So...this oneshot came about because I commented about Inuyasha being taught how to wield his sword because Sesshomaru was done with how Inuyasha handled his weapon. Let's be honest, Inuyasha learned well enough by the end of the series, but he just waves it around and hopes for the best. I just wanted to write some light humor with brothers who hated each other who come to tolerate and maybe love one another.
Thanks for reading!
-Lucicelo
From Sesshomaru's perspective, part of his inheritance came in the form of Tessaiga. The sword that killed thousands in one swoop. Proof of absolute power and the main weapon of his late father. As the eldest, he deserved the blade, not the healing sword, Tenseiga. Tenseiga did nothing more than show off another weapon on his arsenal, a useless weapon, but a deterrent nonetheless.
With his heirship - no - lordship over the Western Lands secured, he made it a mission to retrieve the sword. As the first born legitimate son, the mantle was uncontested. His feral wild brother didn't have ample support to dare touch his place. His blood inheritance from his mother, princess or not, dirtied Inuyasha's otherwise pure pedigree.
Once he figured out a plan, he went through the motions of locating Inuyasha. A harder task. Beforehand, Inuyasha was sealed on a tree, now, someone freed him and he ran amok. Rumors of the shattered Shikon jewel brought on the half breed's name, making his search a tad easier. Although, Inuyasha's trail scattered through different regions and sections according to the gossipers. He found himself hearing about a human girl following Inuyasha, a good bargaining chip in case Inuyasha attempted to avoid him.
Leaving Jaken to find an Un mother for their plans, this left him with figuring out the resting place. Somehow, their lord father managed to conceal his bones from them. After some time, he figured it out after going through different theories. Their father left his resting place in Inuyasha's eye. An unassuming place where no one would fathom to look.
Rather ingenious.
Then again, their late father didn't reign over the Western Lands through power alone. Intelligence and leadership inspired their vassals to follow them without question. Sure, there were those minute amount of demons who attempting to fight for the Western Lands, but those weaklings died before laying a hand on his lord father. The same result happened when he took the reigns of the Western Lands.
A whip of light tore these lower rank demons into pieces. His poisonous claws dug into adversaries without hesitation. Demons retold stories of his blood filled battles and how he left nothing alive. His coldness and ruthlessness solidified his reign. As a result, no one tested him in how far his mercy extended. He left dead demons in his wake, but showing his superior status and ability to keep the Western Lands from becoming invaded from outsiders.
Throughout his attempt at gaining Tessaiga, Inuyasha broke trough the illusion of the Un mother before she ate him. Not bad. He witnessed plenty of lives being snuffed out through the Un mother.
Afterwards, Inuyasha followed after him despite being incapacitated from their father's grave being taken out of his eye. Inuyasha arrived just in time to witness Tessaiga reject him as the rightful owner of the blade. His face remained cold and emotionless as he watched Inuyasha and his human bicker in his presence.
Sesshomaru thought he broke Inuyasha from killing his human, but she emerged from the melted bone with Tessaiga in her hands. She handed the sword to Inuyasha who swung it around with such carelessness. To witness the half breed swing the sword around caused his eye to twitch in irritation.
His ire grew when Inuyasha activated the sword and cut off his arm. A novice activated the intent of the sword, but clearly didn't know to use it.
Such insolence.
Myoga did a poor job in advising Inuyasha and left him thrash around in his fights. This showed a lack of education and guidance. Despite Myoga having advised their late father during his reign, he did his late lord a disservice in leaving Inuyasha almost defenseless in the battlefield.
During Inuyasha's formative years, he made sure to disengage far more dangerous predators before Inuyasha took notice. In an odd manner, his father's words echoed through his head when he attempted to abandon and ignore Inuyasha's existence. His father valued family. Their race dwindled down to the sparse few female relatives who married into other families. Himself and Inuyasha remained as the male heirs to the main line.
Their survival meant the next generation of the white dog demons roamed the lands.
"Cease, half breed."
Inuyasha paused from grasping the handle of the sword in confusion when he noticed Sesshomaru's pained expression. Thinking back on his whole life, he never saw Sesshomaru break from his cold facade. Sesshomaru smirked in haughtiness and glared at him. Yet, he never saw the man show his distaste in a visible level. Sesshomaru preferred using his words to cut him down and made sure he knew of his worthlessness in their family.
