Author's Note: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the source material for this story. All are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This fic is labeled MA per standards for eventual violence, sex, and language so be warned.

...

Reconciliation

Chapter 9 - Que Sera

"Kenshin! Kenshin! Damn it all!" Ren gasped for air and an exhausted sob escaped his pale lips as he landed clumsily at the gates of the Western fortress, trying to catch himself from slamming into the ground with his hands and remembering too late that one was now missing.

He tumbled forward and bloodied his head and left cheek as he landed on the gravel in the entryway. Exhaustion and blood loss were starting to win over and the captain was drifting in and out of consciousness. He forced himself upright, leaving a dripping trail of blood over the white stones, and jogged and stumbled his way in the direction he thought the infirmary was. He couldn't remember clearly. Was it that way, or over there? Surely his brother would be there but Ren's vision was fading at the edges, darkness creeping in, and that was a sure sign he would pass out before long.

Hours of flying, physical trauma, and emotional turmoil had weakened and worn down the young inudaiyoukai. The adrenaline rush he had been operating on for hours was quickly fading and if he didn't find his brother soon, he might pass out here in the courtyard and would not be discovered for hours. Hours would be too late.

In a last-ditch effort to get anyone's attention, he howled at the darkening sky and flared his youki to inappropriate levels, expending the last of it all before collapsing in a bloodied and dusty heap in the central courtyard of the fortress. His call for help didn't go unnoticed.

Kenshin appeared in a whiff of youki, looking annoyed but surprised Ren was back so soon.

"Ren? What in the seven hells are you- Oh no… No!"

Kenshin was at his side in a moment, hands ghosting over his injuries and assessing his brother with practiced hands. Blood drenched Ren's clothing from shoulder to shoes on his left side, and more was blooming in his hairline and dripping down his forehead. He was missing half of his left sleeve and where was his-

"Oh Ren… Oh no." Kenshin couldn't stop the welling of tears for his brother's loss. He quickly blinked them back. If they could find the limb, it could be reattached. Worry about that later.

He was too pale. Much too pale. Demonic hearing could hear Ren's heart stuttering with every other beat and his presence was almost undetectable when Kenshin reached out to assess his aura. Mortal fear began to bloom then, truly afraid for his brother's life.

"What did he do to you?" Kenshin whispered to himself.

After determining that Ren's injuries would allow him to be moved, Kenshin scooped his unconscious brother up and quickly made it to the infirmary. After a few hours of tireless cleaning, cauterizing, and bandaging, Ren was laying in an infirmary bed with a bandaged arm but alive and fast asleep. Kenshin had dosed him with both sleeping and youki recovery agents.

For reasons Kenshin did not know, his brother had been drained of nearly all of his youki. So, when Ren's sturdy and capable body should have been healing itself quickly as he flew back, instead he had exhausted and nearly exsanguinated himself simply getting back to the Fortress.

And there was the matter of Ren's missing arm. That was dispiriting for a soldier especially and Ren would be mournful when he woke, Kenshin knew. How it had happened, he could only guess until his brother regained consciousness. Setting aside his brother's impending sorrow and the anticipation of it, the best thing Kenshin could do now was to request a meeting with Lord Sesshoumaru to explain the situation. He hoped that his knowledge about the covert mission to help the hanyou wouldn't be a surprise to his Lord as he delivered his report. The news of Ren's condition would be shock enough.

Checking Ren over one last time for signs of distress and rubbing tired magenta eyes, Kenshin moved to leave the infirmary and find Lord Sesshoumaru. He moved silently through the halls, thinking about what he would tell the Lord of the West. Surely, his Lordship hadn't anticipated violence like this when he sent Ren to analyze Inuyasha.

The massive and intimidating youki signature was easy enough to find here at the Fortress and Kenshin headed there with measured steps, thinking about how best to tell Sesshoumaru-sama about his favorite captain's distressing return.

…

Here in the Western Fortress, Sesshoumaru did not find it necessary to shield his aura. Keeping his youki hidden wasn't tiresome but it gave him peace to allow himself to be open and at rest.

