He watched, hidden from eyesight above the clouds, as the human woman attempted to console the wailing pup. Her own tears mingled with that of the hanyou in her arms.
"Hush now, Inuyasha. Everything will be fine."
Sesshomaru pressed his lips together as his anger flared in his youki, causing it to pulse without his consent.
He cringed inwardly but did not concern himself with it, too unhinged to care about maintaining meager appearances and respectability.
As the wave of his aura grazed over the pup, his cries became louder, more insistent.
His head cocked to the side.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he allowed a tendril of his aura to slink away towards the pup, a bit of shock enveloping him as the babe cried out loudly once more.
Deciding to test his newfound discovery, he sat on his youki cloud. Closing his eyes, Sesshomaru forced his unsteady emotions to calm before sending another wave of youki towards the two below him. He listened, a sliver of surprise rocking through his body as the pup's cry turned to a quiet whimper before silencing all together.
His eyes were wide as he peered down at his father's mate, who was sighing in relief. The dark-haired woman looked around before deciding to settle against a tree, claiming it for her rest.
Uncertainty gripped him in a vicelike grip as he gazed at the exhausted woman and her pup.
He had come seeking their death, determined to see their blood coat his claws, and now, he hesitated.
Why?
Frustration rose as he considered his options.
He could kill them and enact his revenge swiftly, but then his father's death at the hands of a human samari would have been for nothing.
That option was unacceptable.
Sesshomaru would not allow his father's death to be turned into a mockery.
However, the two of them were directly responsible for his demise, and any who harmed a Lord was sentenced to execution immediately.
Yet, that would not work either.
His father had made it known the woman was his mate, and that alone saved her worthless hide from the courts.
So, what was he to do?
Golden eyes looked to the pup again.
The small bundle resting below him had cost himself and his lands much.
He froze at the last statement.
His lands.
He was lord, The Lord of the West.
He could do what he wished when he wished if he wished.
If he desired to wait until a more opportune moment to take his revenge, then no one could question his decision.
Sesshomaru nodded, pleased with his reasoning, and began to manipulate his youki to take him towards his father's - his - shiro.
He hadn't gone far, the top of the pup's silver head still within eyesight before he slowed. With one last look, to remember the faces of those he sought revenge from, he departed.
Disregarding the pulse of calming youki he left behind in his wake.
Dark, fear-filled eyes looked upon him. The woman's aura was crackling with anxiety and terror, but it was the swelling pulse of determination that had halted his hand.
Sesshomaru could visibly see the moment she channeled her fear and used it for fuel to stand against him.
Her chin raised, eyes set, and fists clenched as she held her arm out to shield the young hanyou standing behind her.
He would have been impressed if not for the trembling in her lip or the way her eyes shined with unshed tears.
"Leave, demon. We have no business with you."
He raised a brow and said, "Perhaps. However, I have business with you - and your pup."
Her slender jaw ticked in aggravation.
"What business could you have with a human woman and her half-blood child? I have never seen you before."
"No, you have not. But you have seen my father."
Her brows furrowed before understanding clicked.
Apparently, she had heard of him.
Her eyes widened as they darted to and fro across his person, taking in details that were similar yet not.
"Sesshomaru?"
"Hn."
"I... am sorry I didn't recognize you," she bowed deeply as she apologized.
"To be honest, I never expected to meet you. Not since..."
He heard the way her heart startled, pain blooming in her aura as her voice hitched.
"A-anyway, forgive me for my rudeness. I am Izayoi, and this," she said as she rose and stepped to the side, "is Inuyasha."
He saw the warmth in her gaze as she looked down at the little hanyou whose ears were twitching as he looked upon the much larger demon. The human woman laid a hand upon his head to comfort the nervous pup.
"Inuyasha, this is Sesshomaru. He's your brother."
Sesshomaru watched Inuyasha as Inuyasha watched him. He could see his nose working furiously to determine his scent and could feel the timid touch of his youki against his own.
Without half a thought, he did as he had the first time, forcing his being to calm and sending out a calming tendril to wrap around the pup.
He saw recognition and confusion highlight the boy's features. The pup recognized his power but did not understand from where.
Izayoi watched on passively, though he could sense how tense she was from the raging tempo of her heart.
Deciding that they'd had enough, for now, he nodded his head and turned. The woman's confusion and alarm pounded at his back, but that was not what caused him to halt in his steps. No, it was the small weight that crashed into the back of his legs that had him freezing in his progress. Looking down at the halfbreed, he rose a brow in question.
Instead of answering, the boy reached up and tugged on his sleeve, silently asking him to kneel. Curious, he granted the boy his wish and dipped until he was eye level.
Nothing could have prepared him for the shock he received when the boy leaned forward and rubbed his head along his chin up to his jaw and finally to his ear. Though he suspected if he could have reached, the pup would have gone beyond and completed the greeting, but nonetheless, he was surprised the boy had the instincts of an Inu.
He struggled for a moment - the need for vengeance wared with his instincts as a leader.
However, what point was there in taking revenge from a pup who did not understand the crimes they had committed?
As the pup pulled away to peer into his eyes, he made his decision. The sight of his ears tucked back with the slight hint of fear and confusion wafting from one so small would not do.
That is what he told himself as he leaned forward and gently licked the pup's cheek.
"You have seen them."
Sesshomaru sat in his study, looking over missives sent from the other lords. His mother stood in the doorway, arms folded in the sleeves of a finely tailored kimono.
"Is it not customary to keep tabs of one's enemy? I am simply doing it from a close distance."
He heard the sound of her fan snap open, a clear sign she was hiding a grin that would undoubtedly irritate him.
"This is true. However, I do not remember Hiroko including lesson's on training your enemy, nor providing for them."
"I am only protecting their lives for as long as it suits me. I shall not have someone upend my revenge. Their deaths belong to me."
His mother snorted.
"Of course. It couldn't possibly be that you actually like the pup or find your father's mate tolerable."
His jaw ticked.
"Cease your ramblings, mother. I am not in the mood to play your games."
She sighed, the sound of her fan snapping close before the soft shuffle of silks made their way towards him.
From his peripheral vision, he could see his mother lower herself to sit on the cushions in front of him.
"Look at me, my son."
The soft tone of her voice sent a jolt through him, and he could not resist the instinctual need to meet her request.
Her eyes had softened, and there was a gentle smile on her face.
"It is not wrong to enjoy their company. The pup shares your blood after all, and from what I have heard, your father's mate is not an unpleasant person."
He grunted noncommittally. Not willing to admit or deny anything.
"I have an idea. If you are willing to listen."
He schooled his features. Unsure if he would like whatever plan his mother had, especially regarding the current topic.
"Have you thought of bringing them here? The pup is your half-brother. That alone gives him the right to stay, and no one would begrudge a mother who wished to accompany her son. They would have protection by relation, and no one would question your judgment should you give the order to stand down."
His immediate response was to refuse. His council would rage against a human and halfbreed in the shiro, especially those so closely related to the death of the former lord. Yet, the longer he thought, the longer he began to become convinced.
He was Lord.
Not the council.
Not his generals.
Not his people.
He, and he alone, had the final say.
Looking back to his momentarily forgotten scrolls, he feigned work while he let his mind wander to plans of the future.