After the battle on their father's bones, he didn't expect a visit from Sesshomaru. At least, not a conversation sort of visit. Sesshomaru remained put and didn't step forward to stab or maim him. Still, Inuyasha made sure to hover his hand over the hilt of his sword. Best to think ahead and not leave himself open.
No use giving Sesshomaru the upper hand in attacking him.
Kagome and Shippo stayed quiet and stayed a fair distance away from him. At least, Kagome learned to keep her nose out of demon business. Took her long enough to learn her lesson. She was weak and mouthy. A combination that killed lesser demons on a daily basis.
"Your misuse of the sword is a shame and blight to our late father's might. Vassals and enemies alike jeer at father's legacy diminishing over your incompetence." Sesshomaru barked out.
Inuyasha sneered. "Like I give a fuck! What do you want?!"
Sesshomaru questioned him with a deep frown. "Do you know your beginner stances? Any experience in martial arts training? Myoga, as cowardly as he seems, surely-"
Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "What are those? And my fighting style is just fine! I have survived all this time on my own! I don't need any help!"
Sesshomaru controlled his instinct to fight the half breed over his stupidity.
In the background, Kagome shared eye contact with Shippo. The moment she saw Sesshomaru, she backed away with Shippo in her arms. She did this on purpose in case the brothers got into a dangerous fight. She liked keeping herself in one piece, thank you.
As she listened in on their argument, her eyes wandered from Inuyasha onto Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru's cold stone face made her shiver from the intensity of the target of his gaze. Inuyasha, oblivious to the fury, kept on yelling back at Sesshomaru's comments. She never imagined yelling at Sesshomaru ever again. His murder attempt made her previous bravado lessen in his presence.
Her constant fear of the time period was the trigger for her to grow stronger. The spiritual powers that flowed in her veins were her asset. Her chance to defend herself against those who wanted to harm her. Inuyasha wouldn't always be close enough to hear her scream and save her. No, she needed to develop her skills and surpass everyone's expectations.
Their back and forth gave her information to work with. Information that changed many of her preconceived opinions over Sesshomaru and his intentions toward Inuyasha.
For one, Sesshomaru might not be a bad guy.
If she forgot about her close encounter with death, Sesshomaru ignored her and Shippou's presence to insult Inuyasha. It was odd to admit, but she saw the signs of an older brother who bothered his sibling. He appeared reluctant in voicing his opinion of Inuyasha's lack of training, but informed Inuyasha of his faults. Under the guise of insults, Sesshomaru brought this issue up to Inuyasha's attention.
Not that Inuyasha would notice.
Inuyasha yelled and demanded Sesshomaru to fight him again. Sesshomaru remained a fair distance away. His stone face cracked the more he tolerated Inuyasha's insults.
Considering Kagome didn't know much about fighting, she thought Inuyasha did just fine. He hacked off Sesshomaru's arm and beat the thunder brothers. For all she knew, Inuyasha was naturally gifted or learned from someone.
It didn't occur to her that Inuyasha learned to fight in order to survive.
During Inuyasha's rant over Sesshomaru's sudden interest in his life, Kagome piped up. "Um...I think Sesshomaru is trying to help you?"
Inuyasha snapped at her. "Bull! Ever since he met me, all he wanted to do was kill me!"
Kagome folded her arms over her chest and huffed. "Well, he talked about things that my school's kendo club does! I don't know squat about sword fighting, but it sounded like he knew what he was talking about. At least, he's trying to teach you without really teaching you! You want to grow stronger, right?"
"Don't say stupid things. Of course, I want to get stronger and better!" Inuyasha turned away from her. "You don't know Sesshomaru like I do. He wants nothing more than to get rid of me."
Kagome watched Inuyasha walk away as she muttered. "But...Sesshomaru had all the chances in the world to..." She shook her head and let it go. Arguing with Inuyasha did nothing to prove her point or change her stubborn friend's bullheaded nature.
In her opinion, she saw the signs of a older sibling begrudgingly helping their younger sibling. She did the same for Souta before the time traveling fiasco. During her brief stints back home, she still helped him out. Although, she didn't hurt her brother in the process. Even if she did hurt him physically or emotionally, it was never on purpose.
