Updated Feb 2017 - as you can tell, I've split some chapters into two parts as I've updated them. I felt like nearly 5,000 words was a little much for one chapter so I spread it out ;)

All my thanks to Rumiko Takahashi :D

Battle of the Eldest (pt 2)

Sesshomaru's speed quickly took him in range of the aggravating youkai, prime location for a well-aimed strike at his skull. Regrettably, Sesshomaru had underestimated the youkai's speed, for his attack was dodged without a problem.

"Now now, Sesshomaru, I understand that fighting with Inuyasha is commonplace for you, but why make such a rash decision with me?" The youkai allowed a certain level of smugness to come through his tone yet clearly insured that his words were not misunderstood, "Do you truly wish to lose another arm…little brother?"

Sesshomaru hesitated, unable to keep the glint of surprise from showing on his face. Brother? Little brother? He reverted his eyes back into an even harsher glare, "Explain yourself."

The youkai simply placed a hand on his chest and back and acknowledged him with a curt bow, "I am your eldest brother, the daiyoukai, Inunomaru," he then stood to his full height, mirroring Sesshomaru's normal stance, "I was hidden from our father when I was born, and since that time I ensured that I was not discovered by either you nor Inuyasha. However, matters as they be, I feel it is imperative to finally reveal myself to each of you."

Sesshomaru broke quickly from the initial shock, though his face wasn't quite able to return to his cool exterior. The look of hatred was obvious in the faint red glow of his eyes. There were two things he would not tolerate, liars and overly confident cowards. With his insulting claims at being to the level of daiyoukai and the outright lies of being his brother, this, Inunomaru, fit both. "Not revealing your presence is a sign of cowardice," he said, "I refuse to admit having any relation to a coward." He bolted forward again, Toukijin glowing green in his hand.

As he closed the distance, Inunomaru sighed softly, closed his eyes in apparent defeat, and outstretched his arms to his sides as if he was going to sacrifice himself willingly to the attack. But before Sesshomaru could reach him, he shot his eyes open and clenched his fists tight, forcing two, thin blades concealed on his gauntlets to swing out from his forearms, locking into place at his wrists.

Ignoring the appearance of weapons, Sesshomaru leapt into the air and forced the burning blade of his sword down at Inunomaru. However, before his attack landed, Inunomaru swiftly crossed his twin blades above his head and easily blocked the assault of Toukijin. The power behind the three blades held fast, forcing the grass and earth to uproot and swirl around their owners like a cyclone.

"You are holding back, Inunomaru," Sesshomaru said as he pushed himself forward, "If you are my brother like you claim, then fight back."

"Likewise," Inunomaru said with a testing smirk. He then bared his claws and uncrossed his blades, blasting Sesshomaru back with a blinding burst of white-blue light.

Sesshomaru recovered from the blast without difficulty, flipped backwards, and landed back on his feet lightly. Toukijin didn't fare as well, shaking feebly in his hand from the force inflicted upon it. Though he was satisfied that he was able to force a response from Inunomaru, the look of disgust at the ease at which he was thrust back stretched all over his expression. Sesshomaru regarded the inferior blade and cursed it inwardly. He then stared back at Inunomaru and glanced down at the soft blue glow that radiated from the blades at his wrists. Even a youkai that hadn't existed three hours ago possessed blades that surpassed his, it was sickening.

"Sesshomaru," Inunomaru said calmly, gaining his eyes, "I do not wish to fight you, Sesshomaru, and I know you do not wish to kill me," he then sighed and took on a slightly harsher edge to his voice as he pointed one of his blades towards him, "However, I will not hesitate to put you on your knees if required."

The threat fanned the Western Lord's anger more, "No, it is you, Inunomaru, that will be on your knees," he charged, "In pieces!"

The skin of fish crackled around the flames of the fire. Shippo could tell that they were almost finished and bounced excitedly in his seat as he focused on the largest of the fish. Inuyasha had his eyes on the same fish as the young kitsune, making sure there was no way he would grab it before him.

Just before either could rush in to grab their much desired prize, a lightning bolt of youki spread over the sky like an angled web.

Inuyasha shot up, "What the hell was that?!" His hand habitually rushed to the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

Sango ran up next to him, hirakotsu in hand, followed closely by the transformed Kirara, "It was some kind of youki blast wave! It's not too far away!"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder, "Do you sense any jewel shards?"

She shook her head, "No…but you don't suppose…?"

He smirked and turned back, "Keh, I'll give you one guess," without hesitation, he jumped off at full speed, "I'm not gonna miss this for the world!"

"Come on, Kagome!" Sango yelled as she landed Kirara next to her.

"Okay," she jumped onto Kirara's back behind Sango while Shippo grabbed onto her shoulders and Miroku jumped behind them. They took off, the blasts continuing to shoot across the cloud free sky.

