A/N: Thank you to little25victor for reviewing again, along with those that added it or myself to their lists.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.

One Hanyou Too Many

What To Do About Mother

They heard little from the dog demoness for the rest of the day. She did not appear for a midday meal with them, although perhaps that had more to do with the fact that her breakfast had been later than their own. Seated around the large table, the Inutachi, Sesshoumaru, Rin, Yukari, plus Jaken and Myouga, were contemplative and more than a little worried.

"What is the moping for?" Yukari demanded, her brother and the others having practically ignored her for the entire meal.

"We are not moping," her brother denied.

"We are worried, my lady," Myouga corrected.

"About what?"

"Your mother, what else?" Inuyasha shot back.

"Mother is completely fine. I saw her this morning after my bath. She was in high spirits and smelled to be in perfect health."

"That's what we're afraid of," Kagome sighed.

"I thought you were worried. Afraid and worried are not the same things," the black dog demon commented.

"It amounts to the same thing with your esteemed mother, Lady Yukari. You have not been on this earth for long so maybe you don't know her as well as you think. The Honorable Mother is deep in a plan that will give us all a headache if it doesn't kill us first."

Yukari studied the others, both her and Rin still not understanding the situation. "The only thing she's planning that I know of is a party. She explained it to Rin and me yesterday. Mother said since you were all here, and getting along so well, that it was the perfect time to show all of us off to the other nobles."

"We know about the party. Shippou spilled that secret yesterday too."

"It wasn't a secret," Yukari told Inuyasha. "The maids have been preparing for it for weeks. The hunters have been stocking up on game, and other provisions have been coming almost daily to the base of the mountain."

Inuyasha exchanged a look with his brother, his raised brow asking the elder whether or not his sister was hearing her own words. There was no way for the Lady Mother to know that he and Sesshoumaru would be at a truce. His elder sibling merely shook his head. "Do you hear yourself, kid? From the sounds of it, she's been planning on introducing the lot of us for months. These things take time to plan, and she must have sent out invitations at least a season ago."

"So why was she really looking for Sesshoumaru that day in the rain?" Sango asked. "Myouga, you mentioned something about training."

"I believed that she wanted to help Master Sesshoumaru train. I must have been mistaken."

"Or she led you to believe that's what she wanted with this Sesshoumaru."

"You met in a cave not far from Lady Kaede's village. Maybe she wasn't looking for Sesshoumaru at all. Maybe she was coming to see us," Inuyasha put in.

"The rain got in her way, and it was just luck that she met Sango, Miroku, and Shippou in the cave. She saw the way he was acting and found another way to amuse herself on top of getting us all to attend her party," Kagome deduced.

"Perhaps the party is just an excuse to have a war conference. By having it under her roof, she can control how certain aspects of it goes," Miroku mused, giving a hum under his breath.

"And maybe," Sango began, her tone dark. "Maybe Naraku is supposed to be the so-called 'guest of honor.'"

There was a brief pause before a tinkling laugh turned their collective attention towards the hallway. "My, my, you were busy little bees figuring me out, weren't you? Fine, spoil my surprise for you." The demoness joined them at the table, the maids rushing to get her something to eat and drink.

"I think it's time you told us the truth, Mother," Sesshoumaru said, his tone letting her know he'd stand for nothing less.

"As you wish." She laid it all out for them. The rumors that had started to spread about their inability to handle someone who had until that point been nothing but a nuisance. The comments that the sons of the Dog General were nothing like their sire. It had annoyed her to the point that she had set up a plan to have the other nobles explain to her how they would handle someone of Naraku's insidiousness. She was also going to remind them that the Shikon Jewel had reentered the picture and that had never brought anything but trouble.

"You could have told us," her son managed to squeeze in while she was wetting her throat.

"Yes, and how was I to get you here? You rarely visit for no reason."

"I would have come, if only to put those fools in their place."

"Very well. What would you have done, or said, if I told you to bring your brother along?"

"Something rude," Inuyasha answered for the elder Taisho.

"Exactly. So I thought I would go to you first, dear. Then that little mishap with the rain happened and a whole other idea was born."

"Please tell me you do know how to get this off of me," Miroku pleaded. He tugged at the beads around his neck.

