Recap: InuYasha and his pack settled in at the mansion. The hanyou took a stroll to think of current events and then shared a bed with his brother where they almost had a nice romp in the sheets. Sesshoumaru asked his otouto to be his mate and InuYasha agreed.

Dedication: Thanks to DemonGoddess061, cherry fantasy, and Raincutain for your support.

Prophecy of Brothers

By Scarlet Willows

Chapter Six – The Temporary Triangle

Breakfast was an awkward ordeal and silent as the grave. Miroku fidgeted. He hadn't slept well last night…the floor was very hard. He looked at InuYasha, who appeared well rested surprisingly, trying to make eye tête-à-tête. InuYasha glanced up from his food and caught Miroku's eyes. He sensed the question and shook his head slightly. So, no, he was not yet pregnant. Miroku was getting so anxious and fearful for InuYasha. Just then, he glanced at Sesshoumaru, who was, in turn, looking at Miroku. He knew what Miroku had been thinking. Why hadn't they…"done the deed" yet? Was Sesshoumaru planning some sort of attack after lulling them into a false sense of security?

As soon as everyone had finished, Jaken led the party to another room while Sesshoumaru went about his own business. InuYasha knew that the youkai was going to draft invitations to all royalty in the area, welcoming them to feast and celebrate with him and the hanyou, his intended mate, on their Ceremonial Day. He also had to make preparations with the house servants and cooks while simultaneously arranging other guest rooms for all the nobles that would be arriving. There was much to be done and InuYasha shuddered to think what would happen if he himself was left in charge.

"You are free to do whatever recreations are available. There are gardens and hot springs outside on the grounds and various activities in the manner," explained the green youkai. "Feel free to…relax," he finished and skittered off. Rin followed Jaken to finish her studies, glancing back at Shippo.

Sango, Kagome, and Shippo ambled off to get a change of clothes so they could visit the hot springs while Miroku steered InuYasha off to the side to interrogate. "InuYasha?"

"Miroku, I told you, a few more days. I will inform you at once when I conceive." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"No, I know that…but…did you…?"

InuYasha was silent for a moment, holding back a blush. "No…. Almost though."

"Wow," the monk's eyes grew wide. "What was it like?"

"Miroku, you pervert. Don't ever change."

"Speaking of which, I heard that Sango and Kagome were going to the springs," he suddenly grabbed InuYasha's hand and jerked him to the garden pathway and out of sight.

…

"Why did InuYasha lead us here? He never told us!" said Kagome, splashing water over her shoulder. The autumn air was chill, but the waters were warm and cozy. Shippo was playing with toys, ignoring the discussion, off in his own little world of childish make-believe.

"I agree, but I think he'll tell us when he's ready," sagaciously replied Sango.

"And that could be never. I can't take that!"

…

Off in the woods, somewhere behind the springs, watched Miroku and InuYasha, although the latter had not come on his own free will. "That lucky brat!" said Miroku, glaring at Shippo as the little kitsune sneezed. InuYasha chuckled.

"Yes, he is lucky!"

Miroku focused intently on the nude forms of his friends.

"I love her, ya know. Like a sister."

"I know," said Miroku, knowing all too well.

"What about Sango? I know you ask all females to bare your child, but are you just waiting for Sango to come around? I know you care about her…"

Miroku paused, looking at, but not seeing, the girls…looking at InuYasha out of the corner of his eyes, the way the light fell on his hair, the way his yellow eyes lit up…the way his lips curved invitingly. "Yes," he answered slowly, forcing himself to turn away from the hanyou. "I would jump off a cliff for her if only she wished me to." InuYasha smiled, understanding the feeling.

"Sesshoumaru asked me to be his mate. I accepted his proposal."

"I figured he'd ask. Congratulations, my friend." It killed him to say those words.

"Well, he wouldn't want his heir to be born out of wedlock I suppose. And it'll be taken care of and provided for much better than I could ever do by myself. I know he won't let anything happen to our baby. And I think he'll treat me right and if he doesn't he'll have Hell to pay," InuYasha winked at Miroku.

"I'm sure," Miroku teased, easing the tension in his heart slightly. "There's nothing worse than a pissed off InuYasha."

"Come on, let's go before we get caught."