She suspected Sesshomaru protected Inuyasha in his own odd way. Inuyasha wouldn't have lived long enough to his current age because of the stigma of being a half breed. Throughout her travels, she heard horrible stories of what happened to half breed children. Many of them died before becoming teenagers or even children. The mere thought made her want to take a night to cry in the unfairness of the time period.
Sesshomaru might not have protected Inuyasha due to genuine love, but maybe through a high level of respect for their father. After all, Kagome didn't dare to try to understand the mentality of pureblood demons, but there had to be a connection due to blood. Sesshomaru wouldn't have left Inuyasha to die after Inuyasha's human mother died. At the end of the day, Inuyasha was their father's son. A last reminder of the demon who sacrificed himself for his lover and child.
After learning about Inuyasha background, the combined prestige of both his parents added a burden on Inuyasha's shoulders. A princess and a demon lord general. Well, Kagome imagined herself being stressed over upholding the family image. Inuyasha acted out his true self and didn't care about the opinions of others. He didn't let the constant barrage of insults take over his life.
She found this aspect of Inuyasha inspiring.
It would bring shame that one of a demon general's sons died from a low tier demon.
Blasphemous even.
She suspected their father requested Sesshomaru to protect his legacy. A legacy that lived on through Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Those brothers represented the future of the Western Lands whether they liked it or not.
Taking a whiff of the surrounding air, Sesshomaru pressed his pointer finger and middle finger together before he turned around. His whip of light emerged, splitting the grass and demolishing the ground where the intruder once stood. Keeping his stance up, he kept his eyes on the demon hidden underneath baboon furs. No sane demon dared to cross his path without simpering or declaring a battle.
At Sesshomaru's side, Jaken gawked at the arrival of the strange demon. He clutched his staff tight, readying himself to burn the demon or shoo them away from his lord's presence. Then again, his lord tended to chase away demons without much effort.
Sesshomaru kept his gaze on the demon as he observed for indiscretions. Lesser demons would attack him while others went onto their knees. He grew accustomed to his late father's vassals falling at his feet, he expected a similar act from his strange demon. After all, his late father's vassals wanted another chance to display their loyalty to the white dog demon clan.
Discreetly inhaling through his nose, he picked up the pungent scent of human underneath the demonic aura.
A half demon.
After some words, the half breed presented a human arm in his outstretched arms. "This arm is embedded with shards of the shikon jewel. You may have revenge in your half breed brother and take back your sword."
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the talk of an alliance. Despite his appearance, he wasn't an imbecile to the implications of manipulation. This demon knew of his distaste of his half brother and the desire for their father's sword. Yet, he had not disclosed such thoughts to outsiders. Jaken knew some of his aspirations due to continuing his vassal duties, but didn't know everything.
Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru proclaimed. "This Sesshomaru has no need for charity." He glared at the demon under the baboon furs. "Leave my sight." He looked forward and the demon called Naraku left the premises without another word.
Affronted at the strange demon's actions, Jaken lifted his nose. "The nerve! Sesshomaru-sama, you need no assistance in displaying your greatness! Shall I resume retrieving you an arm, mi'lord?"
Pondering on the sudden unnecessary limb, Sesshomaru sought this as a new challenge for himself. A handicap wouldn't stop him in achieving a higher power. With or without the sword, Sesshomaru trained beyond his limitations. His missing arm would serve as a means for him to test his abilities and overcome his weaknesses.
In fact, as a growing pup, he went through different training simulations with a blindfold. His late father added on other hardships when he completed his objectives. There were instances where he failed his tasks, but his father corrected him before resuming his training.
Had he taken the half demon's offering, he would had disregarded his father's beliefs. A belief in training his body beyond his capabilities and perfecting himself. He never needed the charity of those below him in power.
He responded. "This Sesshomaru has no need for a limb. Come along, Jaken."
Sesshomaru's incoming scent gave Inuyasha the signal to turn in the other direction. After their latest odd encounter, he didn't want to risk Sesshomaru's behavior turning vicious. The disgruntled manner in which Sesshomaru began teaching him his heritage made him skeptical of his intentions. Sesshomaru attacked first and taunted him throughout the assault. Now, Sesshomaru greeted him with a nod and forced him into learning.
