Guest: Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it. I find it hard to believe Inuyasha isn't rather smart considering in the anime that we see he survived on his own from quite a young age. Sesshomaru here is also definitely a little different given the circumstances. Although I actually thought I was portraying him as more open-minded curious rather than kind. Then again, I suppose for him, that is kind.

Alannada: Thanks! And good point, pretty sure she was running barefoot through the snow.


Chapter 4

Inuyasha, age 153:

"My lord!" the imp called out.

"What is it Jaken?"

The imp bowed low. "I know your father entrusted you with this mission and thus you refuse to ask him for aid, but might it not be wise to ask Inuyasha?"

His eye twitched. "Inuyasha? Why would I ask for his aid? Did he not abandon his youkai heritage when he refused to finally join us in the Inu palace?" It had absolutely shocked everyone, his father most of all. Izayoi had died a peaceful death from old age, as was the fate of all mortals. With her gone, Sesshomaru's mother would finally allow Inuyasha his place. Their father had even gifted the hanyou with the Tessaiga, as proof to all that he was his son. The hanyou visited for a measly four days before declaring that he would rather stay amongst humans. Weakness. Realizing that watching Inuyasha would not provide him with the answers he sought, Sesshomaru had continued his own way in hopes of becoming stronger and finding answers, crossing paths with his brother very rarely. Any hope his father had given him about his brother finding his true strength and joining him, was nothing but a pipe dream. Worthless.

A thought came to Sesshomaru's mind and he smiled. "Actually, do invite him."

The imp shivered at the smile and questioned, "my lord?"

"If he refuses, then he is a coward. If he accepts and perishes from weakness, then at least he will no longer be a stain on the bloodline. He will die 'honorably', 'in battle'." He was clever. Honestly, now his hopes were up that the boy would show.

x


It was nighttime and Sesshomaru sat observing the field ahead. It was where the decisive battle against the panther tribe would occur the next day. Finally, he would have a chance to claim his father's legacy with his own power. True, it was not as impressive as his father's defeat over the panther king eons ago, but it would be his first time to lead a war. He still carried no blade.

A scent caught his attention. "Inuyasha," he whispered. He had expected him not to show at this point.

It was a while before the source of the scent finally arrived, but it greeted him directly, "Sesshomaru."

"I'm surprised you came." He was willing to admit it.

"Keh! You're the asshole who avoided me for decades. I come when the pack calls, though maybe next time you could bother to ask me yourself." He plopped down beside his brother without ever looking at him. Things were always awkward between them. Sesshomaru did not know what to think of his brother. The only conclusive emotions he felt were anger and betrayal when Inuyasha decided to leave the Inu palace. And Inuyasha, he remembered the time he spent with his brother when he was a pup, but then why'd he seem to start avoiding him? Their father said Sesshomaru was simply confused about life. It never made sense, Sesshomaru never seemed to hate him like everyone else, but he never quite liked him either. Still, the gift he received from his brother on his 10th birthday was something he would always hold precious.

Sesshomaru took a moment to look at his brother. He was young by youkai standards, and yet bordering on being an adult. There was no hesitancy in his words or actions. If he thought himself part of the pack, then why did he leave? "Are you capable of fighting?"

Inuyasha huffed, "Why'd you bother to send the imp if you thought I wasn't?" He didn't receive an answer, so, instead both sat there in silence for a while, at least until Inuyasha got bored and stood up. "Whatever. We fighting soon? I'm gonna catch some sleep."

Finally, Sesshomaru responded, "They will probably attack before daybreak. You will support Royakan's army on the frontlines. The largest threat we shall face are the panther devas: Toran, Karan, Shunran, and Shuran. Their abilities are ice, fire, illusion, and lightning, respectively."

"Royakan?" he questioned.

"The large brown wolf youkai with ears similar to yours."

Inuyasha shrugged at the weird description, "Kay."


Hours later, Inuyasha found himself in a tree, not quite drifting off into sleep. He had found Royakan, not that it meant much. Their army didn't have much of a plan except to back up Sesshomaru and not die. Or if there was more of a plan, they wouldn't tell the hanyou.

He sighed. It was always the same thing. Youkai typically weren't dumb enough to attack him because his father made it very clear that he was under his protection. Still, the only ones who ever really cared about him were his parents. And Kikyo, she wasn't too bad. No, that wasn't true. His ears lowered. She meant everything to him, relieving the loneliness he'd felt since his mother's death. He had randomly been traveling through Musashi as usual when he came across the odd sight of a bunch of mindless youkai attacking the priestess. She appeared to be nearing exhaustion and the youkai were organizing in an attempt to destroy her bow. He had stepped in to help, as his mother would've liked him to, and succeeded in stopping the youkai, only for her to then pin him to a tree with an arrow using the last of her strength. It wasn't his fault he got pinned! He had been traveling near the human villages because it was his night of weakness and he needed a place to stay. By the time the youkai were defeated, he'd been practically human! Although, he supposed he got extremely lucky too. A minute later and he probably would've taken the arrow to the heart as a human instead. The spiritual power might not have hurt him as a human, but the arrow sure would've.

