Updated Feb 2017 - changed very little in this one ;)

I take no ownership to any of these characters accept my own (Inunomaru) all others, of course, belong to the great Rumiko Takahashi.

Enjoy

Advice

The group decided it was best not to travel at that current time of night, so they pitched camp on the edge of the battlefield meadow. There was no food to be found around them on such short notice, which was expected considering the events that took place, so Kagome managed to split her leftover instant ramen between everyone.

She sat quietly, mulling over what they should do now that Inunomaru had 'joined' their group. It was noticeable that the atmosphere had changed within them. While Inuyasha, Kirara, and especially Shippo seemed comfortable with the daiyoukai's presence, Sango and Miroku radiated uncertainty. Though both of them had been accepting of Inunomaru to a point, it was obvious that the human branch of their group was hesitant to trust their new member. On the other hand, Kagome was strangely glad he was there. Maybe it was because Shippo was so happy with him, or because Inuyasha didn't seem to show any kind of hostility towards him, heck, it was most likely because of her innate ability to trust people. In any case, she was happy.

She looked over at Inuyasha, who was inhaling his small portion of food like a vacuum, and grimaced at his lack of table manners. Though she was glad he hadn't shown any form of argument about Inunomaru joining them, it annoyed her that he wasn't taking any initiative to talk with him at all. It was a problem easily fixed.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" she asked, voice soft.

He glanced up, mouth still full, "What?"

"Why don't you go talk with Inunomaru-sama?" she motioned towards the cliff's edge where the daiyoukai sat with his back towards them, "He's been over there ever since we set up camp and…I was thinking…that you two should catch up with each other. I'm sure there's a lot you can talk about."

"Like what exactly?" He raised a sharp eyebrow, swallowed, and gave her an annoyed look, "Besides, it doesn't look like he wants to talk to anybody anyway, so why bother?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well, for one…he's your brother. I mean, if I just found out I had another brother I would've jumped at the opportunity to go talk with him. I mean really, how bad could it be?"

He growled, "Apparently you haven't met Sesshomaru…ya know, that other brother who tries to kill me every chance he gets."

"He's nothing like Sesshomaru-sama and you know it!" she couldn't keep down the raise in her voice. But it was true. Inunomaru couldn't be more different than Sesshomaru, even if he was a full inu-daiyoukai. It's what her gut told her, and she trusted that more than anything.

"I don't trust him!" he yelled back.

Liar. "DEAL WITH IT!" Kagome was standing now and loomed over him, giving him her best 'I mean business' look and she sure as hell did.

He cringed backwards and surrendered without further rebuttal, "Okay okay, I'll talk to him, yesh!"

Satisfied, she reverted back to her cheerful self and smiled triumphantly, "Good boy."

"Keh, whatever," he snorted and trudged over to his brother with intentional heavy steps.

"Do you think it best that he goes over there alone, Kagome?" Miroku asked as she sat back down.

She gave the monk a sideways glare, "He's just fine, Miroku," She then shrugged matter-of-factly and grabbed her cup of ramen, "I just made him do what he already wanted to do, nothing more."

She took a bite of noodles and giggled to herself as the sound of Inuyasha's annoyed mumbles faded into the breeze.

Inuyasha got within a couple of yards of Inunomaru, sat down in his usual doggy style, and made a quiet huff to 'announce' his presence. As expected, Inunomaru made no hint of movement when he arrived, remaining silent and seemingly oblivious to his presence. His legs were crossed in front of him with a forearm resting on each knee in an almost meditation-like position. His eyes never looked over at Inuyasha or even opened. Inuyasha knew he knew he was there and was actually glad that Inunomaru hadn't acknowledged him…for a while…

After about five minutes with no point to start a conversation by either of them, Inuyasha's lack of skill to sit still finally kicked in. He began digging his claws in the soft soil at his feet and after he got bored with fumbling in the dirt, he began to pull out pieces of grass one at a time, shredding the green leaves through his claws. I wonder if I've wasted enough time to make Kagome happy, he thought. That girl could be so annoying sometimes, and he listened to her like a trained pup, yet…she always did seem to have the best intentions in mind. Why does she always have to be so damned nice! The grass was being yanked in threes and fours now, followed by his angry mumbles at how stupid he was to listen to her and how that next time she tried to do someth…

"You are very loud when you are annoyed," Inunomaru said blankly, eyes still closed.

Inuyasha jumped out of his conversation with his conscience, "Huh?"

"Kagome-san was merely trying to help."

Some help, "Keh, I know," he glanced back at the group and gave the girl in the now blue pajamas a quick frown, their conversation was quiet even for his sensitive hearing, "She doesn't have to get on my back for everything I do though."

"It is only because she cares for you," the grin was audible through his words though it didn't show on his face.

