Shikuro: A Caribbean Fairy Tale

by Inuma Asahi De

Inuyasha was as bad as pirates came, according to his legend. Kagome was a woman of propriety, destined to marry for her family's honor when all she wanted was to live on the sea. What happens when their eyes meet by chance or perhaps by daring fate?

110. The Meeting of Alphas

Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).

Chapter One Hundred and Ten

The Meeting of Alphas

Paedar stared at the port of the strange land before him completely befuddled by everything he was seeing. Women were walking in robes, tied off by intricate, almost whimsical belts he recognized vaguely since his granddaughter had worn one when she returned home. His sharp demonic vision caught those women glancing towards the Dutch trade ship he had enlisted to help them reach this far off shore. They seemed curious as they whispered towards their equally perplexed partners but he couldn't say why. Turning his attention away from them, he gazed at the equally odd vessels that were sailing through the harbor. Some were fishing with great wide nets, and others were simply cruising with no apparent task visible to his discerning eyes. Amongst them were at least a handful of trading vessels, all Dutch or Portuguese by the looks of it, but none seemed to pay theirs' any attention, which was fine.

"Seems they get a lotta trade." Aengus' voice broke through his musing and he turned slightly, sending the other man a tense smile.

"Not seasick anymore I see?" It was a statement more than a question, so he didn't bother to pause so that Aengus could respond. "It's good fer us that they've trade." He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes swept over the marina searching for a vessel that concerned him far more than these. "They'll be used ta foreigners."

"Yer accents showing." Aengus chuckled and leaned against the railing as his mate glared at the top of his head.

"And yer one to talk." The pack leader shot back and huffed as he continued on his search of the bay. Suddenly, the fleeting color of a beautiful white, crisp flag caught his eyes and he snapped them towards his left. "Shikuro." He whispered out the word as the flag moved in the wind; his grandson's symbol, a white dog demon nearly transformed with blood red eyes, met his gaze. The flag caught in the breeze, the distant sound coming to him as it was pulled taunt only to be released. "He's made it."

Beside him Aengus couldn't help but liberate a gentle smile as he too looked at that symbol of power and strength. "Thank god," He bowed his head slightly in the direction of the flag as if to pray. "Our boy is 'ere then." He allowed a breathy chuckle to leave his throat before he bumped shoulders with Paeder purposefully. "Kouga didn't kill him."

Paedar turned hastily towards the other man and growled slightly. "We knew he wouldn't kill 'em!"

"It was debatable, if ya ask me." The other man responded bluntly but the twinkle of amusement remained in his silver eyes.

"Personally," A new voice chimed in from above them and the two glanced up to see Eion hanging from the rigging by one hand. "I was in favor that Kouga would try to sell him again," He smiled down at the top of their heads as his body swayed on the ropes and his hair was whipped by the breeze. "More money in a body that's alive than dead."

"Ha!" Aengus snorted in triumph as he pointed an excited finger upwards at his 'son'. "See—pup 'grees with me."

"No he didn't," Paedar shot back as he glared at his younger brother with irritation. "Eion said alive," He clicked his tongue and inclined his chin towards the youngest amongst them before sending an accusing finger towards his mate. "You said dead."

"I love the fact we're debating our pup's death." Eion mumbled as he finally dropped down from the rigging, landing with liquid grace next to Aengus who was already laughing once more.

"I love the fact he," The coward of a wolf demon threw his own clawed hand towards his mate, wrapping an arm around his shoulder for emphasis. "T'ought it a good idea to send Inuyasha to Kouga."

"Will you leave it be?" Paedar shrugged off the hand and bared his teeth at the other man menacingly. "It worked out fine in ta end, it did."

"By luck," Aengus leaned towards Eion as if there was some great conspiracy and whispered just loud enough for Paedar to hear. "Und luck alone."

"Oh ye of little faith." He cleared his throat and rolled his eyes as he heard the Captain of their Dutch trading vessel begin to shout orders left and right preparing for docking. "Pup's probably not on the ship." He commented as he looked at the port, an uneasy feeling starting to well up in his chest as the scent of demons filled his nose.

"I wouldn't think so." Aengus agreed his tone slipping into a serious nature easily as the joking of mere moments before made way for their true purpose here. "I bet he's with—Izayoi's step-son."

Eion glanced between the two and sighed after a moment. "Sesshoumaru." He filled in as his memories of his daughter's recollections of the man in question made him tense. "She said: he's a good man." He licked his lips feeling as if his own words were lies. "Just—made to follow a fate that's simply horrific."

"A pup made to kill his own father," The man whispered the words revealing to no one the truth of how much they really knew all along. "So his brother might live." Paedar summarized the life they had heard a great deal about but never met in person.

"That takes—a strong will." Aengus filled in easily, his words a culmination of what the other two men also believed.

"And leaves," Paedar dropped his eyes away from the Port of Edo and closed them tiredly. "A broken heart."

The wind picked up as his sentiment faded from existence. Eion, standing beside the only fathers' he had ever known turned towards the alpha male of his pack. His silver eyes flashed brightly and he stilled his jaw, tightening it until he looked stronger than he felt. "What are we going to do, Paedar?" He asked, the inclusion of his brother's name something unnatural for all of them. Eion very rarely called Paedar by name, preferring to leave the name unspoken so it seemed they were more than just brothers, but instead almost a father and son.

For his part, Paedar didn't say anything, the sound of his name had stilled him into silence. Instead, he allowed his identical silver eyes to watch the approaching dock. He took in the men on various vessels, barely dressed in more than what looked like rags wrapped around their middle. They were working hard, heaving buckets of fish or other resources onto the shore. A few of them, the younger men, raised up deep, dark eyes to stare at the approaching ship's direction. He could see their weariness and, deeper still, a bit of curiosity. He didn't care about those men though. In their faces, he only saw another with glimmering eyes and curiosity so boundless that he had explored the world with it.

"We have to protect you but we can't." He realized as the men quickly returned to their work, perhaps chastised by a commanding voice even he couldn't hear. Blinking, he looked away and towards the Shikuro, his eyes studying the sturdy ship as it bobbed up and down in the water restlessly. "All we can do—is fight at your side."

Without even trying (perhaps fate had interfered with the moment somehow) he lifted his gaze towards a man who shared his same exact pain. His eyes widened just a bit; even at this vast distance he could see Myoga standing on the deck of his charge's vessel. The tiny man was staring directly at them as if he already knew they would come. It was unnerving the way he stood with a rigid back and squared shoulders, the wind blowing what was left of his grey hair. A shudder went down Paedar's spine as an ominous feeling greeted every part of him almost uncontrollably, and memories from long ago played in his head like a sick concert that never ended.

The kitchen was warm but only because of the fire that was currently sizzling and crackling in the hearth. Otherwise, the room was frigid, the breath of fate having taken a life before its time. At a tiny table, crowded with uneaten food and cups of half drunken whiskey, two men sat. The warmth was lost on them and the chill left by the black death went all the way to their bones. They shivered but not from that sickness and they slumped over the table's surface but not from their very real exhaustion. It was the weight of the world that held them down and the bitterness of death that made them freeze.

Feeling every bit of both, Paedar leaned his elbows on the table, allowing his hands to hold up his heavy head. "What are we," He glanced at the man across from him as his heart palpated in his chest painfully. "Going to do?" He stared at the other completely lost as his finely tuned ears listened to the muffled sound of crying down the hall. Even though he knew exactly where the sound was coming from, it still seemed to echo from all corners of the house, hitting his soul square in his chest.

The other man drew his lips into a fine line, and his hands which rested on the table in front of him tightened into fist. "It-to hard," Myoga spoke finally as he eyed one of the glasses of whiskey on the table. For a moment, he seemed to debate reaching for it but he didn't. "To los-u," He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he could even begin to finish. "Okaa-san."

"He's too young for this!" Paedar slammed a fist against the table, his own grief consuming him completely as he tried hard not to cry just like his grandson who had locked himself in his room. "Damn it." He cursed and looked towards the door to the kitchen that would lead to the bedroom. Eion and Aengus both were currently sitting outside of it, leaning against the door just in case the pup emerged but so far, Inuyasha hadn't even moved off his bed. "He's just a pup," Paedar whispered as he imagined that sight, the broken boy who had barely known his father and had just lost his mother. "Myoga." He turned towards the old man who only continued to stare at the discarded whiskey longingly.

"Myoga know." He spoke, directing his speech towards the bottle; his hands firmly planted on the table shook with the urge to drink. "Demo—nothin' chang-ie."

"What?" Paedar felt his body tense as he tried not to jump out of his chair.

"Fat-to Paedar-sama," He lifted up his head towards the other man, his eyes desperate. "Now Izayoi-sama go—fat-to strong."

The other man, used to Myoga's hard accent (among others) gritted his teeth in disbelief. He couldn't believe they were even having this conversation just days after his wee child had passed. "He's just a child; that can wait until we can figure," He waved his hand as if to brush the whole thing off. "Something out—it's too dangerous for him without Izayoi."

"Fat-to strong Paedar-sama." Myoga whispered the prophetic words, his tired eyes showing their true age with the milky quality that seemed to radiate from them. "Inuyasha-sama will—be drawn." The older man drew his face into a hysterical line as he grasped the front of his own shirt as if to help himself keep control. "Inuyasha-sama—like Okaa-sama."

Paedar stared at the man before him as if seeing him for the first time. His hands which had gripped his head nearly violently sank to the table and his silver eyes flashed with disbelief. "What are you getting at?"

"Izayoi-sama drawn because fat-to said-u." Myoga looked up at him, his face unapologetic and honest. "Myoga saw; Myoga—Myoga mourn." He gulped as if swallowing down all the pain he felt in his entire heart. "All—," Myoga stumbled not sure how to word what he was about to say. Instead, he motioned between himself and Paedar, telling the other man that they were the all. That is to say, they were the we. "All play fat-to hand." He dropped his hand to the table and sighed as if angry with even himself. "All cannot-to stop-pu fat-to, try but not," He looked at him with all his sincerity shining in his eyes. "Work."

"But—can't we hold it off?" Paedar paced as he spoke, allowing himself to fall into the distraction that Myoga's words provided. "Give him a few hundred years of childhood," He turned towards Myoga desperately, his voice cracking as he tried to continue. "An—and manhood then let him—." He couldn't bear to finish the sentence and instead left it dangling.

In that moment, Myoga looked old, older than Paedar had ever seen a single living person look. "Paedar-sama."

"We have to protect him!" He closed his eyes against that sad, old face not wanting to see him and admit that this was just as painful for Myoga as it was for him. "He's all I have left!"

The flea demon didn't say anything as he looked at the other man's bowed head. His tired old eyes, line with wrinkles that showed both exhaustion and age, grew deeper and darker. "Myoga too—," The old man whispered towards the table, all the pain in his soul bleeding through his words. "Inuyasha-sama everything."

The two were silent as their mutual pain broke through the great differences they had always seen between them. They were of different backgrounds, of different ranks, of different class, of different breeds, and yet, here they were fighting for the same thing: the love of their child and the pain of knowing his fate.

"I," Paedar stopped himself from speaking for a moment, not trusting himself to keep a steady voice. "I don't want him to—to fight that battle, I don't want fate to win."

