and alive, just like their daughter, who stood at her side and looked just like all those years ago..

Soothing warmth flowed through his veins, a serenity that had evaded him for so long, a clarity of thought that had been temporarily beyond his reach.

"Will you let Inuyasha go?" he turned his gaze back at the still blushing miko, who had just confessed her feelings towards his little brother. She still held Tessaiga, the sword humming softly in her grasp. It seemed the bickering was ceased for now.

He had come here to seek for his missing mate. His daughter had found her and had led him to this place. And here he found Kagura, his wind dancer.

And, along with her, he found the Fang he had once craved. He tried to take it, but it rejected him once more, choosing to obey the hanyou instead, revealing the Wind Scar to him. Sesshomaru was not surprised that he had been rejected - if the blade had been meant to him, it would have found it's way to him over the years.

And, along with the woman he loved and the sword he had once craved to posses, he found the hanyou half-sibling he had long ago wronged and had presumed dead.

At first he thought that the beads around Inuyasha's neck was an insult to his royal lineage, a cruel fate for one of the proud inu kind, being chained and forced to obey an inferior being.

But the only moment he sensed reiki from the bead was when he tried to place his fangs against Inuyasha's neck in a final sign of victory after a battle, in demand of submission. She put as much of her untrained reiki to defend the hanyou, who declared her his to protect.

The pup was no longer the weak, crying, scared pup. He had no hope of defeating a daiyoukai, but he showed his courage and stubborn pride, never giving up, even when he was down. He mastered Tessaiga to some extent, even if his technique was crude and full of too dramatic movements. He could assume a battle form, a feat that proved immense youki and a lot of control, but he was obviously not used to fighting an opponent of bigger size than his.

And most importantly, he was alive. After five centuries of evading detection, of surviving Inuyasha was alive and showed signs of nobility that Sesshomaru had not expected to find in the feeble half-breed boy cowering in the darkened room.

He remembered his mother shrugging when he had approached her about the hanyou's disappearance, the female inu youkai visiting for a day from her own estate. A hanyou had to prove their worth by surviving, pas the trial of courage and cowardice. Only then, as the hanyou proved that they were strong enough to reach adulthood, were they to be recognized as a art of the family, the and given respect.

He wondered, not for the first time, if it had been his mother who had released the pup back then.

He glanced from the miko towards the hanyou wrapped in his pelt, just to see the coils shift, collapsing over nothing. He blinked when he saw a tiny puppy emerging from the confines of his mokomoko, the golden eyes of the creature blazing hotly when it glanced at him. Then it was in motion, running as fast as its short legs and many wounds allowed it. The daiyoukai watched as the miko made a motion as if she wanted to crouch down ad scoop the pup up in her arms. But before she could do that, Inuyasha in his normal form stood in front of her, facing him, claws ready to fight. He was still defiant, but this time he was mature and strong enough not to embarrass their royal blood by being defeated by a weak force.

It was so strange to see him as an adult, after deeming him dead all those centuries ago. Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he wanted to create a familial bond with the hanyou, but as he had proven himself he was bound to show some semblance of respect, at least. He had to think about what he wanted to do with the issue of having a living half-sibling later, when he wasn't required to attend to his duties as a ere enemies he had to find ad crush for taking Kagura from him, for attacking his people - both human and youkai.

"This one has come to collect his mate," he declared coolly. "This one has not expected to find the hanyou half-sibling of his still alive and in possession of Tessaiga. Since this one no longer has any need for the Fang of his lord father, it may remain in the hands of the hanyou."

"Fuck yeah it is staying in my hand!" Inuyasha barked, not batting an eye at the fact that the sword was still held by the miko. Then he blinked. "Wait, what...?"

"As it appears that the miko has not meant to insult the royal family of the West by collaring a member of the shiro inu, this one has no use seeking her death. Mate, Rin."

"Yes, my lord!"

"Of course," Kagura walked towards him while he turned his back at the pair facing him and staring. Rin ran to him happily. "And, brother-bi-law..."

"Huh?" Inuyasha sounded stunned surprised and uncertain.

"Be sure to leave this foul world and come to see the West. It has changed a lot over the years, I'm sure you will find it enjoyable to explore the land of your ancestors."

"Keh!"

Sesshomaru didn't say a word, he didn't even let himself smile fondly at the words of his wife. She so easily accepted the half-youkai to be her relative, offered him words of invitation without fear of rejection. After all, she was a child of a hanyou herself, she knew the rules of the trial better than most youkai. and she didn't have back blood between her and the hanyou.

He smiled later, hen they finally got home, when he took his mate's hand and laid his other hand on his adoptive daughter's shoulder. For a moment only, he allowed himself to feel the warmth of his family around him before he had to go see his advisers and generals, to return to his duties. Judging by the spark in Kagura's eye he knew that she was already planning a reunion surprise. He squeezed her hand and she pressed a kiss to his cheek marking before hiding her smile behind her fan

He was going to enjoy destroying those, who deprived him of her smile for so long.