Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe or any of the popular name brand apps, products, services, etc.
Chapter 1
Inuyasha burst into the men's bathroom, bracing his shaky hands on the ledge of the sink.
This...This couldn't be happening. Could it? It...He knew it was possible...That it would happen one day...But...now?
He reached over the sink to turn on the faucet, splashing cold water onto his face and dampening his silver bangs. He'd hoped it would help...But...He still felt light headed. Shaken. Trembling. His breathing was ragged, and he looked...about as big a mess as he felt.
Because the shirt he was wearing...
His shirt was red.
"It's...it's ok," he mumbled, looking at himself in the mirror - the bright red of his cotton button down glaring back at him like a beacon in the night. It was the most jarring thing in his world. His hair was still the same silvery grey it had always been. His eyes, the same shade of grey.
The rest of his world...it was still...
Grey.
But his shirt...
No...his fucking shirt.
It was bright fucking red.
The first color he had ever seen that wasn't grey scale.
He ran his clawed fingers through his bangs, trying to get a hold of himself, but it was hard. It was like his thoughts weren't connecting in his brain, and everything had just gone...blank. He should be excited. Thrilled. Instead, he was fucking terrified.
Because his soulmate was nearby...
...And today was the fucking biggest day of his professional life.
The door to the bathroom burst open, and Inuyasha could smell Sesshomaru before he could see him.
"What the fuck man? Why the hell did y—" he demanded, stopping mid sentence when he could smell his younger brother's nervousness. See the water on his face and clothes. "Yash...what...Are you ok?"
Inuyasha slowly shook his head, swallowing. He tried to open his mouth and tell his brother, but the words caught in his throat and he was left floundering. His lips were trying to form sentences he couldn't actually articulate.
"Inuyasha, what happened," Sesshomaru pressed, taking his shoulders between his large hands. It should have felt comforting...but all it did was make him feel smaller. Like he was a child again, needing his older brother to protect him from the kids at school that made fun of him.
Because he was color blind.
They'd called him a freak. A weirdo. Strange.
All because he couldn't relate to simple questions, like - What's your favorite color? Can you pass me the yellow marker? What do these four things have in common?
Hint - they were all blue.
Something he couldn't see.
Because he hadn't met his soulmate yet.
But now...now he was seeing red.
Literally.
"My shirt," he breathed, and Sesshomaru's face furrowed in confusion.
"What about it? Did you spill something on it? Rip a hole in it? Do we need to trade?"
Inuyasha rapidly shook his head, running his hands down his face.
"It's red," he muttered, and Sesshomaru blinked slowly at him.
"Yeah? So? You knew that when mom gave it to you. What's the big deal?"
"I...No. Sesshomaru. My shirt. It's red."
That time when he said it, really stressing the word "red", he could see it click in his brother's brain.
"Oh...shit..."
"Yeah. I know."
"...Shit!"
"I know!"
"What are you going to do?"
"I have no fucking idea Sessh! How the hell am I supposed to go out there and try to sell myself and my art in this fucking show, when my fucking soulmate is here!"
"Shit..."
"I know!" he repeated, his ire growing the more they stood there in the bathroom. He was starting to panic. Inuyasha needed to mix and mingle and socialize...but he had zero desire to do so. Now that he was at least a little calmer over the absolute fucking shock of seeing color for the first time in his life, he only had one desire.
Find his soulmate.
But...if he fucked this show up, he might never be invited to show at this gallery again. He'd spent a good chunk of his career as a painter working to get into this place. It was known for its exclusivity. You couldn't be just anyone to show here.
You had to be someone.
And he was finally someone...And it had been a hard fucking road to get here. He couldn't fuck this up...but...He also couldn't lose whoever his soulmate was.
Inuyasha watched his brother's lips press into a thin line as he tried to think of a solution, before finally coming to a decision.
"Trade shirts with me."
"I...What?"