"To protect-to Inuyasha-sama," Myoga continued, whispering the words; despite their softness there was a deliberateness that was undeniable. "Both-u do anything," The ancient man looked up at him and the exhaustion and mourning on his face was all Paedar could see. "Problem is," Myoga blinked slowly, his shoulders hunched and those dark wrinkles along his eyes showed the insurmountable wisdom that even a man as old as Paedar lacked. "No matter what all do," He spoke purposefully, placing all his knowledge of the English language into his words. "It will never be enough."

His words were so elegant in their pronunciation that Paedar almost missed their truth; but, only almost. "So what do we do?"

"Wait-to—," Myoga said the word as if it was the greatest thing he had ever said. "Fat-to will come—Inuyasha-sama live till then."

"Wait?" Paedar whispered and looked away from Myoga not even wanting to see the other man anymore. "And when fate finds him, we just let it happen?"He slammed his fist on the table making the cups rattle and the plates with their forks and knifes sing with irritation. "That's just," He squeezed his eyes shut, upset and horrified. "Shit! It's not enough. We can do more—we can, we just have to try!" He opened them and looked at Myoga trying to convey to the man how truly heinous his words were, but the other man didn't say anything. "Myoga?"

The old face of Myoga contorted with a pain Paedar felt in that moment was one he could never experience. The cracked lips and age lines grew darker and dank. A shaky wrinkled hand reached up and covered the aging milky white eyes. A sob broke through the throat and the sound echoed far louder than any words ever could have. And still, Myoga didn't say a word.

Paedar felt the memory slide away from him and disappear; the message from it pulling him into an abyss he had been waiting to reach for year. Without taking his eyes off the man he had known for longer than Inuyasha had been alive, he nodded once and then sighed long and hard. "We tried—," He tried to convey the words without saying them and he knew deep down he had. "But it wasn't enough—a million years wouldn't have been enough."

-break-

Inuyasha's ears twitched as the telltale chirping of birds brought him out of a deep and much needed rest. He sniffed slightly, his nose telling him that he was back at home: warm in a bed, and very near his wife. He shifted slightly to find her, warmth spreading through his back as he brushed against her with his shoulder blades. "Behind." He grumbled just to himself and smiled slightly, the knowledge that his mate and unborn child were safe with him making his mind go dormant once more. He was happy to sleep as long as they were safe.

The smooth fabric of the futon shifted and the dog demon scrunched up his face slightly without opening his eyes. The movement came again and Inuyasha, knowing it was Kagome, rolled over in the futon and encountered her soft form much more fully within seconds. Prodding hands reached for her instantly, his clawed fingers running along her shoulder as she slept peacefully on her side. Still half asleep, the dog demon opened his eyes partially and studied her chin length curls and the back of her neck.

"Nice." He thought sleepily as he pulled himself closer to her, throwing one clothed leg over her hip. "I'm wearing pants." He noted almost surprised that he had fallen asleep even half clothed. Still, his attire didn't bother him in the least as he wound his leg around her so he could hook her knee and draw her close. She didn't even grunt as he used that leg to pull her closer but instead, simply sighed and subconsciously shifted towards his warmth. His bare chest encountered the fabric of her thin silky shirt as one of his hands snaked around her front and the other wormed its way under her back (somehow not disturbing her).

The fabric of her cotton nightshirt was soft against his hands and he smiled as it glided against his probing fingers. Satisfied with the sensation, he brought his hand down lower until it rested well below her navel where his child would one day, a day far closer than he currently realized, make its presence known. He froze as his fingers made contact with a barely noticeable rounding of Kagome's stomach. Where a dip had once been a bump now reigned, the first physical sign that a potential life rested within her.

"Wow—." He whispered and instinctively inhaled. The scent of salty water and lilies greeted them as they always had but something a little fuller also lingered in his nose. It was sweet and soft, a scent Rin and Sango both possessed and now Kagome was beginning to harbor it as well. "The other world—the time we were gone—a week, a month," He pressed his palm a little more firmly against her, his finger's spreading wide as amazement overcame him completely. "That time—speed up everything." He realized as emotion rocked through him making him just a bit dizzy as he scooted closer to her, wanting to be part of that beautiful life somehow.

A sudden movement from behind him, the sliding of a door specifically, made him freeze and his eyes snapped opened deliberately. He nearly snarled a warning reflexively but held it in his throat so as not to wake the mother of his child; instead, he released a low but powerful growl into the air for the would-be intruder to feast upon. Within an instant, he heard the shuffle of feet as they tried desperately to freeze in their tracks so as to not enter the room fully and the sweep of fabric as someone instinctively reached for a weapon. He tightened his grip on Kagome as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end from that particular sound and allowed his body to tense, fully prepared to defend her to the death.

A sigh filled the air just then and the fabric that had gone taunt relaxed to his ears. It wasn't until he heard the voice that accompanied them, however, that he finally completely calmed. "Dear lord," The squeak of the door shutting as it glided across its track accompanied the sound of his son's voice. "You really need to calm down Otou-san."

Rolling his eyes with annoyance, Inuyasha removed his leg from Kagome's hip (for modesties sake—hers, not his) and resisted the urge to kill his own child. "Aren't you too old to barge into Otou-san's room?" He grumbled exasperated at having been roused from his most pleasant moment with his sleeping wife.

"Probably." Miroku commented quietly so as to not wake up Kagome; although, there was a hint of laughter in his voice. "I wanted to see if you were back."

"We've been back since a little before—," Inuyasha felt a yawn jump into his mouth before he could finish. "Sorry—," He apologized and glanced towards the light that was just barely peeking into the room, it had to be closer to noon that he realized earlier. "Dawn—what time is it now?"

"About noon." The younger man followed his father's line of sight out the door noting that someone had darkened the shoji so less light came in the room. "Sesshoumaru—Rin, maybe?" He contemplated who would have done such a thing so the two could sleep longer but in the end gave up, there was really no telling. "It didn't take very long, did it?" Miroku asked as he gingerly knelt beside the futon and watched as his father began to untangle himself from Kagome.

"Yeah." The man muttered as he carefully slipped his arm out from under his wife's back, the hand that had been resting on her slight bump reluctant to follow. With his back still to his son, he caressed her shirt covered flesh under the blanket briefly and discretely. "Hello little one." He thought and hoped (even though it wasn't possible) that the child could hear him or feel him. "I'm glad you at least said hello." He smiled softly and pushed himself into a seated position, finally taking his hand away from Kagome's stomach. The girl shifted in response and sighed but didn't stir. Between growing a child and trying to stop fate, she was worn out. "We were surprised to."

"I bet." Miroku crossed his legs, prepared to get comfortable so his father could recount his journey. "You must have—." His voice froze in his throat as Inuyasha's still tired face turned towards him fully, looking at him through half lidded but obviously different eyes. "O—."

The dog demon looked back at his son, watching as Miroku's jaw dropped with complete surprise. "What?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow confused and slightly self conscious."I just woke up—don't judge me."

Miroku shook his head as if to tell his father that wasn't what had caused his complete inability to speak. "Your," He raised one hand up, pointing at his father baffled. "Eyes."

The Captain gulped slightly and realizing where this conversation was going cleared his throat. "Come on—," He whispered as he slipped from the futon now fully awake (if not a little upset about it) and happy he had gone to sleep wearing pants. "We don't want to wake her."

"Sure." Miroku managed to respond and followed his father with just his eyes as the man reached for the giant red haori top that had been thrown on the floor next to the futon.

Sitting on his knees, Inuyasha slipped the material over his broad shoulders not bothering to fasten it in place as he took one last glance down at his wife. A soft smile covered his lips and for a moment it seemed he had forgotten Miroku was there. The bed sheet had moved when he had risen, revealing Kagome's clothed back and causing the girl to shiver from the slight coolness of the room. She turned in her sleep because of it, an absent hand searching for a blanket without waking. Her husband couldn't stop the fond smile on his face from widening as that searching hand came up empty.

"You're strong Kagome—so strong," He thought as he carefully reached for the now rumpled futon bed spread. "But that doesn't mean I can't take care of you." Deliberate fingers pulled it up, covering her once more and the girl smiled in her sleep as she snuggled into the blanket no longer searching for its warmth at all. "Even if it is as simple as pulling up the sheet." He stared at her for several moments as if realizing what he had just somehow admitted and not admitted to himself. "She doesn't necessarily need me but I—." He immediately shut down the thought, not ready to face it himself. Frustrated with himself, he turned back to Miroku who had been waiting silently, watching the tender display with all the awkwardness of a child and his birth parents.

"You done?" He had the nerve to say out loud and nearly regretted it as his father stood up suddenly towering over him.

Rolling his eyes at the boy, Inuyasha turned towards the shoji and without producing so much as a sound opened the door and motioned with his chin outside. "Let's go."

The other man winced from the command and, raising to his feet, followed. With the moment with Kagome now in the past, his mind turned once more to what he had seen on his father's face. "Maybe I saw wrong." Biting the inside of his cheek, Miroku closed the door to the room softly as he glanced at the man in question's back. "Yeah—it had to be a trick of the light." He told himself as he studied the other man as he walked across the little wooden porch. The fabric of his shirt was loose and the wind was catching it as he walked some distance away from his bedroom (so as to not disturb Kagome). "He looks normal enough." Miroku told himself as he stood perplexed and frozen. "But those eyes weren't even close."

Inuyasha turned and looked backwards at his son expectantly. "Come on." He motioned with one clawed hand, which Miroku acknowledged with a quick nod. Satisfied that Miroku was coming, Inuyasha dropped down next to one of the many pillars and leaned against it as he dangled his feet over the edge of the porch.

Miroku with surprisingly nimble, quiet feet arrived at his side within seconds. He dropped down beside his father without a word, allowing the silence of the wind in the trees to speak for him.

Sure enough, Miroku didn't have to say anything, his father simply began. "So you noticed?" He closed his eyes for just a moment before turning towards his son and opening them, allowing Miroku to see the starburst of color that now inhabited them.

The younger man looked at his father to confirm what he had seen, his own brown eyes widening as he took in what he hadn't believe was real only moments before. Gold, mixed with red and little flecks of brown, greeted him bluntly. "Your eyes," He felt the words from earlier jump into his throat and immediately forced them down in favor of new ones. "What—what happened?"

"It's—kind of hard to explain but," Inuyasha looked away as he felt a strange thought jump up in his head. "Out of everyone in the world," He stared down at his knees, the red fabric of his hakama easily ignored. "With the exception of Myoga and Totosai, you would understand," He looked over at Miroku as memories of that other man's childhood flittered about his head. "Ten—eleven—nearly twelve years, you've known me longer than anyone; you know more about me than anyone, maybe even Kagome." He snorted at the thought and shook his head to rid himself of it. "Well, that's debatable; still, she cheats—reading my mind whenever she feels like it." The thought was a grumble but that didn't mean it didn't lack affection.

His father's prolonged silence didn't sit well with Miroku and he crossed his arms over his chest in exasperation. "Are you even gonna try to explain this time?" He asked, so used to his father glossing over things and keeping more secrets than Miroku could deal with.

Inuyasha blinked rapidly as Miroku brought him back into the conversation. "Sorry." He cleared his throat and leaned back against the pillar a little more fully. "I was going to say," He crossed his hands over his chest, hiding them in the wide sleeves of the haori. "You would understand better than anyone."

Miroku froze, the irritation he had felt moments before with his father drifting away. "Really?"