"Yeah, you're right."

…

That night Miroku tossed and turned on the floor, the boards creaking beneath him. He really did love Sango…with all his heart. But there was something in him that he knew that she'd never be able to fill…a void…and not just the one in his hand. True, he wanted to have children with her and grow old in loving bliss, but what he felt was taboo. He loved someone else. Forbidden love (lust?), the laws of attraction were cruel. Well, he pondered silently, maybe it's not so taboo now…He cursed himself for such a thought. Of course it was taboo! Just because he was half female did not mean the monk could just ignore the male half.

Kagome let out a snort, turning in her sleep. He tried to get rid of the forbidden thoughts, but it seemed useless. Images kept popping up in his mind's eye. He decided he'd get up, realizing he'd never get any sleep, and have a late night snack. He rose, crossed the room as quietly as he could, pausing at the door to look at Sango, mouth slightly open, hands folded under her face in slumber. How precious she looked.

He slipped out of the room and sauntered down the hall, winding through mazes of corridors to the kitchen. A bowl lay on the table filled with fruit and he plucked a plump golden pear. The juices were sweet and sticky as they squirted onto his pallet. With his pear in hand, he wandered down the passages aimlessly, noticing the chill, as he was clad in a light night robe.

He was on his way to his bedchambers when he heard a noise behind him. The hairs on his neck stood up and cold sweat took him suddenly. When he turned around, he saw…nothing. When he'd determined it was his imagination playing tricks on him, he turned back…finding something obstructing his path. He came face-to-face with Lord Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" gasped Miroku. "You gave me a fright, milord." The youkai didn't respond. He took a step forward and the monk involuntarily stepped back until he stood firmly against a wall. Sesshoumaru was inches away from Miroku's face.

"I am correct in thinking you are in love with the youkai hunter, am I not?" asked the youkai lord. Miroku nodded, thinking, why is this relevant, Sesshoumaru's not the one for small talk? The monk had begun to shake, much to his dismay. "…But you lust for someone else," Sesshoumaru said with half a malevolent grin, revealing his fangs. Miroku swallowed an obvious gulp. Sesshoumaru stroked the human's face with one clawed finger. Miroku shivered under the touch. "I can see why he returns your feelings," said the youkai more to himself than Miroku.

Miroku's jaw dropped and his knees felt like doing the same. "H-h-h-how d-do you kn-know?" he stuttered in shock.

"Nothing is secret from me, houshi." His cold lips briefly touched Miroku's. "A kiss he'd like to bestow himself, I'm sure," he paused. "Be cautious, monk. I can be quite possessive and, as you know, very intimidating." Then he was gone.

Miroku felt like crying. Were his feelings so obvious? He'd made sure they didn't leak out and affect his relationship with the hanyou. He didn't even have a good reason for liking the hanyou who was always a snotty, bigheaded, arrogant prick. Although there was that confidence, occasional charm, rare soft side and…(dare he think it?)…dominant trait. Get out of my head, thought Miroku desperately.

He made his way back to the room, thoroughly confused. Shippo was curled up in a ball on the edge of the bed and the blanket had fallen to the floor. Miroku picked up the cloth and covered Shippo, tucking in the corners, straightening his hair fondly. Now he knew he wouldn't get sleep this night. Why the hell did Sesshoumaru kiss me? Does he find me attractive? Does InuYasha really feel the same way? Well, it sure scared the shit out of me, warning me like that. Mayhap, if Sesshoumaru felt the need to caution me like I was competition…. Nah! InuYasha would never admit that.

…

InuYasha had watched as his brother had cornered Miroku. He would interfere if Sesshoumaru overstepped his boundaries. But he knew Sesshoumaru was toying with the human. When the monk had gained composure, he returned to his room, InuYasha following a ways behind. Suddenly he knew he was not alone as he sat outside his friends' bedchambers. "InuYasha," whispered a deep voice. He stood up, but he knew to whom the voice belonged. "The human male has feelings for you, but you already knew that, didn't you." Sesshoumaru leaned against InuYasha from behind, running his hands softly over his chest.

"Yes, I knew. Why were you talking to him?"

"You've wanted him for some time now, haven't you…?" said the youkai, shirking InuYasha's question. He didn't really know why he'd confronted the monk, or kissed him. But he had to admit, the monk was not lacking in looks.