Moving among the cats had set his teeth on edge. Their mannerisms and politics were so unusual that inu frequently miscommunicated and insulted them without meaning to. Very little could be accomplished due to their flighty and impulsive natures. It was irksome and he was glad to be home.

The visit had been a productive one, however, and he was satisfied to see that the tigers were settled in and had very little trouble with the few human villages near them. Being so far north, the streak* and their kin would have very little interaction with the other cardinal lords. Sesshoumaru had been the first to greet them since the appointment of their pack to rule the North. They had already named an heir and determined the pecking order within the new royal families. These things always started and ended with blood and hurt feelings and the Western Lord was glad to hear it had all occurred prior to his visit.

The subsequent visit to the human palace had not gone so well, and negotiations had been tense and dishonest on the part of the humans. More disappointment in humans as a species.

'So incapable of setting aside fear that they would resort to falsehoods to appease me. Weak. Useless. Dishonorable.'

The humans that called themselves the Utsunomiya clan had promised to deliver everything he had demanded in payment for protection from the other cardinal youkai lords in the event of war. They had balked at his requests for goods to be delivered to the West in due time, and he was irate at the failure of the humans to see this as the olive branch it was. The warrior in him knew he could take whatever he desired from this lesser species but the politician knew the growing populations of lesser youkai would need the support of the humans in the future. While they might never work side by side, they didn't need to know that food and goods were being traded between them to their mutual benefit.

His thoughts turned back to patrolling his lands and where he was to visit next as gold eyes scanned the gardens in the innermost courtyard. The flowers and trees were beginning to wilt with the onset of autumn. Rin would be disappointed but nature and time wait for no one.

Sesshoumaru did not find it necessary to wear his armor or keep his swords on his person while at home. They were all just down the hall in his private rooms, within easy reach, but it was a relief not to be weighed down with the thoughts of attack at any moment.

Violence had its place in the wide world but this was his den, his home, and he was at peace here now that the immediate threats to the West had been removed. He had settled for a gold silk haori emblazoned with a hexagonal pattern scattered across the chest and sleeves, a white kosode, and navy hakama as he worked this morning. At the moment, Sesshoumaru was deep in thought planning the next rounds of official visits.

The ryudaiyoukai in the East were being oddly silent these days but his spies had returned no evidence of any subterfuge. The dragons were not known for sitting still as silent bystanders as the world rapidly changed around them. There would be an uproar within the next decade revolving around wounded pride or succession out of boredom, he was sure.

Maybe he could take the longest trip to the South first and visit the ruling families of the takadaiyoukai instead. The hawks and their kind were overly territorial but allies nonetheless. Since they had sent one of their own to the Fortress as an emissary a few decades ago, he felt an amiable visit was in order. Sesshoumaru's thoughts were interrupted by a nervous, arhythmic knock at his study door.

"Enter."

The healer Kenshin stepped into the study with a creased brow and reeking of nerves and sorrow. Sesshoumaru turned to face Kenshin from his place in the inner doorway to the garden. The Lord's hands were clasped behind his back and he appeared relaxed, framed by the open shoji doors and backlit by the morning sun reflecting off of the garden behind him.

'No point in waiting, Kenshin. Out with it.' He forced himself forward. Maybe he was still a shy pup…

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Kenshin bowed, "I am here to inform you that Ren has returned from his mission."

"Then why is the captain not here delivering his report?" Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ren is unable to visit at the moment because he is unconscious, my Lord. He sustained injury while he was traveling and- well, he has lost his left arm, my Lord. He is stable and resting now but his youki was completely depleted before he returned and he collapsed as he reached the Fortress."

Sesshoumaru turned away from him then and stared back out into the courtyard. He allowed his eyes to close in sorrow briefly for the captain.

'Such a thing should not have happened to the pup. But how?'

Feelings dampened, he turned back to Kenshin. He focused on the healer more intently and pressed on for more information.

"Have you any idea how Ren sustained this injury?"

"No, my Lord, but it was an injury caused by claws, I believe. Jagged and inefficient. Most violent." Kenshin's eyes took on another layer of sadness at the thought of what Ren had endured.