"Remember when you were little," The dog demon couldn't help the fond look that crossed his features as he imagined the mini version of Miroku: tiny, gap toothed, but smiling with happiness. "You used to ask me," He glanced towards the bigger version of the same boy, amazed at the man he had become. "What it was like to have a demon inside me?"

"Yeah?" Miroku leaned back on the wood and laughed slightly to himself as he remembered the question as well. He hadn't understood half demons then, he had barely understood that he was being raised by one and how odd that was. "Stupid question looking back on it." He smirked at his father good naturedly only to notice the way Inuyasha turned slightly away, his strange new patchwork eyes shining with something Miroku didn't recognize.

"I don't think it really was—stupid," The demon lifted a dangling leg up onto the porch and brought his knee up to his chest. Folding in on himself, he placed his elbow on top of his knee to rest and then his chin on top of that. "Misunderstood maybe," He looked out at the gardens around him watching as the afternoon sun beat down on what had once been frozen earth. "But not stupid."

Silence reigned between the two men in that moment and Miroku turned to look out at the coming spring in the garden as well. The snow that had covered the ground yesterday was melting now leaving puddles of cold water scattered about the grounds. It wasn't a sign that winter was ending per say but it was a blunt proclamation that spring was just around the corner. Miroku licked his lips uneasily and closed his eyes against the sight of the still unrenewed plants in that self contained world. In his mind's eye he could see Inuyasha standing over him looking down at the top of his head as the salty air of the Atlantic whipped his silver hair about his face.

"Wat'ss it like," He could hear his own voice asking the question, his missing front teeth making the words whistle slightly. "Havin' demon bloods?" He could hear Inuyasha's returning chuckle but even now he didn't know if his demon father had been laughing at his missing tooth induced lisp or the question itself. "Either way," Miroku thought to himself presently as he looked towards the unchanged version of the very same man. "What he said in response—I remember very well." He smirked slightly and reached out a finger to poke his father hard in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" Inuyasha growled the same normal amount of irritation in his voice that was always there; albeit a playful irritation.

"And you—," He looked towards the other man a smirk forming on his face as his father's ears twitched with annoyance. "Would ask me a question in return, very sarcastically I might add." He watched as his father's tightly drawn mouth turned slightly into a look of mutual amusement. "What's it feel like," He leaned his head back in thought as he tried to remember the exact words. "To have human blood inside of you?"

"Exactly." Inuyasha acknowledged causing Miroku to blink in confusion; that hadn't been the response he was expecting.

"Huh?"

"I asked you that question because—well—this is stupid but," Inuyasha snorted and clicked his tongue as if acknowledging his own defeat in this particular area. "Back then I was pointing out to you that it didn't matter: human, demon—neither was any different." He glanced at Miroku to see if the man was following but got a plain stare in return. "They're the same." He said simply and waited once more. This time he was rewarded with an acknowledgment of understanding from the younger man and so he continued on. "What I didn't realize," He looked away hating that he was admitting this out loud and yet, the normal gruff response he would have issued even yesterday didn't come from his mouth. Instead, he was able to say quite simply exactly what he had realized. "Was that I didn't actually believe that."

Miroku didn't say anything in response to his father's words. He knew better than to speak if he wanted further answers. For a long time, that silence stayed as Inuyasha tried to gather himself and put his thoughts in order while Miroku waited patiently. The wind blew as if to fill in the silence and on it was carried the sound of distant laughter signaling that the children, who didn't even speak the same language, were playing. He turned towards the sound letting it distract him happily as he imagined his own children one day running and screaming amongst the sakura trees.

"If we're still here—that is." His eyebrows narrowed at the prospect of such a thing and suddenly he found himself contemplating the future. "Will we stay here? If not—where will we raise them?" His thoughts began to run away from him with the prospects of so many different things he hadn't given any thought to before now.

Beside him, unaware of his son's contemplation, Inuyasha finally took a deep breath prepared to finish what he had started. "I was blind." His words disrupted any further thought from Miroku who turned towards him expectantly. "I thought I had a human half and a demon half but the truth is—," Inuyasha looked down at his lap staring at his red hakama pants, lose on his hips. "Just like you are only a human, I am only myself," He felt a wave of relief touch his whole psyche as he admitted that fact out loud for the first time in front of anyone other than Kagome and his father. "Half of two things, which create one whole."

The words confused Miroku who was trying desperately to understand what his father meant. "Sounds complicated."

"You have no idea." Inuyasha snorted and raised his chin back up to look out across the garden. The sakura trees out in the distant orchard rose towards the warmth of the sun before his eyes, their branches beginning to drink in life to create new life. "Once all of that got through my damn skull, I was able to bring the two halves of myself together and that's," He motioned towards his eyes showing off the golden, red star fire like quality of them in place of what had once been pure gold. "Why the eyes are different—they reflect that I now know I'm whole."

"You just—suddenly changed your whole perspective," Miroku raised up a hand and snapped his fingers without thought. "Just like that?"

"Well—kind of." The older man rolled his eyes up towards the awning above them in thought. "First, I went into my own head," He nodded to himself as if what he was saying was the simplest fact to grasp on earth. "Fought myself, and then got kicked out or left or something," He shrugged and cleared his throat absently before continuing. "I went back with Kagome and my demon stole her and I was pissed—oh!" He turned towards Miroku full on and made a motion with his hand as if swinging a blade. "I had the swords with me: Tetsusaiga and Tensaiga." He continued on quickly despite Miroku's look of being completely discombobulated. "I used them both separately and nothing happened so I decided to put their power together." He clicked his tongue and swung an imaginary sword downwards with the hand not on his knee. "Saved Kagome—I think—and then came out of my mind and everything was okay and the swords were together. So," He smiled at Miroku who was staring at him slack jawed. "Now there's one sword and I can use both demon and human energy with it because I'm one person in my own head."

Inuyasha trailed off the strangeness of everything he had just said lost on Miroku who only uttered:

"You combined the swords?"

"I love how you focused on that," Inuyasha shook his head back and forth truly amazed. "Over everything else I just said."

"Everything else I believed." Miroku countered even though he was truly confused. "Stranger things have happened than any of that."

"And that really speaks to the state of our current affairs." The dog demon mumbled as Miroku laughed slightly from the joke. The laughter didn't last long though and Inuyasha continued speaking within moments. "But—yeah, I combined the swords and created a new one." He glanced to the closed shoji door over his shoulder knowing that the sword rested at the foot of his and Kagome's futon, safe beside his powerful mate. "Kagome named it Zentai, which means whole."

Miroku shifted as he took in the words, changing his position so that he was sitting more comfortably with his feet also draped over the side of the porch. "Appropriate."

Inuyasha snorted slightly and finally allowed his knee to drop away from his chest letting go of the protection it had offered him. "I thought so."

"So," His son began again as he carefully bit the inside of his cheek to keep hope from welling in his chest. "You can save Naraku and destroy the jewel now."

"That's the theory."

"Theory," The younger man blinked and turned to look at his father with a combination of hope and ill ease. "As in: it's not proven."

The dog demon hesitated for a moment before he finally answered his son. "Only because," He glanced at him slowly, apologetically. "It's not tested yet."

Miroku felt his body go tense and then immediately give up, his shoulders slumping as he grasped exactly what that meant. "That means that the test day—?"

Inuyasha quickly interrupted before Miroku could finish what he too already knew. "Is the moment I face Naraku and the jewel."

Silence—silence jumped between them, strangling the air around them until both felt as if they couldn't breathe. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Miroku's eyes darted from his father to the garden to the ground, unsure of what he should look at and finding nothing that seemed appropriate. Finally, he simply brought a hand up and covered his eyes, rubbing at them as he struggled for words. "That's just—," He dropped the hand to his lap as he finally found them. "That's shit."

"Damn straight it is." Silence filled the air once more and even the chirping of the birds as they built their spring time nest did nothing to comfort the two men.

Inuyasha looked up at one tree in particular, in which a tiny speckled lark was hopping along the branch, a piece of twig in its mouth. Its beady eyes were looking frantically about deciphering everything around it with accuracy only a bird could possess. Finally, its wings snapped opened and it flew upwards to the very next branch above its head where a nest rested between a forked bough in the tree. With adaptability, it inserted the twig in the nest just as another bird, a female, landed at its side a slip of ribbon for a woman's hair in its beak. The two birds seemed to celebrate from the find but Inuyasha couldn't be sure. Still, they tweeted and jumped up and down as the male bird grabbed onto the ribbon with his beak and began intertwining it into the nest, using it to support their lives together.

"Miroku," Inuyasha didn't look away from that family as he finally forced himself to say something he had not wanted to say out loud. "There's a chance I'm going to die." He didn't wait for the protest or the anger but continued on. "Don't deny it, denying it doesn't do shit—so, if I do die," He pulled his eyes away from the thing he feared he would never have and looked directly at his son. He drew his mouth into a blunt line and hardened his features so as to intensify his words. "You have to take care of Kagome and," He found the next part hard to say but he said it none the less. "The pup."

Miroku felt a lump form in his throat but didn't dare let it show as he took in his father's stony features. Without realizing it, he allowed his hands to grip his pants, channeling the emotions he couldn't dare display into the fabric. "I will." It was a simple statement but it was more than enough.

"Thank you." Inuyash replied and shifted awkwardly in his spot.

Miroku felt the awkwardness as well and cracking a strained smile, he halfheartedly joked. "I'll treat her as if she was my own wife."

Immediately Inuyasha glared at his son and raised an eyebrow. "That's just wrong." He spat the words but the twitch of a smile was still apparent on his face. "She's your step-mother."

The other man started to laugh immediately and shrugged. "But she's ridiculously beautiful." He joked, although there was truth in what he was saying. "And I wouldn't mind two wives."

"I can and will kill you." Inuyasha reached over and swiped at Miroku's arm but the man had already slid backwards and out of reach. "We're close, you and I," The dog demon motioned between them with a threatening claw. "But not quite close enough to share."

"Too bad." The younger pouted and Inuyasha growled low in his throat, a playful threat. "Okay," Miroku raised up his hands defensively to his face and leaned a bit farther away. "We better stop this conversation before one of us dies."

"It's gonna be you."

He dropped his hands and smiled cockily. "And that's why I'm so concerned."

"You know," Inuyasha leaned back and sent his son a deadly smirk. "Sango's seen me naked and liked it." He tapped his nose to indicate that his words were confirmed truth.

"Who hasn't?" Miroku fired back with a matching smirk he had inherited from his father on his face. "Seen you naked I mean—I've seen it but I sure as hell didn't like it."

The two men broke into a bought of uncontrolled laughter, allowing it to bubble up all the way from their stomachs as they simply let all the tension in their bodies follow it into the air. They were so loud they didn't hear the sound of the shoji opening and then closing or the patter of feet as they moved along the wooden porch without concern of sound or silence. Just as Miroku fell onto his side, clutching at his stomach, the feet came to a stop and an irritated grumble entered both men's ears.

"What are you two doing?" Kagome hissed, her grey eyes storming with absolute fury at having been awoke. Perhaps it was simply an indication that her pregnant body was rebelling against the lack of sleep or her hormones (which neither man knew existed) were messing a bit with her mind. Either way, her normally sweet and calm demeanor was absolutely filled with undeniable rage from those stormy eyes all the way to her taunt shoulders and clutched fist.

"You can keep her." Miroku decided immediately as he scooted away on his side from Kagome terrified by her death marked expression. "Sango's enough."