"I'm going to pretend to be you," Sesshomaru explained, untucking his shirt from his pants. "You're going to pretend to be me. Just for now. We look almost the same anyways. That's what mom and dad always say."
"We do not! You have a fucking moon in the center of your head, and two stripes on your cheeks - I only have the one. And then there's the ears..."
"I know but...Most people aren't going to remember that shit anyways," he continued, handing his brother his shirt. "If someone knows who you are, what are they going to say? 'He's the dog demon in the red shirt.' I can be the dog demon in the red shirt. It's the best we've got right now...And you haven't been formally introduced yet. You said you never even met the gallery owner!"
"Only assistants," he nodded weakly as Sesshomaru started unbuttoning Inuyasha's shirt for him.
"Perfect. I think we can pull this off for now. It's going to be fine. You just...Need to try and find her. Fast."
Inuyasha nodded numbly as he shrugged his shirt off, trading with his brother. Sesshomaru's shirt felt warm as he slipped his arms into it. It was an odd thing to notice, but...it felt oddly comforting, as did the scent of his brother enveloping him. It was like being wrapped in a calming layer of reassurance while his entire world was being turned unexpectedly upside down. Even if they couldn't pull this off...he was thankful for his brother and his crazy idea. It was making him feel calmer, at least.
"It's going to be fine Yash...Alright?"
He nodded numbly again.
"Hey. Look at me," Sesshomaru repeated, taking his brother's chin between his fingers. "Let me hear you say it."
"I-it's going to be fine."
Sesshomaru nodded and the corners of his lips quirked up into the slightest of smiles.
"Good."
They quickly finished dressing and gave each other a once over before deeming they were ready to face the world.
"Hey...Sessh?"
"Mmm?" his bother replied, before grabbing his shoulders. Inuyasha felt Sesshomaru's finger's in his hair - fixing his bangs, pulling his locks into a ponytail with the hair band he had been wearing...
"What...what if my soulmate...isn't a woman?"
Sesshomaru paused, tilting his head to the side.
"You mean if it's a man?"
"Y-yeah. I mean...I never really thought about a man before? Or was interested in one, but what if—"
"We won't love you any less, if that's the case. You know that, right? It's ok, if that's what happens. We love you. And if your soulmate isn't...what or who we always pictured...It won't change you for us, alright? We just want you to be happy, so stop worrying."
Inuyasha could only shakily exhale and nod his head, allowing his older brother to continue fussing over him.
"I feel like you might be a bottom though."
Inuyasha shoved him away and turned towards the door, ignoring his brother's laughter.
He had a unique way of pissing him off and calming him down all at the same time.
There were little hints of red everywhere he went now. He hadn't realized just how colorful the world was until he could see red. It was in the wine. The strawberries. The carpet near the glass doors. Outside he could see streaks of it in the distance from street lights and in flowers. He could see it in the glow of the exit sign near a stairwell.
It was distracting...but...it was also fading.
That meant he was losing her. Or him.
It made his stomach twist into knots.
The show hadn't even officially started yet, but what if they had already left? Come in, quickly grabbed some food and wine, and then bolted before the introductions? It broke his heart a little, and he refused to dwell on that possibility, because wouldn't his soulmate be more...well...
They couldn't be supportive of him if they hadn't met yet, but he still hoped that they would be.
The fading he was seeing now was supposed to try and help him find his...person. Whoever they were. It was like a radar or sorts. The closer he got to his soulmate, the more vivid the colors were supposed to become. If they started moving away from each other however, then the colors would start to fade. That's what his dad had always told him.
It was like a giant game of hot and cold.
The world's worst game of hot and cold.
Which would stop once they had officially mated. Until then, it was going to drive him fucking insane.
It was kind of nice pretending to be Sesshomaru at his own show, however. He could overhear what everyone really thought about his work...and...it was all glowing. It made him beam inside as he weaved his way through the crowd. All of his works were abstract, grayscale pieces. He would only pick one color to offset the monotony of the black and white and grey...but...he didn't really know what his work looked like in full. That was part of the appeal of his work, for some people.