Everything about this Sesshomaru made Inuyasha's hair stand in alarm. Years of constant harassment and belittling made him doubt whatever good intentions Sesshomaru had in mind. He couldn't forget Sesshomaru's plan in using the visage of his human mother to trick him into releasing the location of tessaiga. Of course, he didn't know a damn thing about their father's sword, but Sesshomaru somehow figured it out. Almost taking his eye out in the process.
As he readied himself to run off, he overheard the exclamations coming from Kagome. Face palming, he turned around toward the direction of the scream. Kagome always gave away her location through screaming. He thought their weeks of traveling would give Kagome the hint to shut her mouth. Her dramatics brought scavengers out of their hiding spots and attacked them.
Sniffing the air, Sesshomaru's scent grew stronger.
The scent almost choked him from the intensity.
All of a sudden, the pressure around his neck made Inuyasha stiffen in place. He tried to turn around, but Sesshomaru's voice made his words stop before he managed to speak. "Half breed." Sesshomaru gripped the back of Inuyasha's neck. "You are listening to every single sword position and kata I describe and I will demonstrate them. Afterwards, you will copy them and I shall correct you. Do you understand?"
Inuyasha shivered from the killing intent and gulped. He wanted to cuss at his brother, but the bone chilling gaze and claws digging into his neck, caused him to hesitate. His usual bravado simmered, making him more or less compliant. Sesshomaru somehow snuck around him and grabbed a hold of his neck.
His elder brother could kill him in an instant.
"Fine."
Sesshomaru lessened his grip on his neck and let go of him. He pulled Inuyasha back to the field by the collar of his kimono.
Underneath a tree, Kagome sat on one of her blankets. Sesshomaru's ward, Rin, sat beside Kagome and Shippo. All of them were eating food from a large bento box Kagome brought from her time. He almost whined at missing ramen time, but Sesshomaru kept a good grip on his neck. Sesshomaru released him, giving him room to jump away from him.
Sesshomaru wasted no time in showcasing the katas he learned as a pup. The ingrained positions that he practiced over and over again until they became second nature. He tolerated nothing less than perfection and it reflected in his fighting style.
He made sure to give Inuyasha eye contact as he transitioned into the next set. Inuyasha remained in place and watched his every move. At least, Inuyasha didn't ignore his attempts at teaching him the lessons given to one of their clan. Had Inuyasha ignored him on purpose, he would had nipped him in the neck for his insolence.
Through his advanced hearing, Sesshomaru overheard his ward and the priestess' awed comments over his graceful form.
Inuyasha stayed silent.
When he finished his forms, he stared at Inuyasha until he unsheathed his sword and copied him. Using the sheath of his tenseiga, he corrected Inuyasha and attempted to ignore the sudden barrage of swearing and yelling. Not one to tolerate such impoliteness, he nipped Inuyasha's neck.
Inuyasha's mortified expression caused an invisible quirk to Sesshomaru's lips.
The moment Inuyasha saw Myoga again, he snatched the flea in between his fingers and gave him a death glare. Ignoring Myoga's pleas for mercy, he played with the pressure of his fingertips. He swore Myoga sent Sesshomaru his way or said something about his lack of finesse in fighting. Maybe, even used their old man as leverage for Sesshomaru to treat him somewhat decently.
"Why the hell did you sic Sesshomaru on me?"
"What do you mean Master Inuyasha?!" Myoga croaked out while Inuyasha applied pressure and released the tension on his little body.
Inuyasha sneered. "Sesshomaru has been teaching me sword fighting. The bastard has hit the back of my legs to instruct me properly on how to swing my own damn sword! Why the hell is he helping me? What did you tell him?"
Myoga whimpered out. "I-I don't know!" He peered up at Inuyasha and winced at the cold glare. "Master Inuyasha, you know as well as I do that Sesshomaru listens to no one but himself. He would never take my advice."
Inuyasha muttered. "Yeah...you're kind of useless."
Myoga pinched Inuyasha's skin and was annoyed at the lack of response. If anything, Inuyasha appeared amused at his attempt at hurting him. "I was your late father's adviser!"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Doesn't make you any less useless. Why did the old man listen to you again?" He removed his finger from on top of Myoga who jumped onto his shoulder. "Any ideas as to why he's being...dare I even say it out loud ...nice?"