It was so damned embarrassing for his father to have to wake him, what he learned was about three weeks later. His father had tried to convince Kikyo that his son wouldn't do anything as foolish as try to steal the jewel and it was probably a misunderstanding. When that argument didn't work, he simply stole the jewel himself and offered to return it if Kikyo removed his son's seal. He sensed something malicious from the jewel and wouldn't dare ask the jewel to free his son. He had attacked her head on, dodged her arrows with ease, and used one slash to destroy her bow. She was utterly defeated. Thus, reluctantly, she obeyed. The plus side, he supposed, was that his father hung out with him for a whole week after his near death. He probably would've stayed longer, but he had to return to the palace to complete his duties, and Inuyasha flat out refused to accompany him to that depressing place.

Eventually, he wandered back to Kikyo, carefully, out of curiosity. She had actually been extremely understanding that time. Apparently, the fact that his father actually kept his word and returned the jewel, gave her enough confidence to confront him without an arrow. They eventually became sort of friends as Inuyasha would fight off youkai whenever he was in the area. Currently, the biggest pain in the ass was this youkai, hanyou, thing: Naraku. He had made several attempts at the jewel, once even disguising himself as Inuyasha and telling Kikyo he'd finally realized he wanted to become human. She was beyond skeptical, and although she'd never admit it, scared. It had been her idea once before, but he'd turned her down. He really did care for her, but to abandon his youkai heritage, his brother and father? It was unthinkable. She was understanding of his reasons, having met his father. Although, it had actually been the first time he'd considered using the jewel for himself, despite his father's warning. The thought had crossed his mind to become all youkai, but that would betray the memory of his mother who had loved and cared for him until she was old and grey. Once he was old enough to defend himself, they actually lived rather well. Few were stupid enough to do anything to anger the Inu no Taisho and eventually, both took to traveling the countryside together. Yah, no one really accepted a hanyou, but they accepted money, which they had plenty of. Thus, he let himself abandon that wish. And so, Kikyo had permitted 'Inuyasha' to use the jewel to become human if he could convince his father to agree. No way was she angering the Inu no Taisho again. Fake Inuyasha was angered and then made an attempt at the jewel, but she was able to keep him away. In anger, he sent a swarm of mindless youkai after the village, but the real Inuyasha arrived in time to minimize the damage. Naraku escaped and was a constant nuisance for the two of them.

He forced his eyes to close and his brain to relax. He owed it to his family to help when they asked him, but hopefully this war would be over soon.


It was. To even call it a war would be pushing it. Sesshomaru was right about the panther devas, they were the toughest of the attacking youkai. Sesshomaru asked him to support the army, so despite what anyone else told him to do, that's what he did. He noticed Karan first. She was using her immense flames to burn the army alive. What kind of army was this? They had no one who could fight long distance? Ignoring his 'allies' who still felt they had time to badmouth him in the middle of battle, Inuyasha rushed over to Karan. She tried to hit him with flames, but the fire rat easily protected him. She was caught off guard, and with a few swipes of his claws, she was finished. The next panther he noticed was Shuran. He was a bit tougher to handle, but eventually, Inuyasha realized he could use the sheath of his Tessaiga to hold off the lightning. Once he got close, it was just a battle of brute force. A lot of bruising later, he was victorious. Then, he noticed Shunran. She didn't really fight back, but she succeeded at wasting his time. With her illusions, he couldn't figure out where to strike. He'd never admit again that he was thankful for the help, but eventually Jaken arrived and his flames dispersed the illusion. A windscar later, and she was down.

Jaken's arrival had another effect, it indicated that Sesshomaru's fighting was done as well. When he next looked around, Toran was down. The war was over. That night, the army celebrated.

x


To say that Sesshomaru was surprised was an understatement. He had sent Jaken after Inuyasha with the instructions to make sure that his corpse wasn't destroyed beyond recognition so that his father would be less heartbroken. Instead, he found three of the four devas already dead, and he easily dispatched the fourth. His army only suffered small losses, it was a clear and proud victory. Once all of the fighting was conclusively finished, he went looking for his brother, only for Jaken to tell him he decided to head off. Why would his brother just leave? It did not take a genius to realize his brother played a huge role in their overwhelming victory. The wounds in the bodies were indicative, as was the scent littering the battlefield. During the night's celebrations, youkai after youkai, spoke of the battles. Not one spoke of Inuyasha's role, but the gaps in the story were clear.

His brother came when he asked. His brother was strong. So why, why did he leave? Why did he refuse to take his place in the palace? Not being one for festivities, Sesshomaru left without a word.

x


"Hanyou."

The boy flinched, but he didn't need to look around to know the source of the voice. "Sesshomaru."

"Why did you leave?" he questioned. His brother had gone quite a ways. He found him sitting in a large tree just outside of a human village. The tree was weird, he noticed, it seemed to radiate some power.

He still didn't turn around. "The fighting was over. There wasn't any need for me anymore."