In an instant, anger made way for confusion. Kagome blinked, straightened slightly, and not knowing what else to say looked towards her husband with a raised eyebrow. "Was I being sold?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha answered bluntly and reached out a hand towards his wife. Kagome eyed it suspiciously but took the offered clawed appendage without too much apprehension. "But damn pup didn't like my asking price." He smiled at her cheekily and pulled her hand towards himself until he could kiss the back of it not really caring that Miroku was watching with a stupefied expression on his face.

Instantly, Kagome's face flared bright red and she snatched her hand back embarrassed by the bluntly intimate quality of the gesture. It was one thing to tease and taunt each other in front of Miroku but it was an entirely different thing to show private affection. "Some of my mother's teachings still haunt me." She groaned to herself as she held the hand in front of her chest and rubbed at the place his lips had been. "Just—don't think about it!" She ordered and with a high pitched awkward voice asked the first question that came to mind. "And what was the price?"

Inuyasha smiled at her heartily and leaned back on the pole once more before nonchalantly responding. "Free."

All awkwardness and embarrassment left Kagome at Inuyasha's words. Her neck snapped downwards and her eyes flared with sincere hurt. "Free!" She bit out the word, hissing (for all pretense and purpose) in much the same way a cat might. "That's all I'm worth!" She reached out without further thought and caught one of the demon's ears between her nimble fingers. "Shame on you." She snorted as she yanked on it slightly while Inuyasha whined in pain.

"I kissed your hand!" He grunted as he reached up for her fingers and tried to dislodge them. "And this is how you repay my kindness?"

"If I'm gonna be sold," Kagome whispered with a mixture of fake venom and a barely contained inkling of amusement. "It should make you a fortune." She finished bluntly and let go of his ear.

"What the hell, woman?" Inuyasha glared at her as he brought up a hand to rub at the sore triangle. "That ain't right!"

"And it wasn't lady-like at all." Miroku added from his place still on his side, laughter still escaping from between his lips every once in a while.

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever—." Kagome's words died on her lips as a strange feeling seemed to overwhelm her quite suddenly. Her head snapped upwards as the wind caught the curls crowning her head and dragged at them but her wide eyes remained unaffected by the intrusion of her bangs. The grey became focused on something in the distance as if able to see through the multitude of trees all the way to the other side of the world.

Both Miroku and Inuyasha froze at the sudden change in the playful Kagome. Their joint eyes watched as the woman narrowed her own confused. The afternoon sunlight brushed against her skin, highlighting the lines of curiosity that were brimming on her face. Her finger's tightened at her side suddenly as if she had just put something worrisome together and then they splayed and relaxed. Both men looked at each other worried at the strangeness of it all and with one mind stood, preparing themselves for anything. Automatically, Miroku looked out at the courtyard as he steeled himself for battle and Inuyasha, knowing his back was protected by his son, turned towards his wife.

"What is it?" He asked as he began to prepare his strategy at the same time. "The sword's by the bed, I can get to it in a matter of moments." He licked his lips as his mind raced with thoughts all along the same lines. He didn't have much time to strategize any further, however, before Kagome's expression shifted completely.

As quickly as she had become silent, her lips spread into a beautiful pink grin. Her grey eyes began to sparkle with such hope and happiness that it made his thoughts die from nervousness. "Oh my god!" She whispered the words but the excitement that quietly covered them was brighter than her smile. Without another word, she turned on her heel and ran towards the opened shoji her feet clanging as they hit the wood. "Hurry and get dressed!" She yelled over her shoulder and Inuyasha looked towards Miroku baffled.

"Don't look at me." The other man responded with a shrug unsure if he should still be on guard or not. "I didn't buy her."

Inuyasha sent him a dry glare before turning on a dime to follow his wife, Miroku hot on his heels. "Why am I dressing?" He called after her as he entered the room not mentally connecting that she would be in the middle of dressing and Miroku was following him.

Kagome turned towards her husband just as she undid the last of her cotton shirt's buttons, exposing quite a bit of once protected flesh. "We have to greet them." She said her eyes bright and filled with such enthusiasm that Inuyasha was actually overcome by it; Miroku, on the other hand, was not.

"Who?" He asked as he stepped into the room just in time to get a very good view of his step-mother/sister/friend/who-ever she was naked breast.

"Miroku get out!" Kagome yelled, her hands yanking the shirt closed as she glared at the man so violently he tripped over his own two feet and literally fell out of the room and back onto the porch.

In response, Inuyasha nearly lost control of himself from his own laughter as he watched his son fall backwards flat on his ass. "Ha!" He pointed a finger with one hand while the other clutched at his already stitching side. "That's what you get!"

The voice of Kagome behind him was the only thing that stopped his laughter from continuing. "You too!"

He felt hands on his back and before he even realized what was happening, he too fell through the shoji door and out on his ass. "What the—?" He jumped to his feet just as the sound of the door slamming shut greeted his ears. "You better open that door, woman!" He yelled through it only to hear his wife growling out a firm no. "Why not?" He asked even as Miroku started to chuckle on the ground behind him from the irony of it all.

"Because I can't trust you to be in here either." Her voice echoed from the other side of the closed door.

Feeling absolutely offended by his wife's words, Inuyasha used one balled fist to hit the side of the shoji (being careful not to actually damage it). "What would I do?" He asked, actually mystified by what she was implying.

For a moment, Kagome didn't say anything and then with an accusing grunt she spoke. "You know exactly what you'd do." Her eye roll could actually be felt as she finished her sentence.

Miroku's chuckle turned into a full blown laugh as he pointed a finger at his father mockingly.

She opened the door a fraction and shoved his white under shirt through the small gap. "Here."

Not knowing what else to do, Inuyasha took the shirt without any protest except what came from his mouth. "I can't change outside."

"Sure you can," She said matter of factly as the sound of fabric rolling off her body made his foot tap with angst. "Everyone in existence has already seen you naked." She mocked as she continued to dress, throwing on a yukata Rin had left her without really even looking at it. She was far too used to not carrying about how she looked anymore.

"Why does everyone keep bringing that up?" Inuyasha asked rhetorically but that didn't mean Miroku wasn't supposed to answer for his own amusement.

"Maybe," The younger man said and Inuyasha looked down at him in time to see a still very apparent redness lining his neck from the show he had witnessed seconds before. "They're trying to make a point."

"I brought you into this world," The dog demon snorted and sent his son a death glare. "I can take you out."

"I'd say you're not my real father," Miroku shrugged as he spoke, the enormity of his statement not paralleled by his indifferent words. "But I like you over the other guy."

"I'm touched." Inuyasha replied casually as he offered Miroku a hand but both men knew exactly what they meant by their own sarcasm.

Miroku took the offering and in an instant was pulled back to his feet. "You should be." He replied snidely as his father shrugged out of the haori and began to put on the white under shirt that protected his chest from the rougher fabric of the fire rat.

Just as Inuyasha managed to tie the front of the hakama, the haori tucked in neatly to the pants, Kagome burst forth from the room.

"Alright boys," She spoke rapidly, excitement filling every inch of her. "Let's go!"

"Where are we—?" The words died on Inuyasha's lips as he looked up at his wife and found her dressed surprisingly in a soft purple yukata.

He stared at the clothes, his whole expression that of disbelief as he surveyed the short sleeves that just reached only five inches or so below her elbows and the indigo obi which hid his wife's slightly rounded waist. His eyes roamed even further downwards, watching her hips as they flared from underneath the fabric of the wide waist band. Her western body curved a bit more than a Nihonjin girl could ever hope. The dress went farther down her legs, loosely draping around them in a way that was actually inappropriate but for Kagome perfectly fine. It allowed the folds of the yukata to open enough that her ankles and, if she widened her stance just a little, her knees would have been showing. He felt a shiver run down his spin and then a dipping in his stomach that wasn't pleasant at all.

"She looks like a girl." He felt something akin to irritation build within him that he could and could not explain. "You're so pretty but—this isn't you, Kagome." He hoped she heard him as he brought his eyes up her body once more taking in her absolutely dainty and odd form. "Wow, this really isn't you." He shook his head images of a girl standing on a pier in nothing but a gown, no stay underneath and no gloves on her hands, came back to him. "You look odd as a girl." The words rushed out of him before he could stop them.

Kagome, who had watched his beseeching look with complete curiosity and no mental spying, froze and her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "I am a girl." She responded and looked back towards Miroku who was sending his father something akin to a horrified look.

"Are you sure you're not a molly like your grandfathers'?" He asked and was promptly punched in the arm by an angry half demon. The demon would have continued on, yelling but Kagome latched on to Miroku's words, the sound of them renewing her earlier excitement.

"We don't have time for your bickering." She laughed off the whole incident and reached out to grab Inuyasha's arm. "We have somewhere to be."

Getting over his initial shock about what his wife was wearing, Inuyasha raised up his questioning eyes. "And I reiterate, where?"

She looked up her own eyes sparkling like the sun as her face broke out into an extraordinary smile. "Shikuro!"

"To see—." He waved his hand in front of himself irritated.

Kagome only laughed and those eyes sparkled even more. "Seanathair."

Inuyasha felt his whole body flood with absolute disbelief. "Seriously?" He whispered and Kagome's eyes shone brightly with triumph in the sun as she nodded her head.

"I'll come to."

The voice jumped up from out of nowhere making Inuyasha's moment of blissful disbelief ebb instantly. With a quick snap of his neck he turned around and took in the form of his brother standing in the middle of the garden no more than five or ten feet away from the porch. "Sesshou—," He hesitated as a feeling of nervousness began to take over his whole person. "Maru." He finished and unable to stop himself glared at his brother darkly, protective instincts jumping into his whole body but, in the end, he knew they were pointless. "Damn it."

-break-

Paedar sat in his great grandson's cabin with the mishmash group of wayward misfits that composed everyone who cared about the boy in question. The red drapes were wide opened, so they could keep an eye on the dock just in case someone of significance appeared. Haphazardly, the demon shifted in his chair, his eyes absently taking in the room around him. It was as he remembered: weapons on the walls from guns to swords, a few antiques here and there, the desk filled with unorganized charts and trinkets, and books in shelves; books staked in corners; books propped next to the bed; books everywhere. The room was the same, with only two exceptions. First, the bed was larger, no longer a single size but a bed designed for two. Second, the scent had changed. The scent was of a married couple and that neither surprised nor angered him.

"Figures." He leaned back in the desk chair and looked next to him at Aengus who was sitting propped up on the desk. The man returned his gaze with an amused grin indicating that he had noticed as well. "Pup did it, took a mate at the age of barely eighteen—just like Izayoi predicted." He commented to himself as he looked down at Eion who had also put all of this together. The man was sitting on the floor, as was his place as a 'pup' in the pack. "Ya smell it too?"

The youngest of the men present looked up expectantly and shrugged. "He got me beat." He responded playfully and tilted his head to the side as he chuckled.

"When we get back you're matin' that gurl." Paedar ordered unemotionally even as he felt amusement bubble up inside him from his brother's horrified look. "It's just embarrassing that he's got 'un and ya don't." He continued on, his nose picking up the telltale smell of absolute abashed horror.

Before Eion could launch into a full-fledged rant or even scream at his brother, however, Myoga interrupted. "Myoga," The man spoke so suddenly that the sound of his voice seemed to cut into the air of the room forcibly. "Paedar-sama, need-o talk." He looked up at Paedar, his whole face looking his age or, better yet, older in that moment.