Myoga shook his head. "No. This is the first time I have heard of Lord Sesshomaru taking an interest in helping a family member. Even as a young demon, he showed no interest in assisting his extended family when they visited the Western Lands. He thought his cousins were weak for not going the distance to mold their bodies for battle."
"Well, that leaves me out of ideas." Inuyasha scratched the back of his head. "Kagome told me some bullshit about Sesshomaru helping me because he cares about me. Do you believe that stupidity?"
Myoga chuckled. "Ah, I'm certain that is not the case. Lord Sesshomaru's line of thinking is a mystery in itself. I can't pinpoint the right answer without unknowingly offending him. I have to say, Miss Kagome is kind hearted to think the best of your elder brother."
Inuyasha scoffed. "She is not kind. Annoying and emotional is what she is."
"Yet, you keep her by your side, Master Inuyasha." Myoga's eyes squinted from his grin. "She must be important."
"She's a jewel detector."
Myoga held back the urge to hit his face with all of his arms.
His master didn't think his words through before he spoke. It was a wonder that Miss Kagome remained faithful at his side to search for the jewel shards. They seemed to spat more often than speak to one another. Then again, Myoga wasn't around enough to make a valid criticism.
Regardless of her reasons, Myoga approved of her as Inuyasha's companion.
Her blood was tasty and she was kind to him when Inuyasha squished him.
Overall, a good human on par with Lady Izayoi.
His concern turned to Lord Sesshomaru's sudden interest in training Master Inuyasha. To his knowledge, Sesshomaru avoided talk of Inuyasha's existence. He crossed paths with Inuyasha to relay insults, fight, and then leave the area. There was nothing to indicate that Sesshomaru cared for Inuyasha.
He needed to speak to Totosai and gather his thoughts on the matter.
Between the loud slams of his hammer, Totosai guffawed. "Inuyasha is useless! Sesshomaru won't have the patience to train him properly. Begin writing his eulogy, Myoga. You're going to need it."
Myoga rubbed his temples as he watched Totosai slam his hammer onto a new sword. "Totosai, please. Master Inuyasha has improved by leaps and bounds. He is creating a decent life for himself."
Totosai lifted the sword and narrowed his eyes to inspect for imperfections. "Without any of your help, no doubt. Not like you could teach the little whelp how to fight. You only watched Lord Touga fight from a far distance. Even then, you saw the explosions and returned to his side when he won." He lowered the sword and slammed his hammer on the malformed sections.
Myoga crossed his arms over his chest. "Why I never!"
"Never is right." Totosai snickered as he put his hammer onto the side. "You wilted whenever the brat showed signs of a tantrum! His mother reprimanded him better than you and she was a human!" He walked over to his pool of water and shoved in the sword. Steam fizzled off the surface as the sword cooled down.
Myoga pouted. "I hate to admit that my size is my deterrent. I'm too small to actually scare him into submission. He just kept laughing at me whenever I tried teaching him his lessons. He did listen to me every once in a while, but when it wasn't what he liked to hear, he tuned me out. There is not much else I can do for either one of them."
"All we can do is keep an eye on them. Not like Sesshomaru will listen to our opinions." Totosai huffed out. "Besides, I'd rather not be at the end of his sword. He would kill us if we try to intervene."
Myoga sighed. "That's what I'm worried about. Poor, Master Inuyasha."
A familiar comment caused Inuyasha's eyebrow to twitch. "Terrible."
Managing to get out of the way of his newest opponent, Inuyasha slammed Tessaiga's hilt into the demon's face before he jumped out of the way. Looking over his shoulder, he witnessed another first. A disappointed frown on Sesshomaru's face.
Something inside of Inuyasha whined over disappointing their teacher.
To mask his confusing inner turmoil, Inuyasha snapped. "Shut up!"
Sesshomaru jumped down from the small hill and disposed of the demon with a flick of his wrist. His whip of light disintegrated the demon. More and more demons appeared from the bush and he sighed in disappointment. The power levels were low and laughable. Their numbers were their only advantage in overpowering or catching their superiors through a planned surprise attack.
Turning his attention onto Inuyasha, he said. "I watched this scuffle from the beginning to this point in time. You used none of the sword techniques you learned from your instructor."