Inuyasha reached the edge of the field within a few minutes and made sure he remained in the shadows of the trees. The second he noticed who was in the clearing, he was both baffled and unsurprised at what was going on between them.

Inunomaru and Sesshomaru exploded apart and together in flashes, their immense youki clashing in sharp rings of metal on metal and white and green bolts of lightning shooting through the sky. He could feel the pressure of them on his chest like a vice and couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as they flew around the thick air. Was this really what it was like when two full blown daiyoukai fought? Damn!

He had to admit it was pretty amazing to witness and actually praised himself for being able to keep up with them, but just as it seemed things were getting good, they suddenly stopped. Sesshomaru, though unscathed, was in a staggered position, clearly furious at his strange predicament. Inunomaru was similarly uninjured, yet he stood tall and calm in the center of the destroyed meadow; the blades at his wrists glowing with a blue, mist-like smoke that twisted from them in steady pulses that oddly mirrored Inuyasha's excited heartbeat.

What the hell! Inuyasha thought as he looked over Inunomaru, the guy isn't even cracking a sweat! He smiled and chuckled to himself, this is better than I thought.

Still, even though he praised Inunomaru for getting his brother so riled up, he still couldn't understand why Sesshomaru was allowing him to get the better of him in the first place. The daiyoukai lord would never allow someone to manhandle him like this, and, even with the level of youki radiating from him, he was definitely much stronger than what he was showing.

His brothers stood still for what seemed like ages before Inunomaru relaxed his arms to his sides and refused to continue, "This is pointless, Sesshomaru. What will killing each other accomplish?"

Sesshomaru growled, clearly furious at the title as well as the request to surrender. He glared down at the blade he held in his hand like it was a parasite and Inuyasha smiled again, the guy has the worst luck with weapons, he thought.

Surprisingly, instead of launching another attack, Sesshomaru frowned at Inunomaru and sheathed his useless sword. Before Inuyasha could draw any conclusions why he was suddenly laying down his arms, Sesshomaru stiffened his body and bared his fangs, sparking Inuyasha's memory back to a certain fight they had at his father's gravesite. Now this was the Sesshomaru Inuyasha was used to seeing! If his brother was angry enough to transform then maybe this fight wasn't over after all.

The wind swirled around Sesshomaru's form as his eyes turned a deadly shade of red and his body started to tremble. Yet, just as Inuyasha thought it was about to get good again, Sesshomaru froze. His confused eyes glanced down at his Tenseiga then back at Inunomaru. He stared at him intently, like he was questioning him about something.

Well at least I'm not the only one that's confused by this guy, Inuyasha reflected.

Sesshomaru finally relaxed and allowed his face to go blank, "Very well, there is no reason to continue this insignificant battle any further." Without another word, he turned to walk away.

Inunomaru's twin blades folded back. "I do nothing without purpose, Sesshomaru," he said just as stoically, and then moved his eyes over to the trees where Inuyasha was hiding, staring directly at him, "Inuyasha, I assume you have seen enough?"

Inuyasha jumped at his recognition. He had been so excited that Sesshomaru was running away with his tail between his legs that he forgot to pay attention to his physical status. His excited scent must have tipped Inunomaru's nose off to his location.

Though annoyed that he had been caught, he managed to walk with a light, cocky gait out from the trees, meeting Sesshomaru's icy gaze just a few yards away. He couldn't help but tease, "Keh, looks like you bit off a little more than you could chew, didn't you, Sesshomaru?"

His brother's deadly glare didn't faze him at all, "Hn, there is no point in wasting my energy on something as trivial as this."

Inuyasha just smirked wider, "Sure."

The rest of Inuyasha's group arrived a few seconds later.

Kirara landed next to Inuyasha and they dismounted, all confused at the odd scene they had come across. Kagome had expected a far more hostile scene when they got there, but all three of the silver-haired inu-youkai seemed surprisingly calm. Conversely, their relaxed demeanors didn't help settle her down at all. In her experience, especially with what she had seen of Sesshomaru, she knew to never trust a cool, calm, and collected appearance. It honestly felt worse than an all-out battle.

"What happened?" she asked Inuyasha, glancing over at the more-than-annoyed Western Lord.

"He sure doesn't look happy," Shippo added, hopping down from her shoulders.

Inuyasha smiled wide, "It's cuz Inunomaru kicked his ass that's why!"

Kagome gave him a hard scowl then noticed Inunomaru's proximity to the group had sanged. He had closed the distance between them but stopped a few meters away, intentionally keeping himself disconnected. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru started to walk away again, passing Kagome with eyes closed and body tense, holding his temper back as only he could. She noticed how frustrated the daiyoukai lord looked and her long-set attitude towards him wavered. Even after all the times Sesshomaru had tried to kill them, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for him.