The alpha male looked towards Myoga studying the old man's face briefly before turning away. "I figured so much." He spoke evenly as he looked towards Aengus who sent him a strained frown, displaying the worry that Paedar wouldn't actually show. "What about?"

Appearing exhausted, Myoga placed two of his arms behind his back, the other's dangling at his sides. He took a moment to collect himself before he sighed heavily and glanced out the window. "Paedar-sama know in time." The flea responded vaguely and Paedar narrowed his eyes not liking the way he had been shrugged off. "Myoga surprised," The old flea continued on as if he hadn't just slighted an alpha by evading his question. "Paedar-sama here."

"Yeah—well," Paedar crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat before continuing. "You know how we wolf demons are when it comes ta our pups." He glared at the other man as he spoke already predicting what Myoga was going to say.

Myoga heard the thinly veiled quality of his words and narrowed his own eyes in response as he held his temper in check. "All demon," He spoke slowly and clearly taking his time to say each word. "Care-e about pup-pu."

Paedar shrugged as nonchalantly as possible as he took the time to lean back comfortably in the chair before responding. "Certainly," He whispered the words in a nonthreatening and yet oddly threatening way all at once. "It's our nature as demon."

"Myoga expect-to Paedar-sama to come honestl-ly." He stumbled over the words but didn't even flinch as he spoke. "Demo—come earlier," He looked Paedar pointedly in the eye as he spoke, not bothering to disguise his contempt. "Not now."

"I had business ta take care of." Paedar uncrossed his arms and leaned forward in the chair, his body posture tensing with displeasure that didn't hinder Myoga in the least. "I can't just pick up un leave."

"Yes." The flea responded to the words and the change in posture as if they were insignificant.

Sitting on the floor, the tension in the air making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, Eion cleared his throat. "Where's Totosai," He asked the question with a smile on his face that was obviously strained. "Mr. Myoga?"

"Totosai-kun," The old demon paused and his demeanor shifted as he tried not to show emotion but failed. "Not-to come." He exhaled slowly and bowed his head a bit as he motioned to the floor underneath his tiny feet. "Stay below."

"Why?" Paedar jumped in before Eion could comment, his voice dripping with sarcasm that was sparsely covered up at best. "Wait, let me guess," He clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair comfortably once more, showing off his confidence as he chuckled. "He's pissed that the pup even came 'ere."

Myoga's dark black eyes jumped up to glare firmly at the alpha without caring. "Totosai-kun—not want Inuyasha-sama to be here." He spoke hastily but his words didn't suffer from the speed, if anything he pronounced the English more clearly as his anger bubbled up within him. "Paedar-sama know that."

Silence penetrated the room for all of a second before Paedar allowed one last bit of sardonic verbiage to jump from his tongue. "I can't blame him." The words hovered in the air and spoke volumes.

Myoga looked away from Paedar and took a deep breath. His eyes darted from the legs of the desk chair to Eion who sat silently on the ground. "Fate-to," He whispered and watched as Eion shifted uncomfortably, all mentions of fate too much for anyone in that room. "Strong," He inhaled sharply and looked up at Paedar, hammering in his point with his firm eyes. "It beats all want." He licked his lips, staring at Paedar unapologetically. "Even want-to for life ober death."

Paedar felt the growl rip through his throat before he could contain it and without even realizing it he grabbed for the edge of the chair, ripping at it with his claws. It splintered under the power of them causing the other men in the room to actually wince. "Mr. Myo—." He began to rise from the chair, his teeth bared as he bit out the words.

For the first time in many years, it was Aengus who stood up to the alpha of the group, proving that he was more than just a man's mate. "Paedar sit down, now." He intervened, one of his hands jumping out and grabbing onto his mate's shoulder. Paedar didn't sit but he did stop himself from leaping forward to wring the man's neck. "Paedar." Anegus bit out the name as he glared at his mate, wanting him to submit. "Submit to alpha." He commanded in a harsh snarl and immediately heard Eion's sharp intake of breath.

Eion sat stark still on the ground knowing now would not be a good time to even sneeze. The tension in the air grew thicker than the densest fog on an abandoned Dublin street; the youngest of the demons in the room felt it wrap around his throat threateningly. "This isn't good." He told himself as he dared to look at Paedar who wasn't moving to sit as he had been commanded. Generally speaking, Aengus never played this card but the whole pack (what there was of it) knew that although Paedar was the 'alpha,' it was actually Aengus who called a vast majority of the shots when it counted; that is to say, he called the shots when Paedar's temper blinded his ability to see reason.

Paedar released a dangerously quiet growl but relented slowly. The tension in the room eased ever so slightly as Paedar took his seat back in his chair but Aengus didn't release his grip for anything. "Why can't ya see," Aengus looked at his mate as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over the man's shoulder comfortingly. "That Mr. Myoga's just as protective of the pup as ya're?" He looked towards Myoga who hadn't taken his eyes off of Paedar.

The tiny man kept them intensely focused and unalarmed as he stood his ground. Even though Myoga was a lesser male in the hierarchy of demons' that didn't mean he was one to back down when Inuyasha was concerned. He was protective of the boy to the point he was willing to fight even an alpha male to ensure the pup's safety.

"Too bad ya can't see and respect that, then." Aengus grumbled to himself but let it go in favor of speaking directly to the elder. "Mr. Myoga, we don't want this to turn into 'nother argument." His voice was that of a leader, a quality he very rarely showed, so much so that it caught Myoga and Paedar both off guard. "At this point," He continued as the tension in the room evaporated from the firmness of his gentle voice. "T'ere's no longer anything to argue 'bout anyway. Ya both," He glanced towards Paedar and then back to Myoga. "Know that."

The flea demon cleared his throat and looked away just as Paedar actually slumped in his chair a little.

"What's done is done." Aengus continued on, his acceptance something that was hard in itself to accept. "Inuyasha is 'ere—the jewel—it's comin'," He looked out the window as if he could see them as they inched their way closer and closer to the end of it all. "W'ether we like it or not." He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Paedar's shoulder. Within seconds, a clawed hand covered his and his eyes snapped opened in time to see Paedar holding onto him without looking. The man's face was tense, his teeth were gritted tightly together, and his eyes were focused on the softly rocking floorboards of the ship but none of these things disguised the pain in his eyes. "All we can do 'ow," Aengus whispered as he looked at his mate, watching the tense outline of his jaw. "Is try our best to help 'em in any way we can."

"But," Paedar's mouth opened and he spoke in a way Eion had never heard. "What if," He glanced at Aengus as his voice broke ever so slightly. "It's not enough."

"Nothin'," Aengus' gentle tone touched the air like a bird's song at dawn, beautiful but unapologetic. "Ever is."

From his spot on the ground, Eion felt the urge to scream at his elders but didn't. Unlike his grandson he knew his place in the pack and screaming would not make them listen. Instead, he opted for the hushed but firm approach. "It is always enough to try." He spoke quietly, so quietly that had they been human no one would have heard what he said. Three faces turned towards him, demon hearing winning out over everything else. "That's why we're here, right?" He looked at them all imploringly, wanting them to listen despite his age. "Because we have to at least try to do something."

Paedar inhaled sharply at his brother's words. "Ya're right." He spoke resolutely and released Aengus' hand in favor of pushing himself directly out of the chair and onto his feet. "We're a pack—we fight ta protect each other." All of his earlier worry had left his voice and once again he stood before them the strong leader he had always been. "It's what we've always done and it's what we'll do now."

"So we'll fight." Aengus said the words with that same (out of place as it were) firmness as earlier.

"What's it Inuyasha says?" Eion looked up at the ceiling as he tried to recall his grandson's words. "We fight to live?"

Myoga felt the words touch his very soul. "Hai," He nodded his head in affirmation. "It-to the only thing can do."

"Alright," Paedar took a deep breath and allowed himself to calm, the earlier tension he had felt leaving him. "Anymore talk would just be fucking pointless," The curse left his mouth harshly and with it evidence of where Inuyasha had picked up some of his more raunchy habits. "Take me," He looked directly at Myoga and this time the man bowed his head relinquishing and reasserting all leadership status to the male in front of him. "Ta my pup."

Off to the side, Aengus' felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "I believe—," He turned towards the window as the six sense that had kept him alive for decades told him to look down. "Our pup be comin' to us." He smiled vibrantly as he pointed out the window towards the docks.

"You mean—," Eion jumped up from his place on the floor excitedly, the prospect at seeing his grandchild making him a bit giddy. Sure enough, his eyes landed on the pup instantly, the strange clothes easily ignorable in favor of looking at the boy's face. The firm jaw he had inherited from his mother was tilted upwards and his golden eyes flashed in the sun as he walked down the tiny street that led to the docks. Eion narrowed his eyes as he caught just the hint of something else in those eyes which caught the light but it was too hard to see from this far away. "Pup." He whispered the words as the fondness swelled in his heart. "For once he's coming to greet us like he's supposed to."

"That might just be the first time," Aengus whispered as he too looked at that face. "That 'uns done anything proper."

"I bet you a gold piece," Eion leaned towards the older man conspiring-like. "It's because of his pretty little mate there." He pointed towards the figure of Kagome whom Aengus hadn't even noticed.

"Woo," Aengus whistled as he looked at Kagome with large eyes taking in the deep purple robe she wore. Her short hair blew in the breeze, whispering against her cheeks as she smiled brightly, grey eyes up-turned and very much aware of them already. "Cuter than I remember."

"Sure is." Eion chuckled as his eyes swept towards the form of his great grandchild who was just coming up behind Inuyasha. "Miroku's with 'em." He commented as he opened the window fully prepared to simply jump down onto the wooden planks of the docks so as to ambush the little group. A figure coming up behind Inuyasha and Kagome, however, made him freeze, his mind already inferring the identity. He stared at the long, flowing silver hair, the golden eyes that matched his pups', the markings along the high cheek bones, and the petite nose that he instantly recognized from long ago. "It can't be."

Paedar glanced over Aengus' and Eion's shoulders to get a better look at what had flabbergasted them. The sight of the unknown regal figure made him swallow slowly as apprehension built within him but he didn't comment on the feeling; instead, he simply mumbled: "He looks just like his father, don't he?"

-break-

While Paedar made his comment, trepidation building within him at the thought of being around another alpha demon, Inuyasha found himself having the same misgivings. Throughout his life, he had met many people (primarily demons with good noses) who frowned upon his grandfathers heavily. Their relationship was neither a common occurrence nor a well liked one in the world as it currently stood and the backlash they had encountered was rather heinous at times. For his part, Inuyasha had simply never realized what the problem was, however, that didn't mean that everyone thought the same way as himself.

The man looked towards his older brother with uneasiness. "How will you react?" He asked both his brother and himself but neither he nor Sesshoumaru answered. "Probably because I didn't say the words out loud." Inuyasha grumbled sarcastically and put his hands in his sleeves so his claws could tap the side of his arms. Not able to actually say what he wanted to out loud, Inuyasha huffed and chose the vague way out of his dilemma for the moment. "Why are you even with us?" He asked, and glared at the man who had for all pretenses just popped up and joined their group the second they had left. "I swear he was listening in on our conversation—jerk."

Sesshoumaru, for his part, glanced towards at the younger of the two and without so much as a twitch of his facile muscles seemed to shrug. "I am curious to meet these men."