"I'm doing fine!" Inuyasha argued back as he used his leg to kick a different demon away from him. He dodged one of Kagome's pure arrows before it hit the intended target, making them crumble into ash. "You should butt out!"
Sesshomaru's frown deepened. "We shall use this as a learning lesson." He peered back at his ward and informed her. "Rin, stay near the priestess." He narrowed his eyes at Jaken. "Jaken, remain near Rin."
"Yes, mi'lord!" Rin tugged Ah Un's reigns and lead him toward a stunned Kagome. "Hello, Lady Kagome!"
Jaken harrumphed before he followed his lord's commands and trailed after Rin. He sneered at the priestess for her uselessness. Until, she shot another arrow and killed another demon before she turned to look down at them. He puffed out his chest at a vain attempt in bravery, but he hated to admit that the human was somewhat powerful.
Kagome tore her gaze away from the battle to look down at Rin. "Just Kagome is fine, Rin." She looked back at the brothers and heard Sesshomaru judge Inuyasha's performance.
In between swings of their swords, the groans of the fallen demons, the squirts of spilled blood, Sesshomaru criticized Inuyasha's handling of the sword. Inuyasha was too focused on fighting the group of demons to deny the claims.
Kagome pinched her arm.
Had she not focused her attention on purifying other demons, Kagome would have laughed herself silly.
Inuyasha missed a kata when Sesshomaru commented. "The half demon, Naraku, attempted to seek this Sesshomaru's assistance."
Inuyasha's grip on his sword loosened enough for it to fall onto the grass. Turning around, he growled at Sesshomaru. "When?"
Using his right hand, Sesshomaru motioned to Tessaiga giving Inuyasha the hint to grab of sheath his sword. Inuyasha breathed through his nose to reign control of his temper before he retrieved his sword and sheathed it.
Inuyasha inquired again. "When?"
Sesshomaru answered. "Sometime after our fight on father's bones."
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru grimaced at the reminder of their battle. Throughout their spontaneous sword training lessons, the brothers realized that they showed an extreme form of disrespect to their late father. After all, Inuyasha would had killed anyone who did the same thing to his mother's bones.
"And?"
"I don't need the charity of those lesser than me to achieve my goals." Sesshomaru informed Inuyasha. "The fact this demon is one who prompted that undead priestess to seal you onto that tree... bothers me."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Why? Because you were not the one who did it to me?"
"No." Sesshomaru stared at Inuyasha's profile. An image of their father appeared to the forefront of his mind and he let out a sigh. "We will remove the pest from this plane of existence and regain our honor."
Inuyasha's eyes prickled up at the acknowledgement. Huffing out a shaky breath, he shook his head from side to side. "Y-Yeah! We will kill him! We're wasting our time chit chatting. Let's get back to it."
Sesshomaru and Inuyasha resumed their training, their similar goal prompted them to push one another past their limits.
Inuyasha laid on his stomach with his face buried into the grass. His muscles ached. Multiple places on his body was bruised. A good soak would get rid of the hurt, but it wouldn't block he shame and mortification at the memory of Sesshomaru defeating him. The previous smugness of having fought Sesshomaru on their father's bones was gone.
Sesshomaru played with him the whole time.
It was complete luck that he hacked off his brother's arm.
Blinking back tears of frustration, Inuyasha closed his eyes and burrowed his face deeper into the grass. His hair fanned around his face, blocking anyone from seeing his distress. As he continued on laying on the ground, insecurities came to the front of his mind. Humans jeered at him, demons mocked his existence. His accomplishments were downplayed as nothing more than survival.
Nothing he ever did was good enough.
He was a joke.
Despite Myoga's assurances of his father's eagerness to meet him, the sword and the fire rat coat were proof, he didn't find it in himself to believe him. After all, his late father's vassals didn't address him and his half brother ignored him for a good portion of his life. None of the people who respected his father volunteered to take him in and teach him how to survive.
His human mother brought him copious amounts of love, but he caused her endless stream of tears. He burdened her life with his birth. She became a downtrodden princess with a half breed for a son. As much as he dreamed to grow up and become a filial son for her sake, she died before he grew old enough to try.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome hurried to his side and shook him. "Are you alright?" Inuyasha's muffled response caused Kagome to lean closer to hear him. "What?"