Sesshoumaru looked back out into the garden and pondered what could have happened. No, there was no point conjecturing. Ren would have to tell them when he woke.

"Thank you for tending to him and reporting in his absence. Notify me when he wakes."

From the hallway just outside of the study, raised voices and shuffling feet could suddenly be heard.

"Stop fussing at me, woman! No need- Ack- Sesshoumaru-sama, and we have no- Seven hells! -no time to waste…" The statement was cut off by a ragged coughing fit. The servant who was trying and failing to coax the captain back to bed looked like she was about to be whipped for failing in her duties.

"Ren-san, please, come back to the infirmary!" the tow-headed female servant pleaded from down the hallway.

Two pairs of eyes snapped to the doorway where Ren appeared sweating, flushed and panting, leaning heavily against the wood. Kenshin forgot Sesshoumaru was there, turned his back to him and relieved his brother, lifting him up and giving Ren his left shoulder to lean on.

"Tomomi, what is he doing here?" He glared over Ren's shoulder at the timid servant. "What are you doing here? You should be asleep, you idiot." Kenshin admonished his brother, forgetting his Lord was present. Frustrated, he waved her away.

Ren grinned his thanks at the support of his brother's shoulder and turned his serious attention back to Sesshoumaru.

"This is important, Kenshin. I can't lay around. Apologies, my Lord. I cannot greet you properly without falling over but at this moment, Inuyasha-sama is running wild through the forest somewhere in the North."

"The hanyou never did care for propriety. Did the lesson not go well?"

"No, my Lord, there was no lesson. I mean he is lost to his youki. He has transformed into a beast driven by pure instinct and no longer recognizes friend from foe."

Kenshin cut in then, staring shocked at his brother's face. "Don't tell me it was Inuyasha-sama who did this?" He gestured to the bandaged stump hanging to his left.

"It was." Ren felt truly sorry as he watched his Lord's eyes widen in shock. "I was unprepared for his transformation and the strength it gave him. I am not sure I could have gotten away unscathed after he decided to kill me, but I left him on the ground and flew here as fast as I could. If he had followed me into the air, I would be dead. I have no doubt."

'The hanyou should not have been capable of attacking a fully realized daiyoukai. Other forces are at work.' Sesshoumaru thought.

"Ren, sit down." Sesshoumaru realized the captain was in terrible pain, he needed to divulge the entire situation, and the conversation might last longer if Ren did not pass out trying to remain standing in his presence.

"I would not normally accept, my Lord, but I am exceedingly exhausted for some reason." Ren clumsily sat down on the mat facing Sesshoumaru, dragging Kenshin with him.

Kenshin cut in then. "I can help. Here." He handed an herbal tincture to Ren, having assumed he would need it eventually today and tucked it away. "Drink and do not spit it out. I will explain, my Lord, as he drinks. When Ren arrived, he was maimed and exhausted, as I have told you. After assessing and addressing his wounds, I began to wonder why it was he had not begun to heal on the way back to the Fortress. It was then I discovered that his youki had been drained."

Ren sputtered beside him as he took the first sip, missing the discussion about his energy. "Gods, that is terrible!"

Kenshin shushed him and gestured for Ren to finish it. "Stop whining and drink."

"Drained? How?" Sesshoumaru was too curious and apprehensive at this moment to care for the captain's disgust. It was odd but now that he realized it, he had not detected the captain's approach from the infirmary at all.

'It couldn't be…' Sesshoumaru needed more information.

"I do not know, my Lord, but our bodies always keep a reserve of power for protection and healing. We are typically not capable of using every last bit of our youki, as I am sure you know, but Ren was nearly drained entirely. I am not sure how he made it back here but if he had continued much longer, he might be dead."

Ren finished the bitter and acrid potion and handed the bottle back to Kenshin.

"Gods, that is awful stuff. Forgive me, my Lord. But drained, Kenshin? How? I felt the warmth of my youki leave me when Inuyasha-sama touched me but I thought it was dread. Drained by touch?"

"That I cannot say. I have never encountered such a thing before but you should not have been able to use all of your power in your weakened state, especially as your body should have been maintaining and healing itself, so I have no other explanation."