His brother raised an eyebrow in response and turned back towards the front to look at Kagome. The girl didn't say anything. "Of course not," Inuyasha frowned dryly as he noticed the glimmer in Kagome's eyes as if she knew exactly what his brother and himself both were thinking. "She probably just read both our minds and was done with it—cheater." He sighed heavily as she giggled (completely confirming his suspicion) and looked towards Sesshoumaru again. Unlike Kagome, he would have to do this the old fashioned way. "Why?"

"They are part of the pack." Sesshoumaru's response was so blunt that it actually made Inuyasha slightly uncomfortable.

"They're part of my pack." He countered and released his hands from his sleeves so he could point at himself purposefully. In his peripheral vision he caught sight of a couple bowing towards him and his brother distracting him from Sesshoumaru's slight angling of the lips. "This is getting ridiculous." He tried hard not to grumble to himself but he couldn't help it. Even with his new found understanding of being both human and demon at the same time, that didn't quite change his natural personality. Yes, he felt calmer; yes, he felt more accepting; and yes, he felt more patient; but now, that didn't change his ornery self (at least not very much). "Before my time in the other world, I would have already lost it by now."

"And you," The demon emperor brought him back into reality as he looked at his little brother through his naturally narrowed eyes. "Are part of mine," The words were calm and so natural that they almost made Inuyasha itch. He might have gotten over his brother being the evil villain of his childhood to a degree but that didn't mean everything was suddenly forgiven and forgotten. "So by extension your grandfathers and I are pack."

Inuyasha could have strangled the other man but he refrained; instead, he decided to take a more blunt approach. "You know they're mollies, right?"

Without so much as flinching, however, Sesshoumaru responded. "What is that?"

Inuyasha looked directly at Miroku who was trying desperately hard not to laugh. "It seems like every time you're near me you're too damn entertained." He glared at the boy but Miroku didn't seem the least bit affected by his father's chagrin. "My grandfathers' are mated," He continued on with his blunt approach. Truthfully though, for Inuyasha, admitting such a thing was no big deal. He had grown up with it, so for him, it was simple natural. "As in two men mated."

"I knew this." Sesshoumaru actually shrugged, the movement a bit unnatural and awfully weird from a man such as himself.

"Not gonna bother questioning how." Inuyasha told himself as he continued on, actually surprised by his brother's nonchalant approach to the whole thing. "And you're just—okay with that?" He asked instead, watching his brother's body language for any indication of hostility. He would not let a single living soul near his grandfathers that would view them with hate, even if they were technically related to him. "Most demons get a bit pissy at the thought."

"I have no time to bore myself," The demon lord spoke with the very quality of boredom echoing in his voice. "With the habits of other creatures."

"I think that basically translates to," Kagome chimed in for the first time as she sent Sesshoumaru a cheeky smile. "I don't give a damn."

"Precisely." Sesshoumaru told his sister-in-law but didn't return her smile. Although, there was a hint of one in his golden eyes.

"Well then—." Inuyasha hesitated only a moment longer before looking towards his wife for one last moment of confirmation. Kagome sent him a soft smile in response that spoke volumes and he returned it knowing he could trust her judgment. "She knows better than anyone what's going on in that messed up head." He shook his own head as the looming form of Shikuro up ahead caught his attention. "And for that matter—mine more so."

His eyes raised up to look over his ship, which was in one piece, its sails tightly fashioned but its flag large and regal against the high blue sky. It rose out of the water and into the atmosphere beautifully, seeming to reach all the way to some metaphorical heaven he had known and now known all the same. The sea air hit him then in a large gust of wind that filled his lungs with the smell of salt and water and, for him more than anyone, life. Beside him, Kagome reached out and took hold of his hand as his emotions filled the air all around him before seeping into her very skin. He looked down at her as her soft hands encompassed his calloused ones and a rush of nostalgia ran down his spine.

He didn't have to open his mouth for her to feel and see the memories as well. She closed her eyes as she felt the sea air of Jamaica, the warmth of the sun backing her skin as a vessel appeared on the horizon one mast down. It felt like so long ago but it was only about a year and a half. "Time flies—," She opened her eyes and looked directly at the window of Inuyasha and her room, finding Paedar, Aengus, and Eion all positioned there. "When you're waiting," She felt the smile that had been on her face start to fall but not from the vision that the three men formed. "For fate."

Her heart caught in her chest at her own thoughts and something more. Grey eyes pictured those same three men on the docks of Dublin, their mouths moving in words that made goodbyes and something else. She had no time to think of it now though and she wouldn't again for three days.

"Seanathair!" Inuyasha yelled causing several people around them to jump from the sudden intrusion. "What brings yer ass here?"

"Wow," Miroku looked at his father and proceeded to shake his head. "That was respectful."

"As I always am." Inuyasha shot over his shoulder as he looked towards Kagome and nodded with his chin towards the window. "Mind?"

"Go for it." Kagome smiled and released his hand knowing exactly what he was going to do.

Sure enough, just as she predicted, Inuyasha broke out into a run making his way down the docks with effortless efficiency. He only stopped once and only long enough to bend his knees and push himself up off the ground and into the air. In a rush of silver strands and red firerat, he sailed high above them all and swiftly landed on the edge of his own window, gripping the frame for support. Within seconds, Eion had reached through the window and grabbed him by his collar, dragging him through as the sound of laughter echoed.

"Damn." Miroku cursed and glanced towards Kagome. "That's just not fair."

"And it never will be." Kagome laughed lightly at the man knowing that he wished at times he had been Inuyasha's biological son so he could pull off feats like jumping twenty feet in the air. "I wish I could do it too." She looked at the spot where the window hung opened, Inuyasha's red haori seen just barely through the window frame. "Well—I guess we have to take the long way." She smiled brilliantly at Miroku who nodded compliantly.

"Not very much fun though." He mumbled as they both started to walk once more but the sound of the demon lord's voice, cutting into the dull drone of the docks, stilled their feet.

"Just like a pup still." Sesshoumaru spoke softly, the fondness in his voice not hidden from anything. "My brother."

Kagome and Miroku both, as if by prearranged agreement, turned around to look at the man who was standing just behind them, his chin upwards and focused on that now vacant window. The wind caught his silky hair and the sun hit his slightly angular chin, both elements highlighting the striking differences between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.

"He never grew up," The man continued, his pure golden eyes flashing brilliantly in the afternoon light. "Did he?"

Kagome felt the wave of jealousy or, as it were, regret seep off of Sesshoumaru. She turned and looked up at the window realizing in that moment that the demon lord was letting them in, without even realizing it, on his innermost turbulent thoughts. "He wants Inuyasha to still be a child—so he tries to see those qualities—the childish charming ones that make Inuyasha himself." She looked towards Miroku who sent her a patient, agreeing smile. "And he's jealous that they," She returned the gesture and glanced back at the window, the shadow of Inuyasha and the three men who had raised him into a man catching her eyes. "Were the ones who actually raised him." Her eyes glistened slightly and she closed them, squeezing them tightly for just a moment before opening them once more. "It's not that he didn't grow up Sesshoumaru," Kagome whispered as she looked over her shoulder at her brother-in-law. "It's that he wasn't made to ever hide that playfulness like you were."

The demon lord tilted his chin downwards and looked at Kagome. His golden eyes seemed to contemplate her words before responding in his usual monotone. "Are you saying I could act like that if I tried?"

"You—um," Kagome looked him up and down and turned back to Miroku who was trying to avoid bluntly laughing. "Well," She cleared her throat and looked away from Miroku knowing if he laughed she would as well. "Let's say I'd pay money to see it, if you did."

"You couldn't afford the fee." Sesshoumaru spoke evenly, uniformly as it were, and then continued on as if nothing had happened. He walked passed her and Miroku, making his way towards Shikuro without so much as a backwards glance, leaving both humans with their mouths hanging open from amazement. It didn't last long, however, and soon the two cracked identical smiles which turned into the most beautiful sounds.

-break-

In the safety of the cabin, hidden from his men and anyone who might question such an opened display of affection from a pirate Captain, Inuyasha grabbed hold of Eion, hugging his grandfather with all of his might. Even though he wasn't a pup anymore, the sight of this man made him feel an odd sense of relief and safety. It was a feeling he had often had during his childhood in Ireland, the happiest of the memories he had from that time involved this feeling: safety, where safety had not been before.

Vaguely a picture, fuzzy from age and time spent in his brain, formed in his mind's eye. He could see Eion sitting on the edge of his bed, tucking blankets to his chin as he sang softly to lull him to sleep. He could feel the warmth of the blankets as he burrowed down between them, Eion's large hand rubbing an ear absently so that Inuyasha's eyes drooped. The scent of that time surrounded him for just a moment: wood burning in the stove downstairs, the smell of Eion's sweat from a day's work mixing with the leftover smell of the barley and the hops from the beer he had made. It was the scent of security.

Coming back to himself, back to the present, Inuyasha inhaled the scent that was his grandfather. Even now he smelt of sweat and beer, something that had become so integrated into his natural scent that he could stop making beer for years and still smell of it. He sighed and allowed himself to be absorbed by that natural cologne as optimism crept within him, replacing the insidious pessimism that had taken hold.

As is aware of every thought and memory racing in Inuyasha's head, Eion wrapped one arm around Inuyasha's back and placed the other on his neck, pulling him tighter into his grip. "I missed you pup." He whispered into the silver hair his own memories of a much smaller figure in his arms making him nostalgic. "Even if it was just a few months." He started to pull away, to look Inuyasha in the eye but stopped himself. "My pup." He whispered and planted a kiss on the side of Inuyasha's temple.

"Seanathair!" Inuyasha immediately pushed him away while bringing up a hand to rub at his abused forehead. "Really—?" He glared for all of a second before the look turned into a full blown grin again and he whined out the word for welcome in a language only a canine demon could understand.

Eion returned it with a laugh bubbling up between the words and grabbed for his grandson again, yanking him into one more tight hug. "Damn fine pup." He mumbled and Inuyasha brought his hands up behind his grandfather's back returning the gesture.

"Damn fine old man." His words made Eion laugh harder and finally pull away to actually take a good look at his grandson.

His eyes widened the very second they made contact with what should have been familiar but no longer was. His once nearly hysterical grin faded into a confused frown. "Pup?" He questioned his nearly shaking clawed fingers jumped up to capture either side of Inuyasha's face making the younger demon go stark still as well.

Inuyasha stayed as still as possible as those competent silver eyes searched his face sometimes widening and sometimes squinting as they took him in. Beginning to feel uncomfortable with the other man's intense focus directed solely on his visage, Inuyasha gulped and brought up one hand to swat gently at his grandfather's wrist. "It's not a bi—."

The next word never left his mouth. "What happened?" He whispered the words as he inhaled Inuyasha's scent within another thought. "You smell the same."

"What're talkin' 'bout?" Aengus appeared at Eion's side, his voice uneasy as he took a moment to look at the man they had raised.

"I-I combined my two halves—demon and human." He cleared his throat as he tried to explain what had happened for what felt like the hundredth time. "Only once really—Sesshoumaru didn't even bother asking—which is kinda odd—." He raised an eyebrow from the thought but didn't have long to contemplate it before his subconscious directed his vision towards the one grandfather he had yet to notice. Paedar was standing slightly off to the side, his eyes directed not on Inuyasha but on the room around them. "Why is he—?" The sound for Alpha built up in his throat before he could stop it and everyone in the room turned their eyes to Paedar in an instant.