They marveled at how he could do it when he couldn't see it.
He honestly didn't know either.
It was all instinctual. Following a gut feeling.
And it worked for him.
Just as he was about to make another turn down another hallway, the reds in his vision flared, and a second color was added to the mix.
Green.
The leaves on the strawberries popped to life, and his heart leapt into his throat.
They were near.
"Inuyasha?"
He turned his head instinctually, looking for the person who had called out to him, but he couldn't see anyone. It must have come from the other side of the gallery wall in the rather open room.
"Yes?"
His brother.
"Inuyasha...It's so wonderful to meet you! I'm Kagome Higurashi."
The gallery owner!
Shit. She was looking for him for his introduction!
"I've been looking forward to this - I've been a fan of your work for quite some time now," Kagome continued, and Inuyasha began to move through the crowd of people again. Sesshomaru could handle this. He needed to trust him to handle this while he continued to look.
And just like that, the green from his vision vanished as he rounded another corner.
He'd lost them!
Fuck!
He began biting the edge of his blunted finger nails, trying to calm himself, but it wasn't working.
"I love his use of color here," he heard someone murmur on the other side of the wall. "The use of red...it's so raw. Visceral. It almost makes me wonder what he will create when he finds his soulmate. He's already so talented, but...His perspective will undoubtedly change."
"You think his work will get worse?"
"It's hard to say...But I wouldn't be surprised. He's good, but some of these pieces are rather pedestrian. They look like they belong in an office building lobby."
He felt sucker punched. He hadn't even considered that.
Oh fucking hell...Yeah. Sure.
Why wouldn't that be added into the mix of the shit show his life had become in the last hour?
He'd never thought he would ever even have to consider choosing between his soulmate and his career, but...
No. Nope. He wasn't going to think about that now, because...
Fuuuuck...
Fuck!
Could this night get any worse?
"We will do your introduction over here," Kagome gestured, leading Inuyasha towards the center wall in the main room within her gallery. He seemed different from what she had imagined. Not that she had imagined meeting him!
...Much.
She had been passively following Inuyasha's career for years. She'd seen his work slowly popping up all over town and...
Honestly, once she started learning more about him, she had become...intrigued. That's why she'd invited him to show at Indigo Hues.
She wanted to know more about him and his work.
But the man beside her...She knew that Inuyasha was a dog demon, but there was something about him that just seemed off. She didn't want to say imposter, but his responses to her questions had been vague at best. Like when she asked him about his process, he had sidestepped the question by trying to complement her staff and remark on how easy it had been to work with them. While she couldn't argue with that, she also couldn't help but feel...miffed?
When had artists ever not wanted to discuss their process?
Regardless, she had a show to run, and she had to repeatedly tell herself to ignore her gut feeling that something was wrong.
"We can begin in a few minutes - I'm just waiting for a friend from the Lexingburg Art Review to arrive. I haven't seen him yet...I wanted to make sure he got a photo of you at the opening."
"A reporter?"
Was it her imagination, or did Inuyasha sound a little...panicked?
"And photographer, yes," she nodded. "He does both. Sorry...Did Sango not go over this with you? You just seem...Surprised?"
"My apologies...Yes. She did. It just must have slipped my mind," he mumbled, and she thought she saw him glare at one of the paintings. Like, for a split second. she swore he wanted to rip it to shreds.
"Will this be a problem?"
"Hopefully not," he grumbled under his breath before straightening his shoulders and giving her a dazzling smile. "It will be fine. It's just a case of opening night jitters. Perhaps we can move the photography to later in the evening? After I've had a glass or two of wine. It will give me a chance to hunt you down again."
She couldn't help but blush despite herself.
"Mmm...speaking of," she smiled as a server walked past them carrying a tray of white wine. She stopped them and grabbed two glasses from the tray, handing one to Inuyasha.
