Updated Feb 2017
As with all, I give all the praise to the great Rumiko Takahashi!
Battle of the Eldest (pt 1)
The sun was edging its way down the changing horizon, hovering in the air like a paper lantern. Its golden light stretched the shadows of the group across the grass as they walked along their path. Inuyasha lead them, walking quietly with hands folded in his sleeves in front of him. After Inunomaru left the night before, he had been a mix of emotions ranging from frustrated to almost joyous. In either case, he was much more agreeable, to the surprise of everyone.
At present, he was down into the more frustrated hue of his emotional palate, arguing and mumbling to himself about the validity of his 'brother's' claims. Whenever he convinced himself that what Inunomaru said was the truth, the haze of doubt came back up, making him question himself. His story was believable, but it was convenient. His motives were to their benefit, but to what end for him? His appearance had obvious family resemblances, but it almost seemed like there were too many similarities. Everything just went back and forth in his mind, fighting with his emotions, probably not the best time for a flea to cut in.
"Inuyasha-sama?" Myoga asked from the hanyou's shoulder.
"You still here, Myoga?" he scowled, his eyes coolly forward. Luckily, the interruption hadn't been at too low a stage of internal conflict.
The old flea noticed the twinge of annoyance but risked it, nodding hesitantly even though he was out of eye-shot, "Y…yes, Inuyasha-sama. I wanted to ask you an important question."
He sighed, "What?"
"Um, are you still able pick up Inunomaru-sama's scent?" he asked.
Inuyasha finally looked over to his shoulder, curiously raising an eyebrow, "Why are you so concerned?"
"…I…well…" the flea's eyes fell sadly and his body slumped.
"Why do ya need me to smell him out? I mean, you know where I am anywhere," Inuyasha said, confused.
"That's the problem!" Myoga flailed his four tiny arms in exasperation, "Once he walked out of sight…it was like he had just vanished again. Even his smell disappeared!" His feinted tears fell behind his equally unconvincing sobs.
"Keh, he didn't seem to vanish to me," Inuyasha motioned to the west with a nod of his head, "I picked him up early this morning. It is pretty faded though."
The sound of Miroku's staff jingled as he walked up next to them, "It must be the protective field that Inunomaru-sama mentioned last night."
His statement caught Inuyasha's attention, "What do you mean?"
"Well, Inunomaru-sama claimed that his mother used her life force to hide his existence from his father and everyone he was acquainted with, correct?" the monk explained.
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, so?"
"You and Sesshomaru-sama were not born when this barrier was created, thus, it must not have an effect on both of you. Myoga-san, on the other hand, had already met Inu no Taisho-sama before Inunomaru-sama was born and therefore was affected."
Myoga nodded, "Ah, yes, I remember. The only reason I could pick up his scent and presence is because he chose to be picked up. And when he left, he put up the protective field again and…and concealed himself from me," his words turned into a pout and he rubbed his eyes again, "Oh, why do I always get left behind? I promised Inu no Taisho-sama to watch over his sons and now I'm utterly failing! Wah-ha-ha…"
"Oh, stop it, Myoga. We both know you're too scared to follow him," Inuyasha growled.
Myoga's face went straight again, "This is true…I would rather like to keep all my legs, but…but Ican'tbelievethatyouandSesshomarusamahaveanotherbrotherand… ahh-ha-ha…!"
The flea was being ignored now. "Inunomaru-sama's mother must have been a very powerful youkai, or daiyoukai, to be able to hide his presence like that," Miroku concluded, his voice showing slight surprise at this possibility.
Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, and if the guy actually is my brother like he says he is, then…" his eyes were suddenly bright with mischief.
Myoga broke out of his fit of pouts, "D…do you think he could be as strong as Sesshomaru-sama?"
Inuyasha's ears flicked excitedly and his grin widened, "Keh, I wouldn't doubt it. Man, I would love to see the look on Sesshomaru's face when they meet!" His eagerness was plainly apparent now as he almost seemed to be holding back the urge to jump around like a little kid waiting in line to get a new toy.
