Chapter Eleven:
A Father and Son Talk
Sesshoumaru stood in the small room where Inuyoshi had been laid, his gaze drawn to the sleeping hanyou's deflated form.
Takara had earlier taken Sesshoumaru down to the large room below her cabin where she had stored the more valuable possessions of their family, the things she had been able to save after the plague had ended and she had returned to the Western Castle. Among these things were some of his old yet elegant clothing, and she had found him a nicely intact outfit of his own to wear that made him feel much more like a lord. It was identical in style to the clothing he'd worn when patrolling his lands, and was dark green with yellow print on the sleeves and shoulders.
She had told him about her battle with the daija youkai, Michiomaru, and how in the end, she had used the Tenseiga to revive the souls he had stolen and thus deprive him of his power. This had perplexed him to no end, for as Tenseiga's master, Sesshoumaru had only been able to revive recently dead creatures, whereas Takara had revived him two hundred years after his death. Neither of them could make sense of it, so he chose instead to focus on the other matter at hand – his son.
The hanyou had definitely aged since Sesshoumaru had last seen him. The youkai was not surprised to see his son wearing a blue version of Inuyasha's clothing; his hanyou brother had practically raised Inuyoshi after Rin had died.
~Rin…~ His thoughts were suddenly invaded by the image of a human child running around his legs, smiling and laughing as she chased a butterfly. The image became that of a human youth, perplexed at her changing body, and still delighted at every little thing she discovered. It then became a woman with black hair as long as his, for she adored him in every way even at that age, and did everything she could to be the way he was. She was his Rin, and had brightened up the halls of his home. It had taken him many years after she reached adulthood for him to accept his changed feelings towards her, and to make her his in a different way.
She had been afraid to tell him when she was pregnant, fearing that he would do something irrational rather than allow himself to have a hanyou child. But he had allowed it, and though he could never look at the child without dismay, he felt more respect for his father now that he knew what it was like to love a human. And when Rin had succumbed to death in her old age, he knew that his son carried her spirit in him.
~This boy is all I have left of her,~ he thought as he looked at Inuyoshi's face. ~This weak, emotional, stubborn hanyou, who looks so much like Inuyasha. Somewhere in him is Rin.~
Sesshoumaru's wandering thoughts were interrupted when the subject of the thoughts stirred, and fluttered his eyes. Inuyoshi's golden eyes opened, fell on Sesshoumaru's face, and then blinked, as though he were trying to make the image of his father disappear. After blinking a couple more times, he realized that he wasn't dreaming.
~Oh Kami-sama [God], it's him,~ he thought, and wished he'd stayed asleep. He sat up and looked away, and could feel the cold golden gaze on his back.
"This isn't real," Inuyoshi whispered. "You're not alive. You died a long time ago. I'm free of you."
"Inuyoshi," the cold voice spoke behind him. "I am indeed here, and alive, despite what you may wish to believe."
The hanyou didn't turn around, but closed his eyes tightly, his body beginning to tremble slightly. "Why…why have you come back…"
"It was not of my own doing that I am alive again. Takara used Tenseiga in such a way that I was revived."
Inuyoshi was trembling hard now. Sesshoumaru could see the tremors running down his body, and could very faintly smell salt. Tears.
"Go back…go back to your grave…"
"Inuyoshi."
"You don't belong here!!!" the hanyou suddenly screamed. He turned, claws raised, and struck at Sesshoumaru, but the youkai grabbed his wrist in one hand.
Sesshoumaru pushed him downward back onto the bed, and placed his other hand on the hanyou's chest. He then leaned over him, his eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.
"Listen, you foolish idiot. I did not come here on my own accord. My priority now is to learn about the time I have been pulled into. I am not planning on destroying you, but if you keep on like this…"
"You always wanted to destroy me!" Inuyoshi yelled. "The only reason you didn't was because okaasan [mother] didn't let you! Why don't you do it now then?! I would rather die than live with you alive again!"
Sesshoumaru backhanded him, resisting the urge to use his claws. "You ungrateful worthless hanyou, you carry my sword, you keep your inheritance, and yet you continue to despise me! If I had hated you the way you think, I would have left you NOTHING when I died."
"What you left me is worthless! Your sword possessed me!"
"That is your own fault. Toukijin recognizes me as its master and will obey no other. I gave you my fur so that it would recognize you as me, and you insisted on parading around with only the sword. That is why I have taken it back; you cannot use it properly. I should have known better than to leave my greatest possessions to you."
Inuyoshi growled. "Where is Takara? This is her house, where is she? Did she leave me alone with you so that you would kill me?"
"Baka," Sesshoumaru spat. "She is here, as well as that child of Inuyasha. I requested time alone with you because I thought we would be able to talk without going through childish antics, but apparently I was incorrect. You are still as uncouth as you ever were."
"Maybe if you hadn't always told me how worthless and stupid I was, I'd meet your standards better," Inuyoshi said sarcastically. Sesshoumaru straightened, releasing his son from his hold.
"If we are quite finished with the stupidity, I would like to inquire as to where you have put my fur."
"Why, so you can take it back too with your sword?"
Sesshoumaru snapped.
"You filthy hanyou!" he growled, and a short cry escaped Inuyoshi's mouth as he felt the bite of claws across his face. Suddenly a hand was around his throat, and his back was slammed up against the wall. The hand tightened, and Inuyoshi gasped as his breath was cut off.
Sesshoumaru stepped up as close as he could to his son, holding his neck with one hand. Red began to seep into his eyes, and he tightened his grip again, further crushing Inuyoshi's windpipe.
"I should have never allowed Rin to have you," he hissed. "I should have cut you from her belly and destroyed you before you could disgrace my family."
"O…tou…san…" Inuyoshi gasped, his voice coming out as a struggled hiss. "Onegai [please]…"
The grip tightened further, and Inuyoshi's eyes closed, his mouth open in a noiseless cry of pain. His neck was breaking.
"Die," Sesshoumaru hissed. "DIE."
"Stop it!"
A flash came between them, and Sesshoumaru was forced away from his son, who dropped to the ground. He turned angrily at Takara, who stood to the side, her hand out after using her whip. She looked at both of them one at a time.
"Not in my house," she growled. Sesshoumaru glared dangerously at his daughter, before quickly departing the room.