"Yes, yes. I found the scroll your first night here. It's waiting in the records room once this whole thing with Naraku is over."

"There isn't any chance of him staying this way if we don't remove it by a certain length of time, is there?" Sango questioned.

"Everything will be fine, my dear. There is a time limit, but the next full moon isn't for two more weeks." A delicate hand waved away their concern and the assembled group, except the children, groaned. "Have you no trust in your beloved mother?" the demoness asked her son.

"Past experience has led me to believe you can be careless with some things, Mother." Sesshoumaru saw that she wanted to refute that but couldn't. "Now that you've had your fun, what is your plan to destroy Naraku?"

"Oh! It's positively delectable. Naraku has disguised himself as a human lord, but the demon lords know that he is nothing but a half demon; and not a natural born one at that. They can be such snobs." She tried to stop the twitch of her lips at their various expressions but found she couldn't.

"We hadn't noticed," Inuyasha deadpanned.

"Yes, well, daiyoukai are the worst when it comes to underestimating half demons. With great power also comes great stupidity in some cases." This last was said as she stared at her son.

Sesshoumaru pointedly ignored her digs. "Go on," he ordered.

"Perhaps the children should leave for this next part," his mother mused, glancing at her daughter, Sesshoumaru's ward, and the kitsune cub. "I'm afraid the next part really isn't suitable for children."

"You heard, runt, get gone if you're done eating. Go play with the girls somewhere you can't hear us."

"But Inuyasha," Shippou started, silencing when Kagome gave him a look. She was getting really good at that. "Fine. Come on, Rin, Yukari. The adults are 'talking.'"

The Honorable Mother waited until she was sure they were out of earshot. "As I started to say, since the nobles have for the most part ignored Naraku, he's still lacking as a demon. If he truly wishes to be seen as an equal, he's going to have to do more than destroy a bunch of humans and wish on the Shikon Jewel. Not to mention that his pining for a dead human priestess is so last century."

All of Inuyasha's friends shot him a look, wondering if she had been trying to tell him something or if Sesshoumaru's mother was just making a comment. "Hn, it is rather foolish," her son agreed. There was no hidden message there. Sesshoumaru was telling his brother outright that his chasing after Kikyo's borrowed existence was not seen in a great light.

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted, not commenting on their not-so-veiled hints.

"It just so happens that I have been in communication with Naraku, myself. He tracked me down on one of the few occasions I was gone from home to make me an offer he thought I couldn't refuse. Or I should say one of his golems did. The real one was no doubt tucked away safely behind a barrier. He also had some annoying hell wasps hanging around."

"I forgot to mention those, my lady. They happen to be connected to Kanna's mirror and he uses them to spy on everyone he can." Miroku dipped his head in apology.

"What was this offer?" Sesshoumaru demanded. He really needed to start paying more attention to what was going on around here.

"First he thought to inform me that you had lost your arm to your brother in a fight. As if I hadn't already known that. You did squabble at your father's graveyard, which I happen to watch over from time to time. When I seemed unimpressed, he tried to play on my motherly devotion and 'offered' to give it back to you."

"Eh, well, he did do something of that nature," Inuyasha replied, remembering when Sesshoumaru had borrowed a dragon's arm that had a shard in it. "It didn't work out too well, as I remember."

"It didn't," the lady agreed. "You see, I had told him that before I let him help me in any manner, he'd have to prove that the shards he had were real. Too many fakes wandering around, you understand. So, out of the goodness of his so-called heart, he went in search of Sesshoumaru. He said he'd offer my son a chance."

"I played into your game with him."

"Mm, for a moment. I wanted to see what the shard would do. It has been a while since I've seen the jewel in action. His corruption of it wanted to eat your body. Sensing the danger, you ripped it off on your own, so I had no need to intervene. It also gave me breathing room to figure out how to handle him. He's been very wary around me."

"He doesn't know where your allegiances lie," Sango guessed.

"I've made sure that I seem on the fence. He's extended his help should I ever need it, never saying exactly what he wants in return."

Inuyasha snorted. "You wouldn't get anything but killed should you let him 'help' you."