Inuyasha turned his head to the side and snapped. "Sesshomaru tired me out, alright?"
Kagome jumped from the sudden volume before she huffed. "Well, you were just laying on the ground and I thought you were really hurt. I'm surprised. I thought demons had high stamina."
"We do!" Inuyasha laid his cheek against the grass and grumbled. "Sesshomaru is actually challenging me this time."
Kagome knelt beside Inuyasha. "That's great!" Inuyasha glared at her. "No, no, listen to me. This means that he is trying to make sure you're in top shape to defeat Naraku! You're a general's son! You have a lot of expectations and he wants you to exceed those expectations. Don't tell me you are not having fun whenever Sesshomaru is challenging you?"
Inuyasha maneuvered his place from the ground into a sitting position. "Sort of." Inuyasha patted down his clothing in an attempt to get rid of the bits of grass. "The fact I have expectations put on me is ...weird."
Kagome nodded her head and encouraged him. "Keep going."
Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "Uh...ever since I was small, I handled my own business. I was used to having people tell me I would die before I grew up. No one believed I could succeed in anything. Sure, Myoga tried teaching me things, but half the time I thought he was bullshitting. I have to say, Sesshomaru kicking me into shape is making me want to get his approval."
"And you're handling our enemies faster then before! Sango sort of wanted to ask Sesshomaru for some sword lessons, but she wasn't sure if he would agree. After all, she is human." Kagome said.
"Meh, he might say yes." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "Sango is a good fighter. I say she copies what I do until Sesshomaru notices and started instructing her himself. He didn't ask if I wanted those lessons before he butted in."
Kagome exclaimed. "Okay! I'll let her know before Sesshomaru shows up again." She pumped her fist and pondered out loud. "Maybe, I should practice your fighting poses for self defense. I can't just use my bow and arrow all the time. I need a bit of variety."
Inuyasha nodded in approval.
Teasing smile on her lips, Kagome nudged his side. "You're not going to say I'm going to fail and complain the whole time?"
Inuyasha shoved his hands into his sleeves before he scoffed. "What's the use? We all have to get stronger and defeat Naraku."
Kagome chuckled. "You got that right!"
"Honestly, you're not the useless dumb human girl from when we first met." Inuyasha's face went bright red. "Every single of you could jump in to defend me and care for my well being. It's...nice."
Kagome beamed. "I always believed in you, Inuyasha. We all do." She ran her fingers through his hair and relished in the softness. It seemed Inuyasha used her unscented bath products to decompress after training. "Even if we bicker all the time, you're always looking out for me. And I can never thank you enough for protecting me."
Hunching his shoulders, Inuyasha averted his eyes. Somewhat leaning forward, Kagome continued on touching his hair for a while longer.
"Better."
Inuyasha snapped. "I fought the same way as last time."
"You were centimeters off balance to gain maximum damage." Sesshomaru slashed down another lackluster demon. "An improvement."
Inuyasha turned away from Sesshomaru and controlled the urge to smile. Sesshomaru didn't voice actual compliments in the normal sense. He seemed to over analyze while giving him the right correction in between his criticisms.
Whether or not Sesshomaru was upfront with his approval, Inuyasha would take all the compliments he would get.
"Fine." Inuyasha moved into a better position for the weight of his sword and killed his enemy in one swipe.
In between the chaos of the battlefield, Inuyasha heard Sesshomaru's comment. "Much better."
Inuyasha maneuvered his way out of Sesshomaru's barrage of sword swinging when he blurted out. "Why are you doing this, Sesshomaru? Why are you helping me?"
Pausing in place, Sesshomaru inquired. "Does it matter?"
"Well, yeah?" Inuyasha sheathed his sword and Sesshomaru followed suit. "You never liked me, Sesshomaru." He gave Sesshomaru direct eye contact when he pointed out. "I might have been a naïve pup, but you were real clear in the fact you wanted to kill me."
Sesshomaru nodded his head. "Correct."
Inuyasha furrowed his brows and wracked his brain. "Then, why the sudden change in not wanting to kill me? Unless, you wanted a real battle for your blood to start pumping."
"Not at all."