Sesshoumaru could wait no longer.

"Ren, tell This One what happened. Spare no detail."

Ren nodded and recounted the events of the last several hours. How he found Inuyasha exhausted, how he spoke of his life in Edo, and how Ren had attempted a basic lesson in youki manipulation. Sesshoumaru nodded at appropriate points in the story, agreeing with the captain's approach, and when the description of Inuyasha's transformation was complete, Sesshoumaru stood and walked back to door facing the garden.

"The hanyou was right then, my Lord? When he said his youki was overtaking him?" Kenshin cast worried and fearful eyes towards Sesshoumaru.

"He was. He is now not only a fugitive of the West but a danger to himself and any youkai of power he comes across. I will locate and restrain him for his own safety. Prepare a cell to house him, Ren, and alert no one to the situation until I return."

Ren looked shocked and smelled of regret and shame, but Sesshoumaru did not understand why.

"My Lord, whom should I promote to captain in my stead?"

Kenshin hung his head for his brother. Losing his position would devastate him.

"No one. Are you leaving, Ren?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Two pairs of young inudaiyoukai eyes snapped back up to the Lord in disbelief.

"Well, n- no my Lord Sesshoumaru, but I can hardly serve you while m- missing an arm." Ren stammered in shame.

Sesshoumaru cut his eyes dangerously at the captain then.

"Are you suggesting that one cannot effectively rule with an absent limb, captain?"

The Western Lord carefully contained his youki even in his outrage. If the captain was seconds from falling over, unshielded youki might incapacitate him.

Ren suddenly remembered the events of the last several years and bent his head low to the floor.

"No, my Lord! That isn't what I meant!" he sat up but continued to look at the floor in humility. "I only meant that as only a captain, you could easily replace me with someone more efficient."

"Are you healing well now that your youki is recovering?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Yes, my Lord and I will find useful employment elsewhere in the Fortress, if that is acceptable."

So, the pup was going to give up a promising career for his pride. Sometimes forfeiture was the honorable course of action but this was not the time. The boy would need convincing, it seemed. Sesshoumaru raised his chin and stared down his nose at Ren in a silent challenge.

"Do you no longer wish to remain a captain of the Western army?"

"Of course, I do, my Lord, but with one arm, I can hardly-"

"Are you able to lift a sword with your right arm? Has your injury limited your intellect?"

"Yes, I am and no, my mind was unaffected. My right was my dominant hand before-"

"Then I command you to remain in your post and return to training as soon as you are able. Kenshin will keep me informed of your progress."

"Yes, my Lord but I-"

"Captain!" Sesshoumaru's voice lowered and resonated with command, ending in a low growl. "Do you intend to refuse This Sesshoumaru in his request to continue to employ you?"

Ren yelped a whine and lowered his head to the side to expose his neck in submission. "No, my Lord. I will continue to serve the West faithfully." The captain looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

"Then our discussion is over for now. Kenshin, keep me apprised of Ren's recovery and when his convalescence is complete, he may return to his duties."

Ren bowed low again and awkwardly attempted to stand.

"Of course, Sesshoumaru-sama, and I thank you." Kenshin smiled and bowed low as well before bracing his brother again and helping him up out of the room and down the hall.

After the inu brothers left, Sesshoumaru allowed himself to sit at his desk and close his eyes in thought. If Kenshin was correct, and it seemed to Sesshoumaru that he had been, the situation was about to become dire.

'I did not think it could be true but it must be. Not only has the pup inherited Father's sword and armor, but now his youki abilities as well? Must the Inu no Taisho continue to torment me from beyond the grave?'

Only one inuyoukai in their extensive recorded history had been born with the ability to absorb the youki of another and utilize the youki as their own. Touga. There was a reason he was the Great General. There was a reason he towered over all others of their race. He had absorbed the youki of hundreds of inu and stronger youkai of other species to attain his strength, and he had put it to good use conquering his enemies without fail.