"He would certainly try. He wants the power of a daiyoukai and doesn't much care where it comes from. I've slowly been getting him interested in something else altogether though." The Lady Mother grinned and paused to eat while her children tried to figure out what she meant.

The other dog demons in the room were trying to decide what she meant based on her scent, as she was clearly boasting about something they were probably not going to like. The humans, including Miroku, were getting a nasty suspicion. "My lady," Kagome began hesitantly.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about…" Sango continued.

"Seducing him by any chance, would you?" the monk finished.

Sesshoumaru, in the middle of taking a drink of sake, spit it out across the room, choking on some as he tried to catch his breath. "Mother!" he finally rasped out.

Inuyasha patted his brother's arm in commiseration. He couldn't think of anything to say to cheer his brother up, so decided to remain silent. His friends were staring at the demoness with equal parts fascination and horror. Myouga had collapsed, and Jaken looked like he'd become petrified.

"A woman does have needs," she said, just to see what they would do. This wasn't something one discussed in mixed company, let alone with one's children but the opportunity to see her son's inevitable reaction was too good to pass up. "Oh, relax, Sesshoumaru, you're hyperventilating. I have no desire, need, or intention of doing any such thing. I just need to make him think that's what's going to happen. I also intend to invite him to the party. Let him hobnob with the other daiyoukai and tell him that it will do more to elevate his position in the world than what he's doing now."

"Make him the guest of honor?" Sango put forth, as she'd surmised earlier.

"Exactly."

"No wonder she didn't want the kids here," Kagome whispered.

"There is one other thing I'm going to dangle in front of him."

"I'm afraid to ask," Inuyasha stated.

"The opportunity to tie our families together in marriage."

"Excuse me?" Sesshoumaru questioned, fearing his hearing must be starting to go.

"You are of an age, Sesshoumaru. It is a ploy, of course. I wouldn't wish you as a husband on anyone right now, even Kagura. However, Miroku did tell me that she hates her creator as much as the rest of you. If we can get a hold of her heart, we may be able to bring her to our side. If I only ask for her heart in return for my generosity…"

"You could 'control' her while letting her do as she wishes. There isn't any doubt that she would jump at the chance."

"How do we get her in on this without letting Naraku know what we're about? Isn't he going to be a little suspicious if we're here?"

"That's why all of you, save Sesshoumaru, are going to keep out of sight until the time is near."

"Ah," Miroku commented, nodding sagely. "And what of his wasps and Kanna?"

"The wasps cannot survive at this altitude and as for Kanna, that child will just have to stay home to watch Kohaku. If she's here, the other daiyoukai will not go along with my plans, nor will they be free to speak as they need to. I will tell Naraku that if he brings her, it will be an immediate fail."

"He could send a golem."

"I have a contingency for that." Sesshoumaru raised a brow, almost afraid to ask. "I have some very good hunting dogs at my disposal," she smirked, stroking the Meidou Seki.

"Please don't used that, my lady," Myouga begged, having returned to consciousness.

"We must dispose of all of him, old man. I can use the dogs of the Underworld to track the rest of him down once the majority is on its way to the pit. He won't even have time to regenerate."

"You would truly unleash the beasts here, my lady? They could easily take one of us there instead."

"You shall be fine. None of you have died and been brought back by Tenseiga, have you?"

"Rin," her son stated with finality.

"I will ensure her safety when the time comes then. I was going to dress her up in the finest kimono I could have commissioned in such a short time. My scent should mask the presence of Tenseiga on her soul."

"Very well. I will be greatly displeased if something were to happen to her."

"The gouge you just put in my table drives your point home clearly, son." They all looked at the wood in front of the demon lord, noticing that there was indeed a large piece of wood missing in the shape of claw marks.

"Good."

"Now then, I suggest we all retire to our quarters for the night. The other nobles will start arriving tomorrow, and they won't waste time in trying to berate you for your so-called failure. We must be in tiptop shape to push back." Without waiting for their reply, the Honorable Mother left the room, a soft whistle upon her breath.

"Has anyone ever told you that your mother may be slightly insane?" Inuyasha asked his brother.

"It has been considered."

"Have you ever figured out what to do about that?"

"No."

"You may want to try again."

"Agreed."