Hunching his shoulders, Inuyasha grimaced. "Okay. You're not making sense! You didn't care about my well being when I was a child."
Sesshomaru interjected before Inuyasha continued on. "Incorrect."
Inuyasha stepped forward, giving a warning growl to Sesshomaru, and stopped before him. "Don't lie. You never cared."
"Not in the traditional human sense of the word."
"Bullshit!"
"Think, Inuyasha." Sesshomaru looked deep into Inuyasha's eyes. "You were kept hidden in a castle until your human mother passed on. A pup without any semblance of knowledge of the outside world with the clothes on his back wouldn't survive for long."
"I-I knew-"
Sesshomaru interjected. "A pup without proper training and instruction would have died. Your continuous luck in dodging far more powerful beings was something untrained half breeds would had never accomplished on their own. It was almost as if you had intervention throughout your formative years, keeping powerful opponents from laying a hand on you."
It took Inuyasha a moment before it dawned on him. Sesshomaru was right. When the opportunity was given to hateful humans and righteous demons, they killed half demons without feeling remorse. Older half demons lived to adulthood due to their parent's intervention or being taken into their demon sire's home. Somehow, he managed to divert himself away from danger and survive.
Whenever he crossed paths with anyone who felt pity for his heritage, they warned him against certain areas. How there were powerful demons who would eat him as a snack and spit out his bones. His idiotic and stubborn kid mind ignored their warnings and entered those areas on purpose.
He encountered none of the powerful demons. Weeks passed before Inuyasha packed his meager possessions and wandered away. Of course, the result came in furthering his arrogance in being powerful when he wasn't. He was a dumb weak pup playing as a fighter.
Which meant, someone was looking after him from a distance.
Eyes widening, Inuyasha said. "Wait...you were the one who-"
Sesshomaru nodded his head.
"Not that I am grateful, thanks but-" Inuyasha averted his attention away from Sesshomaru. "W-Why? Why did you make me think you hated me?"
Sesshomaru tilted his head to the side. "I admit, I abhorred your existence. I grew up with instructors verbalizing accolades of my proper breeding and I had yet to find a half demon who surpassed their weaknesses. Thinking back on my youth, I held onto my preconceptions and followed the words of those I believed were beneath me."
"I mean...you were an obnoxious prick."
Without any heat behind the gesture, Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha.
"Well, you were!
Sesshomaru inquired. "Has your opinion of your elder brother changed?"
Sighing, Inuyasha's ears twitched. "You're less hostile and we're having an actual conversation. Of course, you changed, we both changed."
Humming, Sesshomaru reached out his hand and patted the top of Inuyasha's head. The tops of his fingers skimmed Inuyasha's ears before he fiddled with one. Inuyasha arched a brow and looked up at Sesshomaru in confusion.
"Softer than expected."
Inuyasha's face went bright red as he stammered out. "Y-You."
Sesshomaru took back his hand before he instructed. "We are resuming our lesson. Unsheathe your sword, Inuyasha."
After Naraku was defeated, Inuyasha's adrenaline pushed him to hug everyone from his pack. Miroku patted his back with a watery laugh. Sango sobbed into her hands as Kohaku flanked her side. Shippo boasted about almost gaining a new tail from their ordeal. Kagome held onto Inuyasha far longer than appropriate, but he didn't mind. She hid her face into his chest in order to release her tears. He let her cry herself out before she released him.
Without thinking, he pulled Sesshomaru into a tight embrace. He ignored the gawking insults coming from Jaken and the scattered gasps coming from his packmates. He waited with baited breath for Sesshomaru's reaction to his actions.
To his relief, Sesshomaru didn't push him away. In fact, Sesshomaru patted the top of his head while congratulating him for his role in defeating Naraku. The comment about their father boasting about both of his sons made Inuyasha laugh out loud. Both of them imagined their jovial father retelling his sons victories with the biggest smile on his face.
Inuyasha's grip lessened enough to stop hugging Sesshomaru. Instead, he moved his hands onto Sesshomaru's shoulders and patted them hard. Sesshomaru used both of his hands to tweak Inuyasha's ears with a slight smirk on his lips.
Rin slapped her hands over Jaken's mouth to stop him from interrupting such an adorable scene.
Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo gave her grateful glances for her intervention.
The end.