Kagome had been listening in on their conversation from a few feet behind them ever since it started. Her thoughts had been following a similar path as Inuyasha's, though closer to the road of acceptance, but now that the discussion had changed to talk of a possibly life threatening fight between Inunomaru and Sesshomaru, her curiosity changed to concern. She ran up next to them, her face clearly voicing her troubled thoughts on the matter, "You're not worried about him?"
"Sesshomaru? Absolutely NOT!" Inuyasha growled at her assumption.
"Well, a little…but Inunomaru-sama's your brother to, isn't he? Aren't you concerned about him at all?" She knew he wouldn't care about Sesshomaru's well being, that was pretty self-explanatory, but, even with the hints of doubt, Inunomaru strangely seemed more like family then Sesshomaru ever had, and that had to mean something, right?
Inuyasha turned his nose up away from her. "Humph, not my problem," he walked off ahead, back to the old, impetuous Inuyasha they all know and love.
Kagome started to reprimand Inuyasha for his lack of concern, but was stopped mid step by Miroku's calming hand on her shoulder. He smiled optimistically, "I wouldn't be worried about Inunomaru-sama, Kagome. I think he's more than capable of handling himself."
She nodded cautiously, "I hope so." Her eyes remained painfully concerned, still not convinced that events would go smoothly. It was obvious that Inunomaru was powerful, but was he strong enough to stand up to the Lord of the Western Lands himself? She couldn't help but bite her lip as her mind played through what could happen between the two inu-daiyoukai brothers.
Sesshomaru stood on the edge of a small outcropping. His eyes were closed calmly yet his body seemed unnaturally tense from some unseen cause. The wind blew around his form and through the field his group had stopped in for the night, its soft gusts waving through the grass and around the small fire circle in ripples. Rin slept peacefully next to Ah-Un's bronze chest while Jaken sat next to the fire, his fretful eyes looking over at his master.
Sesshomaru had been unusually disagreeable for quite some time now, even for him, and not long after they had set up camp for the night, the daiyoukai lord became even more ill-tempered. Jaken couldn't help but worry about what could have caused his master to be this on edge. He broke his gaze away from Sesshomaru and mumbled to the ground, "Why won't you tell me what's wrong, milord? I thought you trusted me. Humph, how dare he treat me like…"
"Jaken," Sesshomaru's icy voice broke through the crackle of the fire.
He squeaked in quick terror. Expecting that he was about to die from his previous comment, he cautiously hopped over to Sesshomaru, not sure of what to expect, "Y…yes, milord?"
"Do you sense that?" his master remained still.
Secretly breathing a huge sigh of relief, Jaken looked at his lord questioningly, "Sense what, milord? I do not pick up anything out of the ordinary," he couldn't sense any sign that there was something or someone around them, but his senses were not as acute as his master's, so he tried not to argue.
Sesshomaru's eyes opened slightly, "Someone is coming."
"W…what?" the imp said with another squeak, "Is it youkai?" his hands gripped around his staff tightly, voice trembling, then tried to put on a brave face, "D…don't worry, milord, I will take care of this youkai for you. You need not bother with him!"
The daiyoukai lord cut him off sharply, "No, Jaken. Take Rin and leave. You will only get in my way here," he finally turned and positioned himself toward the forest behind them, his eyes in a narrow glare.
Jaken gave him a confused look, Sesshomaru-sama, are you worried about my safety?
Sesshomaru's voice was sharper, "Jaken. You're not leaving."
Jaken burst out into pitiful wails at his feet, "Oh, Sesshomaru-sama, you honor me too greatly with this concern for my life! I do not deserve it! I will not leave you, milord!"
Sesshomaru's icy gold eyes glared down at him, needing no words to show that Jaken had insulted him greatly by ignoring a direct order.