Paedar turned gingerly, his eyes rising up finally to see his great-great-grandson. "Yer mother said it was possible—," He lifted up his head just as Inuyasha took in a sharp breath at the sound of the word 'mother.' "To combine them." He shook his head and looked down again as Izayoi's face seemed to form on the wooden patterns in the floor.

A combination of anger and wonder assaulted his every sense and he growled low in his throat not knowing any other sound to make. All four men in the room, including the otherwise forgotten Myoga, jumped from the sound and as one unified group looked towards the source. "What the hell," Inuyasha began slowly once all the attention was appropriately directed on him. "You knew?"

"Yer mother mentioned," He motioned towards Inuyasha's eyes as if they were simply an afterthought. "That one day ya could combine them—she thought." He managed a smile but it was tired. "I'd never 'eard of it, personally, you're the first half demon I've ever known."

"So, you just never told me." Normally at this point the demon within him would have snarled ready to pick a fight, but he didn't hear it at all. Instead, he heard one voice whispering about a now lost possibility. "If I knew earlier—," Images of Kagome holding a child that he might never see flashed before his eyes as his heart nearly shattered from the prospect. "Could it have changed fate?" He looked directly at Paedar as that possibility, no matter how farfetched it was, made him (not the demon within him that never truly existed, but him, Inuyasha, the husband and father of an unborn child) furious. "Why the hell do people keep things from me like I'm an idiot?" He asked and it wasn't directed at Paedar but to the entire world: his mother, his father even, Sesshoumaru, and everyone else. "If you were just fucking honest with me, none of this would have ever happened."

"Pup—." Paedar fully straightened, prepared to put Inuyasha back in his place.

Aengus immediately jumped between the two men, holding his hands up as if to create a mental block that would stop them from physically fighting. "Inuyasha," He directed his words towards the younger of the men, knowing it wouldn't bode well if he exerted dominance over Paedar in front of the youngest member of the pack. "Paedar would lose it." He told himself before turning his back towards Paedar as a gesture of solidarity against the same unliteral enemy. "Whatever Paedar did or didn't do," He spoke calmly but firmly knowing that Inuyasha would respond better to calm and firm than pissed off. "I know he did it ta protect ya."

"Some protecting it did!" Inuyasha yelled back anyway just as the door opened and revealed the three people he had left on the ground below.

"That must be a record," Eion said trying to lighten the room as Kagome and Miroku stood shell-shocked in the door (Sesshoumaru, as normal, didn't appear fazed). "They didn't even say hello before a fight broke out." He looked towards Inuyasha trying to laugh but appearing insane instead of jovial. "Next time try getting all the way in the door before you get in a snit."

"I came in the window." Inuyasha replied snidely, not the least bit impressed with his grandfather's joke.

"Well then." Eion cleared his throat and promptly turned towards Miroku and Kagome offering them a smile. "We pissed him off."

"Not like it's all that hard." Miroku tried to return the joke even as his father sent him a glare. "Come on Otou-san," The man stepped into the room, walking around Kagome who was still standing still in the doorway. "I spent the majority of my childhood trying to piss you off."

At those words Inuyasha's lips actually twitched with a hint of amusement but the look didn't last long as he shook his head and turned back towards Paedar affectively ignoring everyone else in the room.

Behind him, Kagome didn't say anything as she tried to gauge the room the best she could. Emotions were running unchecked throughout it, hitting each other and flashing with brilliance as they collided. Anger was the strongest out of the bunch, seeming to come off of Inuyasha in waves as the man glared at the rest of the room. Guilt and regret was next, and it poured out of Paedar and, strangely enough, Myoga who seemed to have positioned himself in a corner, contained and removed. The two were only followed by confusion which came from everyone else including herself. "For me though—confusion won't last long." Without another thought, Kagome stepped into the room quietly.

With practiced ease, she released a tiny burst of energy until she could see deeper than what could be seen with just anyone's eyes. Instantly, she was wrapped up in memories and thoughts that had both transpired in the past and in the present. The conversation replayed instantly in front of her eyes and she winced as she realized exactly what was going on. Her wince didn't last long, however, as her vision shook, the room growing faint for a moment and the landscape of it changing. She could just make out a form sitting in the middle of the room, like a shadow. She narrowed her eyes as she took it in, the shape somehow familiar. Suddenly, the room flashed white, nearly blinding her, and she gasped, her knees almost buckling from the strangeness of it.

The sound made everyone in the room jump, especially her husband who was at her side in an instant. "Kagome?" He whispered hastily, his hands reaching out as if he wanted to touch her but hesitating.

Her eyes widened but not from his words as her vision blurred, the figure in the middle of the room becoming more distinct as the rest of the room grew fuzzier. For a moment, a wave of panic ran through her but it only lasted a moment. "Don't be afraid." Her own voice filled her but she couldn't recall thinking the words. Still, she didn't question it; she was well beyond questioning such things. She felt one of Inuyasha's hands touch her elbow, then the other grab hold of one of her hips, supporting her so she wouldn't fall but she ignored both sensations as she allowed her vision to flip and fade, the blur becoming blackness and the figure in the middle of the room becoming someone she recognized.

Wind hit Kagome's face as she fell perfectly into the memory, her eyes immediately squeezing shut against the sight of the familiar person. The gust was sharp against her cheeks, making her shiver and yet, high above her head, the sun beat down with warmth that didn't match the wind at all. Blinking rapidly she forced herself to look at the spot where she knew that person would be. Her eyes widened as they took in something she had not been expecting. She could no longer see the apparition but instead a very familiar sight: a garden with vegetables just now rising from the soil on one side, and small flowers peeping from their beds on the other; a thatched roof cottage overlooking them, and a large oak tree hovering over the mismatched bricks and mortar. She took a step forward without thought, her feet hitting firm cobblestone steps that ran through the garden, uneven and dirtied from the elements.

The wind picked up again and the cool breeze made her shiver but not before the sun burned her vision. Flinching from the fierceness of it Kagome shook her head, snapping her eyes completely shut as she did. Upon opening them once more, the girl gasped as she saw the figure that she had seen on Shikuro. She was sitting in the middle of that garden, her long hair reaching towards the ground as she carefully pulled at strangling weeds.

"Izayoi?" She whispered the name and the woman looked up. Kagome took a step back, afraid she had interfered only to find it had not been her that caught Izayoi's attention.

The woman turned and looked back at someone standing just behind her. "Myoga-san." She spoke softly and the name sounded out of place in that setting.

Myoga bowed slowly for her and as he rose sent her a kindly smile. "It-to Inuyasha-sama birthday."

The woman's face immediately broke out into a great grin and she pushed herself up from the dirt. Wiping her skirt, she straightened a bit clumsily and shook her head as if amused by herself. "I know—," Her face glowed with pride that only a parent could feel. "He's fifteen." She laughed slightly not believing what she had just said. "It seems like just yesterday," She looked down at her hands, her dark chocolate eyes filling with love. "That he was a wee one in my arms."

The older man nodded in agreement but the smile that was on her face was not matched by his own. "Izayoi-sama." He said the name slowly wanting for her to take so much more from it than just her name. "Will Izayoi-sama—remove-e Shikon? It appropriate now Inuyasha-sama fifteen"

The smile fell and her eyes grew huge at Myoga's blunt words. "Myoga." She couldn't even add the –san to the end as she shook her head. "I can't do that."

"Myoga," The flea looked down and then back up again imploringly. "Know Shikon must go—Inuyasha-sama must-to be free, let-to demon be free."

The smile fell, her hands fell, and her head jumped upwards to look at Myoga horrified. She took a step back and her face blurred for Kagome's vision. Panicked, Kagome took a step forward and the action seemed to bring Izayoi back into focus just as the woman's slightly panicked voice hit the air. "No." The word was clipped and her tone was odd as if she didn't want Myoga to know something. "I can't do that—," Her panicked dark brown eyes fluttered and she looked right at Kagome without actually seeing her.

The younger woman stared as those brown eyes seemed to look into her own an emotion that Kagome had seen on her face before amplified: love, undying love.

"It's better this way." The woman spoke and the love grew stronger but became accompanied by something else that looked suspiciously like anxiety. "Better if he doesn't," She paused and the anxiety turned into full out paranoia as her eyes shifted away from Kagome then to the ground and to the sky, unable to stay focused. "Have to deal with the demon."

Myoga frowned deeply and looked Izayoi over as if contemplating what to say but he never got a chance to speak.

Izayoi took a step back her eyes closing tightly and her body hunching as a cough quite abruptly overcame her. Instantly, the image of Izayoi became the only thing Kagome could see. The woman was leaning over her back shaking with the effort it took to breathe. One hand came up to her stomach clutching at it as if that was the only thing keeping her on her feet. The other hand covered her mouth as she coughed and coughed, a death like rattle in her lungs. Finally, a horrid sound, wet and sickening, filled the air as Izayoi nearly choked. The woman, with blackness painted all around her, straightened as her breathing came in slight pants. Her once vibrant eyes looked dull as she raised up her face revealing a trail of blood dribbling down her chin.

"Myoga—." She spoke the words so softly that Kagome could only just hear them as they echoed throughout the darkness. "Please—he can't know."

"Izayoi-sama." Myoga's voice was a phantom in that darkness, his body nowhere to be seen but his presence large against Izayoi's suddenly tiny form.

She closed her eyes and silence reigned as the blood she had coughed up stained her unnaturally pale skin. When they opened again, there was a look about them that seemed to predict the future in a way only those with the power of prophecy possibly can. "It's the only way." She whispered and straightened as she brought the back of her hand up to wipe the deep scarlet mark. The blood disappeared from her flesh, instead forming on the back of her hand as an ominous red streak. "And," Her eyes began to brighten, hope filling them as she looked towards where Myoga had to be standing but instead there was only Kagome who could see the slight red tint left over from the blood that had rested on her strong chin, Inuyasha's chin. "It has to work."

Kagome crashed back into reality, her hands shaking as she absorbed exactly what she had just experienced. She felt her husband's hands supporting her and she heard his voice in her ear whispering pleas for her to snap out of whatever had happened to her. Blinking, she forced herself to see again, her legs shaking as they struggled to stay straight while supporting her weight. Slowly, her vision came back to her and she frowned as she was overwhelmed by the sight of red.

"Inuyasha." She realized as she raised her head up to see the face connected with the red clothes. "I—my body that is," She smiled at him as she spoke and he couldn't help but grin ever so slightly back. "Kind of checked out for a minute," She breathed in deeply before adding. "Again."

"You have got to stop doing that." He told her jokingly, a hand coming up to gently run against her cheek. His sun speckled eyes roamed her face worried and tense but after a few seconds relaxed or, better yet, gave up.

"Does she do that often?" Someone chimed in from their left.

"I 'ope not." The reply came from the same direction.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the conversation in the background, pinpointing that it had to be Eion and Aengus. Steadying herself, she turned in her husband's firm grip until she saw more than just her husband's face. She could see Eion and Aengus who were hanging close to the window, out of the way but apparently consumed by the sight of her. She could see Paedar leaning against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest and his face masked with apprehension. She could even see Sesshoumaru who, oddly enough, was standing at Miroku's side his body as relaxed as ever but his eyes far more focused than indifferent. In fact, the only person she didn't see was the one responsible for the vision/memory that had just assaulted her.

"Myoga?" She called and the mention of the name gave everyone pause in the room as they looked around themselves for the small man.