But for a hanyou, inexperienced with youki manipulation and half-human, this ability was deadly. Inuyasha could drain his victims but the half-human body that housed the stolen youki would never be able to contain it. It really was killing him. And it would. He would grow in power for a time but eventually, the bloodlust and stolen energy would consume him and there would be no coming back.

'Rin must be fetched here immediately before Inuyasha can be apprehended. The council of the West must be called to discuss the fate of the hanyou as an heir to the West. Whatever their decision, I must find and tame the whelp myself.'

Sesshoumaru allowed a small amount of shame to enter his mind at dismissing his half-brother's request so easily. Abilities were not necessarily hereditary but it should have crossed the mind of the Lord of the West that such a thing was possible. He himself had inherited his mother's abilities and her coloring. Remembering the incident when Inuyasha had lost himself to his youkai blood, Sesshoumaru had recognized Inuyasha's markings as those of his father. It seemed too likely to be untrue. Inuyasha had taken after Touga in all other ways.

If it was also considered that this had been the one and only time Inuyasha had ever asked for his help outright, it seemed dishonorable in hindsight to have foisted the job onto the captain. Now Ren was maimed and Inuyasha was a serious and growing threat. Sesshoumaru felt the distinct shade of his shame morph into that of regret.

'Hanyou are indeed an abomination. Inuyasha is not directly at fault for his loss of control, but the next time the cardinal lords meet, we should discuss this occurrence and the prevention or eradication of hanyou in the future.'

"Jaken!" Sesshoumaru called. The kappa would be hovering nearby, doing something mildly useful.

The sound of webbed feet slapping against the wooden hallway floor was immediate.

"Yes, my Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"Fetch Kouji."

"At once, Sesshumaru-sama!" Jaken smiled at his usefulness and rushed away to fetch the messenger.

Sesshoumaru pulled quill and ink over and began to pen a letter.

A few minutes later, Jaken returned with Kouji and bowed to leave him with his Lord.

"I have brought the pheasant, milord." Sesshoumaru merely looked up to dismiss Jaken and address Kouji.

"How may I be of help, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kouji bowed low to Sesshoumaru, sweeping a graceful arm out and to the side, and waited for an answer.

"I have a letter to deliver to the former Western Lady at her castle. Do not put it in the hands of anyone but the Lady herself. Wait there for her reply, no matter how long it takes."

Sesshoumaru set the letter on the front edge of his desk and looked back down to write another.

"Of course, my Lord. It will be done." Kouji moved forward to take the letter and then beat a hasty retreat from the obviously stressed daiyoukai.

Kouji turned toward the courtyard and began to make his way there immediately. It would feel good to stretch his wings again.

As he walked, his feathered, shoulder-length emerald hair settled behind him and shined iridescent green as he stepped into the sunlight from the palace porch onto the courtyard. His tanned skin was instantly warmed and vermilion eyes framed by long lashes looked excitedly up at the warm morning sun. His loose-fitting, white poet blouse fluttered around a toned chest and arms in the breeze. He stretched upward to warm his body, readying to transform, standing on tiptoes in his calf-high brown leather boots that were tucked over the dark brown breeches he wore.

Finally feeling warmed and ready, Kouji spread his arms wide and tipped his head back as he became his true self for the first time in months. Colorful feathers of claret, emerald green, sapphire blue and pale cream erupted from the swirl of youki and a large pheasant stood in his place, delicately preening already immaculate feathers with a golden beak and along graceful neck. He flapped his thin but powerful wings a few times to stretch and then took off with a graceful leap into the air. The journey would be a short one but he pushed himself and sped there, enjoying the cool breeze of the early autumn.

Sesshoumaru finished writing three additional letters and sealed them.

"Jaken!"

The kappa was back in the study in record time, panting to recover his breath after short legs had carried him to the Palace and back only moments ago.

"See to it that these letters are delivered to the other cardinal lords. There will be a meeting in a week's time if they accept. I am leaving."

He brushed past the tiny youkai and was headed down the hallway to his private rooms.

"To go where, my Lord Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru was already changing his clothes and equipping his armor, readying for travel. Jaken jogged down the hallway to hear the answer.

"Edo."

*A group of tigers is called a streak or an ambush.