"…I was afraid I'd hurt him."

"Where, in the heart…or in the bedroom?" InuYasha turned around so he could look haughtily at Sesshoumaru. "I was only jesting, my brother." He placed his fingers on InuYasha's lips to defuse his temper. "Take him. Fuck him. Sully his chastity. It makes no difference to me." He made to leave.

"Are you jealous?" the hanyou called after him, smirking. Sesshoumaru turned to look at InuYasha. "Because if that's the case, you have nothing to be jealous about. I'm yours." Sesshoumaru pondered these words for a few moments, maintaining his blank mask.

"Come to bed."

…

"Jaken?"

"Yes, Rin."

"Why has Sesshoumaru-sama been acting so odd lately?" asked the little girl. Jaken was somewhat taken aback. He knew Rin was intelligent, but he hadn't really believed she was too observant. "I mean, ever since InuYasha-sama arrived…"

"Umm…well, I think he's just been preoccupied, Rin. Go back to reading your scroll." Jaken had taken it upon himself to teach the child how to read and write. She'd learned rather quickly. He pretended that he abhorred her presence, but she'd wormed her way into his heart, set up camp, and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I'm really worried about him, Jaken. He hasn't been eating and he's been alone a lot. Sometimes I hear him moaning in his room. I think he's hurt."

Jaken was surprised that Rin had been so persistent and he smirked at her innocence. "Rin, trust me, he isn't hurt."

"But how do you know?" she tugged on his sleeve.

"Rin, there are things that you will not understand until you're older. This is one of those things." Rin folded her arms and pouted. Eventually she went back to reading her scroll.

Jaken left the room after a while, saying he would be back to quiz her on what she'd read. He immediately padded off to his master's chambers. It had been a couple days since InuYasha-sama had come to their household and Sesshoumaru had gone into full-blown heat. Jaken could smell Sesshoumaru's pheromones a mile away and knew how they affected InuYasha. The hanyou had also come into heat earlier, but his body was not yet ready to conceive.

He was afraid, but he knocked on the great lord's door. "Enter," came a deep untamed voice. Sesshoumaru was sitting in a corner, partially clothed, hair stringy over his eyes, reading a manuscript. He had secluded himself from InuYasha ever since he'd gone into heat, saying it would be better if they waited for the Ceremonial Day and InuYasha's body to ready itself. In truth, he looked wild and dramatic, bestial, oozing sex and ready to tackle and defile anything that moved, particularly if it was in the shape of one silver-haired inu-hanyou. "What is it, Jaken?"

"Umm, milord, excuse me for interrupting you. Rin was asking about you. She's heard you and she thinks you're hurting. What should I tell her, milord?"

"She is too young right now to know of the ways of the flesh and carnal knowledge of any sort. When she comes into her blood cycle, then I shall educate her."

"Milord, when shall InuYasha-sama conceive?"

"That is for me to know. You can go now Jaken, you are overstepping your bounds."

"Yes, milord. Sorry, milord."

As soon as the little green imp left, Sesshoumaru went back to sulking. His body was extremely ready to take InuYasha's. And every time he tried to eat he felt like throwing up, his claws had grown, and the feeling in his skin was electrifying with the simplest things and, oh, the smells…. It was indescribable and all but unbearable. But he knew that when he and his brother joined, it would be worth every pleasantly excruciating second. And he still had the dreams; only, they had evolved.

He was now assaulted with images of he and his younger brother, under covers, and he couldn't tell where his skin ended and InuYasha's began, just a mass of pale naked, entwined limbs. The hanyou was whimpering and trembling underneath him with his long fair legs wrapped around his waist and his ankles crossed, toes curling inward. He could see the tracks of tears running down those porcelain cheekbones from the corners of the hanyou's eyes, which were clenched shut. InuYasha grabbed Sesshoumaru's shoulders and buried his head in the crook of the youkai's neck as he shuddered and moaned loudly.

Sesshoumaru would wake up growling and breathless. He knew InuYasha had the same dreams. Sango would probably catch on sooner (what with her demon-hunter background and all), but the hanyou's female human friends still had no clue, they just thought he was sick and they suspected some great conspiracy on Sesshoumaru's part; poison in the food or mind control. Idiots.