The imp swished around and started bowing frantically at his feet, hoping that he could somehow extend his now increasingly shortening life, "I…I'm sorry Sesshomaru-sama. I did not mean to...p…please forgive my idiocy, milord."
Sesshomaru ignored his pleas and walked silently past him, "As I said before, you will just get in my way."
Jaken sniffed and wiped his eyes, "Y…yes, milord. I will go now." He quickly returned to his feet, hopped over to the fire circle, and woke Ah-Un and Rin. Rin protested being woken up out of her nap, but complied with Sesshomaru's orders from Jaken and moved tiredly onto Ah-Un's back, falling back to sleep once she had sprawled over the twin-headed dragon's wide shoulders.
As they rose in the air, Jaken looked back at the remaining daiyoukai lord. He had moved closer to the center of the field, body position calm but with a look in his eyes that gave Jaken chills to his bones. It wasn't long after that the ominous youki from both his master and the hidden figure started to build up in the air, making it hard for the tiny imp to breath. He didn't want to leave his master alone, but then again, if anything happened to the little girl that slept a few feet away from him, he would probably end up as leather shoes for a mouse.
Sesshomaru watched his group leave in silence, eyes unconsciously locked onto the sleeping child. The girl had fallen asleep almost as soon as she lay on Ah-Un's back. Typical. She was always one to have no reaction to events like these. Jaken, on the other hand, always had too much of a reaction. Sesshomaru dealt with his groveling and noise because the imp's unyielding loyalty was convenient at times, and the fact Jaken was fear-bound to protect Rin at risk of his own death by Sesshomaru's hands helped as well. If only his loyalty came with silent obedience.
Sesshomaru had smelled the fear on him as they left. Where the imp's fear was usually aimed at himself, it had annoyingly been directed as fear for his master. Yes, annoying youkai presences where commonplace, but was Jaken really so foolish as to fear for his safety? However, though warranting a harsh punishment when he returned, Sesshomaru could not deny that the youki he felt was powerful, yet there was something odd about it. He had picked up its existence within an hour of stopping, and its presence had been a constant pressure on his senses for the past two. But, regardless of how strong or strange its youki was, he was not about to let this youkai just cower in the trees and eavesdrop on them.
He glanced again at the now departed group, and then turned his icy glare back to the forest where the youkai was hiding, "You will come out if you value your life." He complied with Sesshomaru's words without hesitation and walked silently out of the shadows. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the sight of him, instantly deeming him more unwelcome now that he was clearly visible. His youki flared at his annoyance.
The youkai took notice of the increasing intensity of his glare and bowed his head respectfully before giving him a smirk and an equal flare of youki, "Greetings, Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru could have growled. The resemblance of this youkai to his father was disturbingly similar in both sight and smell, and the youki that radiated off of him now was almost a match to his own. Though his mind sifted through libraries of reasons for these traits, he ensured that he kept his face blank to keep the youkai oblivious to his thoughts, "Who are you and why does the stench of my father follow you?"
His statement seemed to have an effect on the youkai. Sesshomaru caught the scent of annoyance when he gave him his own cold glare, "You do not give him the respect he deserves, Sesshomaru." He then raised an eyebrow, "Your envy of Inu no Taisho-sama has always been staggering to me."
Sesshomaru's temper flared, "Envy? My father deserved no kind of envy. And who are you to presume this? You, who also seem to lack any form of respect for your superiors." He pulled Toukijin from its resting place at his side and aimed it at the youkai's chest, hand steady and unmoving.
If his comments weren't insulting enough, he presumed to grin and shake his head, mocking him even more, "So eager to jump to conclusions, Sesshomaru. You and Inuyasha have more in common than I thought."
Comparing him to his worthless brother pushed Sesshomaru past his already shortened patience. "How dare you compare me to that filthy half breed. You shall die for your audacity," he dug his toes into the dirt at his feet and launched himself forward.
Fight fight fight!
Till next time ;)