"Sesshomaru," Inunomaru's words behind her made the retreating daiyoukai stop, though he made no move to open his eyes or turn. Kagome could hear the concern behind Inunomaru's even tone, "Even though you refuse to heed my words now, I hope that you will look past your pride and accept assistance when needed. This battle with the hanyou, Naraku, is not one you can accomplish entirely on your own."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and huffed, "Yeah right! Like that'll ever happen!"

"I need no help from anyone," Sesshomaru said with blades behind his words, "I will handle Naraku myself."

"Tell me, Sesshomaru..." something in the way Inunomaru said those words made the daiyoukai lord tense, "Have you someone to protect?"

Sesshomaru glanced back this time and Kagome could swear she saw a hint of astonishment, or possibly even fear, behind his golden eyes. She looked back at Inunomaru and managed to catch the slight glint of a smile cross his face before it disappeared behind the stoic wall. It was a few seconds before Sesshomaru managed to tear his stare from Inunomaru and continue on his path, vanishing within the trees.

Hoping to break the tense atmosphere, and following her instinct of unnatural friendliness, she ambled over to Inunomaru and grinned, "Hello again, Inunomaru-sama."

"Greetings, Kagome-sama," he gave her a small bow.

She put her hands up, mildly embarrassed from his continued formality, "Oh no, just Kagome-san, please." She had never gotten used to being called Kagome-sama from anyone, and it seemed even more unnecessary, nonetheless uncomfortable, coming from the giant daiyoukai.

He bowed lower and his tone dropped ever so slightly, "Kagome-san."

She almost squeaked again. Okay, why the heck does that feel worse? Her fingers started fidgeting unconsciously. I had a reason for walking up here, she thought, what was it? Oh… "Um…are…are you sure you don't want to join us for a little while?"

His eyes softened and the warmth of a blush unconsciously spread across her face. She bit her lip and stared at the ground, you just had to make this more awkward didn't you?

Shippo, being the nosy little kitsune he was, jumped back onto Kagome's shoulder, "Pleeeeeeease, you wouldn't be a bother at all!"

"I really should not interfere," Inunomaru said with a single shake of his head.

"Keh, the way I see it, you've already interfered." They looked over at Inuyasha, who had a knowing swagger to his stance, "You might as well stay. Just make sure you don't get in my way."

"Inuyasha," Kagome smiled warmly. His agreement was just too cute.

He gave her a befuddled glare at her, "What? At least that'll stop Shippo from buggin' everyone about it!"

She giggled, not convinced in the slightest, "I know." She turned back to Inunomaru, "So what do you say, Inunomaru-sama? Stay with us a little while?"

Inunomaru closed his eyes and sighed, the choice apparently made up for him already. He looked back at Inuyasha, who was peeking at him through one eye then grinned, "Very well."

Kagome could have cheered. Shippo did it for her.

"YAY!" he jumped off of her shoulder and wrapped his arms around Inunomaru's calf. Kagome froze stiff, eyes growing to the size of saucers. The fox had gone insane!

She started to make a move to rush in and grab him before Inunomaru went 'youkai' or something and turned him into a doggy hamburger, but stopped herself. "U…Sh…Shippo…?" she managed to stutter instead.

"Huh…what?" he glanced up at Inunomaru's raised eyebrow and realized what he just did. He squeaked in alarm and hurriedly hop off, "Hehe…s…sorry," he smiled in embarrassment.

Much to Kagome's surprise, Inunomaru's face relaxed and he smiled, "You have nothing to fear from me, Little Shippo-kun."

Shippo tilted his head, "Really?"

He bowed his head, "Indeed."

"That's good," he beamed, then whispered, "I can't say the same thing about Inuyasha though, he's such a bully sometimes."

Inuyasha growled loudly behind them, "WHAT DID YOU SAY SHIPPO?!"

"Nothing!" He yelled back at him, then looked back at Inunomaru, "See what I mean?"

"You say that to my face! You little…" Inuyasha bolted towards them, sending Shippo dashing in the other direction with a loud squeal.

"Well this is embarrassing. Sorry about them," Kagome apologized with a sheepish grin.

Inunomaru's eyes softened once more, "It is perfectly alright, Kagome-san."

She smiled back at him with another unintentional blush.

Inuyasha and Shippo were still arguing, running around the group hysterically. After a good time of laughing at the pair, Kagome finally grew tired of Inuyasha's spitefulness to the innocent little kitsune.

"OSWARI!"

BAM!

"N…not fair…"Inuyasha muffled through the hole in the ground.

Looks like the group just got a little bigger ;)

Till next time! What do you guys think?