"Put it into the universe..."
"And the universe will deliver," she agreed. "To a successful night...and a sold out show."
"I'll drink to that," he smirked, clinking his glass to hers before taking a sip.
"Shall we get started then?"
"One moment," he requested, chugging the glass of wine and placing it on a table off to the side. She felt...bewildered.
He definitely wasn't what she had been expecting...But...He also wouldn't have been her first inebriated artist before. She just loathed dealing with them.
She hadn't thought she would loathe dealing with Inuyasha…
Ah well.
Hopefully the night would still be a success regardless!
Inuyasha heard the soft, dull music playing around them dim and his heart sank into his stomach. He knew what that meant. Kagome was about to read his bio and introduce him.
Which...meant she was going to introduce his brother.
Fuck.
Everyone was headed to the main room in Indigo Hues, though, so maybe he would have a better chance pinpointing who his soulmate was in there? Assuming he even wanted to know now…
He had been warring with himself ever since he overheard that conversation between patrons.
Fucking hell...Could this night just...be over with already? And to think, he'd actually been looking forward to the opening. Now it was just a fucking nightmare and felt an enormous pressure on his shoulders.
It was like he was eighteen all over again, and he needed to decide what he wanted to do with his life. Only when he decided to go to business school, he hadn't known the mistake that would be...Or that he could always get out of that decision later in life.
Regardless.
The pressure was the same.
And whatever decisions he made tonight...There was no taking those back.
There'd be no business school redo.
He felt the small crowd of people draw him into the main room, almost as if he were a leaf being carried there on a current...and the colors in his vision began to blossom the closer he came.
Reds and greens popped into view, along with a few more he couldn't think of the names for at that moment. He was sure the contextual clues were there, but his head was swimming.
His dad had never prepared him for the complete sensory overload.
It was like a migraine on crack, and he felt completely blinded. It was making his cranium explode with pain the closer and closer he came to the room, absently reminding him of what it felt like to stare at the sun too long.
Honestly, he was beginning to feel a little too nauseated, like he needed something to help prop himself up. He glanced around the room, spotting a table near the front by Sesshomaru and sighed in relief. Leaning on that could help, right? And then he could scope out the room...And also lend a little silent support to his brother.
He slowly wove his way through the people as he heard Kagome begin speaking into a microphone, welcoming everyone to the show. As she began to talk about how she had come to discover him as an artist, he sighed in relief as he slumped against a table.
He almost felt like vomiting, but he was determined to keep it down. This had to pass eventually, right? Everyone else was used to seeing in color...Their father had adjusted after he had met his mom, but...it certainly made him feel like maybe he was better off not knowing who his soulmate was.
No.
That...That was a lie.
He needed to know.
Even if he decided to never speak to them, he needed to know who they were at least. He needed to know who he should supposedly spend his life with.
Inuyasha could feel Sesshomaru's eyes on him, and he looked up at his concerned brother, trying to give him a reassuring smile. He was sure he looked like shit. Because...You know. He felt like it.
That...That had been a mistake…
The second he did, his world exploded like a bad acid trip. Everything was so bright and vibrant, he couldn't see anything anymore...Because the woman beside him...Kagome Higurashi...The fucking owner of the gallary he had been trying to get into for years…
She was his fucking soulmate.
It was too much. He couldn't...It was all...
The last thing he heard was his brother calling his name as his world faded to black.
A/N:
This is a belated birthday gift to Clearwillow. My life has been chaos for the last few months but I am determined to get back into the swing of things...Starting with finishing off all the WIPs I have in my folder. And yes, this one is one of them...and this one is in fact finished! I just have to upload and do final edits! So expect updates every two weeks. Unless I fall off the face of the earth again... It's possible. I do have through chapter 4 posted elsewhere to this: more details are available in my carrd, lemonlush dot carrd dot co!
See you soon!
-LL