…

"InuYasha?" said Shippo, inching closer to the silver-haired man, who was curled on the floor.

"Yes, Shippo?" InuYasha had been considerably kinder recently…it was a little scary to Shippo.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you. KAGOME!" yelled the little fox youkai. For such a tiny frame, he sure had a loud voice.

"Yes, Shippo?" said Kagome, coming from the next room. Immediately she dropped to InuYasha's side. "Are you alright, InuYasha?" she asked, stroking his hair. He leaned into the touch and relaxed a little more.

"He's been acting funny all this week," said Shippo, matter-of-factly. "He hasn't even argued with me once!"

"Shippo, could you give us a minute?" Kagome asked politely.

"Sure, anything for you." She smiled. Shippo left the room and shut the door.

"Shippo's right, InuYasha," Kagome said soothingly, rubbing his bare back. "What's the matter? Your mind has been elsewhere ever since we came here. Why are we here?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you," InuYasha mumbled, burying his head into his arms.

"Try me," she said, gently turning him onto his back and putting his head in her lap, stroking his hair. He had rarely let her do this before, which told her something was seriously bothering him. "Whatever it is, I promise to listen and not judge." She held her hand up in a scout's honor attitude.

"I want to tell you. I just don't want to frighten you."

"Please, just try. That's what friends are for."

He took a deep and steadying breath. Here's the moment of truth. "I…I…all youkai and hanyou…can…bare children." He watched her face as her jaw dropped, but she kept to her word and said nothing. "I can bare children," he said, admitting it. "I've been having this dream…I know what it sounds like...I know it sounds crazy…but I'm…supposed to bare…Sesshoumaru's kid." He held his breath as he waited for her to scream about how sick that was. Here it comes…the calm before the storm.

But it never came.

"I don't know how I knew it, but I knew it. Call it intuition…." He released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "But, if you have a baby, won't it be deformed because you're related? I mean, is that normal in demon society to mate with relatives?"

"Yeah. Why would it be deformed?"

"Well, in my time, if close relatives have children, the baby turns out to be a mongoloid."

"What's a mongoloid?" He asked, thoroughly confused now.

"Oh…um, it's a person who has mental and physical retardation. They're malformed because the genes are too closely related. Does that happen to related demons if they have kids?"

"No, not that I've heard of anything like that. In fact, if demon siblings mate and have children, the children are stronger because the family bloodline is pure and holds more power. It's a pretty common occurrence." He was so happy that she was taking all this information so calmly.

"Oh. Well, if you go through with this, then there is no room in your heart…for me," she said as she cast her eyes away.

"Kagome, I never said that. I…I do...have feelings for you," he said as he sat up and crossed his legs Indian-style. He reached out to touch her face. "I care about you so much. But I belong to Sesshoumaru…I love you like a sister. It…it would honor me if you would…be the baby's godmother." He nuzzled his nose against her cheek.

"Of course!" she squealed with delight, thankful that he wouldn't be chucking her out of his life, hugging him in a vice-like grip. "This is all just so weird though. Now I know why you've been acting so nice," she said, releasing him, but holding his hand in a show of support.

"We're also going to be mated, it's like marriage for humans, only deeper. There are several stages in the process. Sesshoumaru's arranging the Ceremonial Day, it's like a wedding, and he's inviting all the nobles in the area. I…I would really like it if you would be my Maiden in Waiting. A Maiden in Waiting helps the Uke mate get ready on the Ceremonial Day. I mean, you don't have to if you don't want t-,"

"Of course I want to, don't be silly! It's just a little strange that you're going to get pregnant before me. Hey, is that why you're so cranky once a month?"

"Kagome!"

"Okay, okay! Just kidding! But, seriously…you're growing up now, InuYasha. You're going to be married and pregnant. I just want you to be happy, even if it's not with me. And I don't think you'll need these anymore," she said as she reached out to the hanyou's subjugation beads and pulled the Kotodama no Nenju over his head. InuYasha smiled, flashing straight white teeth.

"Thank you, Kagome," he said as he hugged her. "Come on, let's see what's for lunch. I'm famished."

Japanese terms:

Houshi – monk

Uke – submissive sexual partner

To be continued…