That caught Inuyasha off guard, causing the sudden warmth of a blush to spread over his cheeks. He growled at his body's brainless actions, and then changed the subject to something less Kagome related, "So…what's with you and Sesshomaru?"

"In what manner do you mean?" Inunomaru asked.

Inuyasha shrugged, "Well, you seemed to be winning easily…so why not just finish him off when you had the chance?"

Inunomaru's tone went almost harsh, "I would rather die than ever think of killing my own flesh and blood."

"But you did beat him up pretty good," he made sure to state the obvious.

Inunomaru's face remained motionless, "If you had not noticed, he fared no worse than I."

"You're crazy!"

"If I am crazy, then it is by choice."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and shook his hands in the air, "Ya know, there's your problem!" Inunomaru finally glanced a little in his direction, "I mean, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you at all, especially now. You've basically put a target on your back for embarrassing him like that. It would've been smarter to have just ended it right then and there!"

He nodded slightly, "Indeed, but, as you remember, he ended our fight, not I."

"Yeah well…" he didn't like being caught off guard without a good comeback, "…only cuz he didn't stand a chance! He never finishes a fight he can't win, I figured that out early," he smirked to himself as he remembered all the wonderful meetings he's had with the daiyoukai lord, "Keh, always ends up runnin' away scared."

Inunomaru rearranged his position to better look at Inuyasha, "You think this cowardly?" he asked with eyebrow raised.

"And why wouldn't I?" well duh...

"Inuyasha," Inuyasha rolled his eyes over to look at him, "If he had wanted you dead, than you would have been dead. Contrary to your assumption, he has a habit of finishing what he starts. Your swords are not the only things that prevent both of you from killing each other."

"Humph," he growled and wrinkled his nose. Stupid, annoying…but, it does make some sense…no, Sesshomaru would never…

Inunomaru continued through his burbles, "Even when he was fighting me, he did not attempt to kill me. If he had truly desired that it was in his best intentions to slay me, I would not have walked away so easily, if at all."

"But…but you're so much stronger than he is!" Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in surprise.

His brother shook his head, "I might appear stronger than him to you, however, in truth, all three of us are very equal in strength."

"I'd have to disagree with you on that one," apparently Inunomaru hadn't seen the same fight he had. "I mean, even if you and Sesshomaru were as strong as each other, which is totally bogus, he still wouldn't have given a rat's ass what happened to you."

His brother sighed, "If Sesshomaru was actually as black hearted as you claim, then he would not have saved the human child who travels with him. He would not have kept Jaken alive for as long as he has. And, if he truly did not care about you in some way, he would have killed you while you were still sealed to the sacred tree."

Inuyasha was struck quiet. His eyes dug through the ground in concentration as he absorbed Inunomaru's every word. No, that's not true, he told himself, Sesshomaru left me there to gloat at my stupidity, and because I had the location of the Tetsusaiga. The bastard having any sympathy to anyone is just insane!

"I have confused you, I am sorry," Inunomaru turned his head back forward.

"No, it's just…" he focused harder, still trying to sort everything out, "How can I believe anything you say? I mean none of it makes any sense. It's almost like you know us better than we do."

"No one can ever know you better than yourself, Inuyasha."

He growled in his head at Inunomaru's recurring 'life quotes', these were going to bug him weren't they? Then again, another recurring detail posed more questions, "Why now?" his words were strangely quiet for him.

Inunomaru raised an eyebrow.

He continued without looking at his quizzical brother, "Why did you chose now of all times to show up? I know you said that it was because of Naraku, but we've been dealing with Naraku for ages. What's so important now?"

The voice that responded was quiet and unsure, "Truthfully…I do not know," Inuyasha looked up at him now, unable to hide the small signs of emotion on his face as Inunomaru continued, "I have lived my life out of anyone's reach, watching my family rise and fall in front of my eyes. When our father died, I regretted my choice to stay hidden," he looked down at the ground, eyes slightly narrowing as if he was trying to pick the right words to say, "I…wished for so long to be acknowledged by him, to have him see me as a son, to care for me like he did for you and Sesshomaru, that I regretted my choice. I regretted everything…then…I remembered my mother. I remembered how she gave her life to protect me as our father gave his to protect you. I could not live in further regret knowing what they did for each of us."

The hidden pain behind his words hit Inuyasha hard, striking the rock hard walls in his heart like a chisel on stone. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what Inunomaru had been forced to see over his lifetime, and even worse, forced to not be able to do anything. This youkai had a much harder exterior than he first thought.

Inunomaru turned to Inuyasha's troubled face, "Do not pity me, Inuyasha. The choice was mine. We all have a place to be, some to fight, some to protect. I chose the latter. I chose to take my father's place and protect both of you without interfering in the paths your lives took. Perhaps that is why I finally showed myself to you both. Naraku has made everything more dangerous than before and his threat only grows. My choice to stay hidden could no longer continue if I wanted both of you to survive."