"It is the first war you've been a part of, did you not expect the army to throw a massive celebration?" he asked. True, he had no interest, but his brother had always wanted to belong didn't he? Victory in battle was the best way to be accepted amongst youkai. He noticed the boy's ears fall.

He shook his head, "They wouldn't have wanted me there."

Sesshomaru did not understand, "you defeated three of the panther devas, likely saving many of their lives. Why would they not want you?"

Inuyasha laughed, but it did not sound right. "You are blind Sesshomaru."

Blind? If he was not so proud of his brother at the moment, he would've beat him for such an insult. "What nonsense are you spouting hanyou?"

The boy finally looked at him. "You are blind Sesshomaru," he repeated. "You say the army is celebrating, then listen Sesshomaru. Really listen to what they say." Once the fighting was done, it hadn't even taken five minutes before the insults began. The audacity of a hanyou for thinking he'd helped. It was easier to just leave. His mother always supported him, and his father, while often not around, never once let him feel inadequate or unloved for being hanyou. It was why he couldn't stay in the palace. Why stay where you're obviously not wanted?

Sesshomaru didn't know how to reply, but he was curious. Without a word, he departed again for his army who was still partying drunk into what was now morning. For a while, he eavesdropped and listened to everything, but heard nothing of interest. Was his brother the crazy one?

After almost an hour of listening, some of the chatter was dying down. Even his patience had a limit, there had to be a way of speeding this up. "Jaken."

The imp appeared out of nowhere. "Yes, milord?"

"What does the army celebrate?" It was the most neutral way to ask.

But Jaken wasn't fooled. He knew his master's opinion going into this battle. He had shared it until arriving on the battlefield. And he had seen Sesshomaru gazing out over the battlefield afterwards. He had seen the brief look of awe and surprise that appeared on Sesshomaru's face. "Would milord like me to ask?"

Ask? They'd likely speak their minds around anyone but him. "Go."

Jaken entered the largest tent and grabbed himself a drink before sitting down and declaring, "To Lord Sesshomaru and Lord Inuyasha!"

The previously sleepy group simply laughed. "Lord Inuyasha? What a joke."

Jaken squawked, "joke? Our lord defeated three of the panthers. I was honored to be thanked by our lord for helping." He wasn't lying. The hanyou's wording for thanking him wasn't the kindest, but it was sincere, which was more than he usually got.

They still laughed, "that hanyou isn't a lord."

"At least our true lord has a mindless mutt to do his bidding," another called. What?

"Do you think he plays fetch and would roll over when told?" He could barely breathe.

"At least the mongrel had enough brains to attack the enemy." Father…

One nodded, "That's true. But I doubt the Inu no Taisho would've given him his blade if he was quite that dumb." … Is this the prejudice you faced?

"Yes. Our incredible Inu no Taisho's strength is enough to even give a hanyou strength." Fool. He has to be strong enough on his own in order to wield the blade.

"He shouldn't have lent him quite so much though. It would've been better if he died today and cleaned up the bloodline." That comment made even Sesshomaru cringe. It was too similar to what he was thinking before the battle. Sesshomaru growled. At least he kept most of his thoughts to himself and had the decency to admit he was wrong. These buffoons.

All stilled at the massive amount of youki suddenly swirling in the area.


It wasn't until hours later that he was able to return towards the human village. His father would not be happy if he killed off a loyal army, even a weak one. But he made certain that they understood his anger. No one would dare insult either son of the Inu no Taisho again if they wished to live. And he made certain they would warn others of the same.

Arriving at the same tree as before, it was clear that a battle had taken place. His brother was nowhere in sight. He sniffed around, trying to figure out what had happened and where his brother had gone, when suddenly, he noticed a small body poorly hidden behind a tree.

"Show yourself," he demanded. The human did not, so he used a quick flick of his whip towards the tree to make his point. He didn't cut through the tree, but it was enough to frighten the child into coming out. "What happened here?"

The little girl was just now taking in the youkai's features. He looked remarkably similar to the hanyou and youkai her sister knew. "Are you related to Inuyasha?"

He didn't know the girl's relation to his brother so he would be 'nice', for now, "Yes. Where is he?"

She relaxed, "Naraku kidnapped sister Kikyo so Inuyasha went after them." Who were Naraku and Kikyo?

"Where?"

She knew Naraku had taken Kikyo since she was purifying the Shikon no Tama. So long as she kept it pure, he couldn't use it for his own dark wish. So, he had to corrupt her with miasma. For some reason, Naraku also never tried to kill Kikyo. Not knowing exactly where they were going, however, she merely pointed in a direction. "I saw Inuyasha run that way." It was enough, he wouldn't have to sort through the battle and could just pick up the trail along the way.


AN: With the panther war: we see flashbacks to Sesshomaru's army fighting against the devas instead of Sesshomaru himself. I don't know what he was up to while they were fighting, but I tried to write it similarly. I had originally planned to make what-if Inuyasha was there for the panther war its own story, but there wasn't all that much to write on it so it became part of this.

I seem to have gone over my original word count expectation, oh well. There should be one more chapter plus maybe an epilogue. Till next time!