Inuyasha took a couple of long breaths and tried to get his thoughts and face back to normal, "Well, I think we can handle ourselves. But, since you're here, we're gonna need a little more than just information from you if we want to finally get rid of Naraku."

Inunomaru grinned and bowed his head, "I will help as much as I am able."

Inuyasha was confused again, "As you are able?"

His grin disappeared and he sighed, "I do have my limits, Inuyasha."

"Okay?" Limits? What kind of limits?

Before Inuyasha was able to follow-up on that information, Inunomaru decided it was his turn to change the subject, "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

Though he was sure he'd bring that up again sometime later, his curiosity flickered at the open ended question, "Yeah…about your blades?"

His silence was his queue to continue.

"How in the world were they able to stop Sesshomaru's attacks? I mean, they don't even look like they could stand up to much of anything, none the less Toukijin," he was excited now.

Inunomaru's eyes smiled at his brother's eagerness and he lifted one of his arms, tightened his fist, and sharply twisted his wrist, releasing the blade with a light click.

Inuyasha jumped back at this action, but his apprehension quickly turned to awe as he gazed at the glimmering blade. It was no longer than the length of his forearm, no wider than his thumb, and the way the light from the moon reflected off of it made it seem like it was made of glass rather than metal.

"Wow!"

"Inuyasha, your mouth is hanging open," Inunomaru said, slightly amused.

He closed it automatically and pointed to the blade, still completely transfixed and unaware at how childishly enthusiastic he looked, "You mean this wimpy thing stopped Toukijin?"

He nodded, "Indeed."

"But…how?" his eyes still never left the strange blade.

"Another detail I have learned over the years. You can only reach your true potential when you master yourself."

"Okay, you lost me," Yup, 'life quotes' were definitely on the annoying list now.

Inunomaru flicked his wrist backwards which folded back the blade, "Do you remember when the Tetsusaiga was broken?"

Inuyasha grumbled, "Keh, how can I forget that!"

"When it was repaired, Totosai-sama used one of your own fangs to re-forge it. And, for an extended time, you were unable to even lift the sword."

There was a snort this time, "Don't remind me."

"When the Tetsusaiga was re-forged, you not only had to master your father's fang, but your fang as well. You had to come to terms with your personal strength and learn to stand on your own, rather than rely on your father."

Wait, what? "So…those blades were forged from your fangs?" Inuyasha guffawed, suddenly baffled at what Inunomaru had implied.

It was verified with a small nod.

His eyes looked over the Tetsusaiga, "I remember Totosai saying something like that, but…I never really understood what he was talking about." At the time, he had just put Totosai's words out of mind, ignoring them like some random, old-man babble. But now he finally began to understand what the senile old goat had meant.

Inunomaru grinned again, "Totosai-sama may be…unusual, however he is smarter than he appears."

His eyes rushed back to him, "Wait! Did he…?"

"Indeed. From what I recall, he enjoyed forging them for me a great deal."

Inuyasha looked down and growled, how dare he not mention anything to me! That stupid old hack! He would definitely make sure to bang him over the head the next time he showed up.

Inunomaru shook his head, "Do not blame him, Inuyasha."

He stuck his nose in the air, "Humph, still doesn't give him the right to not tell me something like that!"

"It is more likely that he simply forgot."

"True…but still…"

Inunomaru shook his head again at his brother's naïveté, "Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

He snorted, "Nah, I'm all questioned out." Too many emotions all at once were a little much for him to handle, though, unconsciously, he wanted to save the rest of his many questions for later.

"Very well," Inunomaru bowed his head and turned back to where he had been before their conversation, then closed his eyes.

Inuyasha got over his annoyance with Totosai after a while and lay down on the grass with his hands behind his head, eyes up at the star-filled sky. Though his trust in the daiyoukai was far from complete, he was beginning to feel more comfortable with accepting Inunomaru as a brother. Well…at least a good acquaintance.

The fire at the small campsite was flickering down into ashes as the last bits of flame slowly died out. Sango had fallen asleep using her hirakotsu as a pillow with Kirara curled up by her neck. Miroku, having been forced to sit opposite the girls for obvious reasons, was sitting up with his arms crossed around his staff, sleeping lightly. Kagome lay in her sleeping bag, Shippo asleep in a ball in her arms. She had angled her body toward Inuyasha and Inunomaru, watching them ever since they had gotten ready for bed.

It seems to have gone well, she thought. The daiyoukai and hanyou had talked for a good forty five minutes before Inuyasha finally laid down and apparently fallen asleep. At least he was comfortable enough with his big brother to sleep near him. It was a good start.

She smiled tiredly over at them. Thank you, Inunomaru-sama, she acknowledged, closing her eyes, thank you for everything.

Slowed down a bit and gave a little "brother bonding" time :D

Till next time ;)