"Myoga," The old flea's voice broke into the silence softly and Kagome turned in time to see him expertly unblend from the corner. "Know-u what Kagome-sama see."

The girl didn't say anything for a few seconds until she finally seemed to give in. "Why did she," A pause assaulted the room, the lack of sound far greater than even a cannon blast. "Not want to remove the jewel from Inuyasha, Myoga?" The question dangled in the air and the room grew silent as the words filled in everyone's memory.

What little grip Inuyasha had on his wife left as he took in the words. His mouth opened like a fish and then closed before opening once more. "You mean," He looked down at his neck where a dirty chain had once rested. "The one my mother gave me?"

Kagome didn't respond as she continued to stare at Myoga, her expression compassionate and yet demanding. "Why?"

"She didn't want to remove it?" Inuyasha continued to speak putting everything together with or without Kagome's help.

"She didn't," Kagome indulged him for a moment before focusing her attention back on Myoga. "Why would she want to keep his demon contained, Myoga?"

"Myoga do not know Kagome-sama." His soft and apologetic voice made Kagome's throat nearly seal with realization.

"You mean before she could tell you she—." A hand came up to her mouth, covering her words before they could actually leave her mouth. She couldn't say them, not in front of Inuyasha. Regardless of her intentions, however, Inuyasha wasn't dumb and he could fill in what had been left unsaid.

"She died." His words hung in the air like the plague that had taken her life. Inuyasha cleared his throat against the silence his anger at his mother for everything she had done to Kagome and him nothing compared to the pain that settled in his heart from the memories of her death. He inhaled and tried desperately to make sure the sound didn't come across as a sniffle. "Fuck." He cursed and looked away from everyone in the room, his face settling into stone just like his silent brother's.

Kagome bit her lip and, undeterred by her husband's completely neutral face, reached out and touched his arm. He didn't flinch from the contact but the slightest raise of an eyebrow told her he had noticed. She rubbed at his sleeve gently, trying to be reassuring as her mind wandered through Myoga's words. "She died and he never knew," She glanced towards Myoga who was looking down at the ground, his tired old eyes full of undisguised remorse. "Why she didn't want Inuyasha to control—well—not control, combine the two halves." She felt her fingers tighten on Inuyasha's sleeve as a realization began to dawn on her. "Just like Inutaisho directed us to."

"She didn't think you were capable."

Inutaisho's words resounded in Kagome's head telling her everything she needed to know. "She," Kagome spoke softly, her words drawing Inuyasha out of his stoic stance. "She didn't think you were capable—." She looked up at Inuyasha, who had turned towards, her an apologetic frown on her face. "Isn't that what your father said?"

"How is that possible?" Eion whispered and Aengus next to him allowed one thick eyebrow to jump into his hairline in confusion.

"It ain't, he's long dead." Aengus mumbled but stopped when Miroku sent him a shocked look from across the room seeming to tell his great-great-grandfather how terrible blunt his words had been. "Sorry." He snapped his mouth shut realizing how insensitive his comment was. After all, he may not like Inutaisho but the man was his great-grandson's father.

Neither Inuyasha nor Kagome was affected by them, however, and without even glancing in their direction Inuyasha responded to his wife. "But if she thought I wasn't capable then why bother putting the damn jewel around my neck in the first place?" Inuyasha nearly hissed to words.

For a long while, Kagome didn't say anything, her mind roving over the things Inuyasha had said, Izayoi had said, Inutaisho had said and the feelings that had come from all of them when they had spoken. She felt it all convalesce within her very soul and before she even realized her own conclusions and answers she opened her mouth again. "She didn't want you to be capable." She said the words bluntly and without remorse. "It was insurance—insurance that you wouldn't be able to combine them."

"She didn't want me to—." The thought sank in his stomach until he felt a bit nauseous.

Not knowing exactly why, Inuyasha looked up at Sesshoumaru hoping that the man who seemed to know so much would have some insight but Sesshoumaru only shook his head having nothing to add or debate. Inuyasha's eyes turned towards Miroku expecting to see his son enraptured by the conversation but instead the younger man was looking towards something in the room. Eager to have a distraction, the dog demon followed his son's gaze only to flinch as he realized what exactly Miroku had been looking at. Nestled in the small space between his desk and the wall, paired with a slightly smaller one, was the case for his violin, the very violin his mother had given to him so long ago. It seemed unobtrusive as it leaned against the dark paneling resting until it should be played again.

"Here little one."

He could hear his mother's voice as if she was a phantom in the room; a phantom of his own memories.

"Take it."

He could see her as she leaned over him, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she handed him his greatest treasure. He could still feel the cool, smooth wood underneath his finger tips, a phantom sensation that made his fingers twitch longingly to actually hold the object. He could see his mother bite her lip with anticipation and he could hear the hum of 'C' as he plucked a string for the first time.

"It's a violin," Her tone was like honey and her eyes were soft, deep, Irish brown as she looked at him. "With it—."

The voice in his head cracked in a way he remembered but never understood. "I didn't understand it then—I didn't see it then." He tightened his hands into firmer fist as he remembered the truth he had seen but not comprehended in her soft eyes. She was anxious and hopeful and worried, not just proud and motherly. "Her voice cracked because she was nervous—her eyes weren't soft, they were hopeful, she was hoping that I—." He released his grip, his hands going limp at his sides. "She had a plan even then."

"With it—you can be on the sea."

He blinked and the violin in its case seemed to shift the moment he closed his eyes becoming larger and then smaller but he knew for a fact that it hadn't changed at all. "I don't understand her." He spoke so suddenly that the people in the room jumped with surprise. "She—she planned everything." He shook his head wanting to take his eyes off the violin but was unable. "She planned for my demon to be separated from my human—she planned for me to never know how to combine them, or, really, never even be able." He closed his eyes trying desperately to get away from the violin but found himself unable. "But she still planned my life on the sea."

Paedar finally broke his long silence as he watched Inuyasha squeeze his eyes shut. "What do you mean, pup?"

"The violin," He turned towards his grandfather and opened his eyes; they shinned in the light, his own pain apparent to everyone in the room. "She gave it to me—told me it would lead me to the sea." He felt like hitting something but he stopped himself. "She kept me contained, kept me away from fate, she didn't want me to meet it at all and yet—she gave me the means to walk right into it." He brought his hands up, not sure what he was going to do with them but prepared to do something. "What the hell was going on with her?"

"Watch yer mouth." Eion spoke up quickly; protective instincts for his own daughter making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"No!" Inuyasha immediately flung his head around and glared at the other man. "It's about time I finally got some answers on something for once." He threw the words into the air with irritation and hurt fueling them over anything else. "What the fuck was wrong with my mother?"

The fierceness of Paedar's snarl entered the room and echoed so loudly that everyone was deafened by it. "Don't ya dare curse and speak of yer mother in the same sentence, pup!"

The room froze, the anger and protective instincts nearly smelt by even the humans who were present. Inuyasha's hands formed fist and a low growl began to build in his throat as he looked over his shoulder towards his grandfather fully prepared to speak up against him, tell him what his mother had done to him and his mate and the child they hadn't seemed to scent out yet. Something greatly unexpected, though, stopped him in his tracks.

"Izayoi-hime," Sesshoumaru spoke, his calm monotone inclusion of the word for princess making Inuyasha's body relax in a strange way. "Wanted you to meet Kagome." The words were like trickles of water against a stone wall, gently removing the roughness and replacing it with smooth rock.

Inuyasha was quiet for all of a moment then opened his mouth once more without really thinking. "So we could be torn apart by this shit!?" The words were horrific but to Inuyasha and Kagome's knowledge they were true in a way.

"Izayoi wanted me to die for him." Kagome thought but didn't dare speak the words out loud for fear of the repercussions they would cause. "She was using me to save her son—a son who was supposed to die." She bit the inside of her cheek nearly drawing blood at her own thoughts. "If she would have made it to where we never met," Her gaze turned towards her tense husband as she felt her heart clench tightly in her chest. "At the very least, we'd both be safe."

"No," Sesshoumaru's words seemed to be a direct whisper against her own thoughts but she knew they weren't. The demon lord finally took a step into the room, his pure gold eyes looking into his brother's changed ones unflinchingly as if he had expected such a thing. "She did it so you could know love." He paused for just a moment before he added his final words. "Izayoi-hime couldn't take that way from you."

The room went silent once more but this time it was not from anger, surprise, or violence. The younger demon looked down unable to respond to his brother's words in the least. Not knowing where to look or even what to think, he continued to stare at the floor imagining a million things and nothing all at once. "Kagome." He said without even looking at his wife, wanting her to do some magic trick and suddenly be able to explain everything.

The woman in question stared back at him. Deep in her own heart she wondered which was better: to know love and die or to live life without it and be miserable. "Or does it matter at all?" The words were a palm to her soul and with them circling her mind, she released all the questions, the what-if's that could possibly exist. "What's done is done." She spoke easily and her words brought the whole room back from something dangerous. "We need to let this go." She whispered and just as Sesshoumaru had stepped forward, she did as well, one of her hands reaching up to touch Inuyasha's chin ever so slightly. He turned into her touch and finally raised his head towards her. Grey eyes found his own and her fingers left his chin to stroke a forelock. "We cannot change the past," She told him as she looked directly into his eyes, wanting him to see and hear her words. "Anymore than we can change the stars in the sky."

He licked his lips, his own defiant streak making him want to say something. "But—I would have liked—."

Pulling her hands away from him, she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned dryly. "And I would like to not be pregnant," She spoke half jokingly and half serious, not realizing the possible negative ramification of her words at all as she tried to prove her point. "But we don't always get what we want."

The room froze. No one spoke. All eyes deliberately turned to Kagome including Myoga's. A series of opened and closed mouths filled Kagome's vision and then the first sound followed, produced by none other than Aengus. The older male started by chuckling, the chuckle soon turning into a hiccup and then almost instantly a full blown near hysteria or laugh. "How'd te hell we miss that?" He asked no one in particular as he brought up a hand and covered his eyes as if asking for strength.

Beside him, still shaking his head slowly back and forth, Eion also began to hiccup with disbelief and laughter. "We need to get our noses checked." He responded to Aengus' earlier comment as he inhaled the unmistakable scent of a breeding woman. "There's no way," He looked towards Aengus, his eyes wide and his mouth dropping. "We should'a missed that."

Unlike his brother and mate, who responded pretty well to the news, Paedar stood shell-shocked, his eyes huge and his mouth hanging ever so slightly opened. "She's pregnant?" He finally managed to say after several seconds of dumb silence.

He lifted his head at his own words (or lack thereof) and turned his eyes towards Kagome, staring at her. The girl shifted self consciously but didn't move as he scrutinized her, his nostrils flaring as they took in her scent. Finally, he gritted his teeth and turned with such a slow deliberate motion that Inuyasha actually tensed. His great-great grandfather stopped the second those nearly mixed eyes reached his own and he stared unblinking at his pup. Inuyasha felt a lump form in his throat as those eyes seemed to penetrate into his very soul, attempting to rip it to shreds.

"Of all the," Paedar began, his voice low and venomous as he took a step forward. "Stupid—idiotic," He spit out the words as his eyes flashed dangerous and Inuyasha fought the urge to drop to the ground and just show his belly in surrender. "Things you've ever done, out a' all 'em," He closed his eyes and appeared to count to ten but the momentary pause did nothing for his anger. "This is by far—the stupidest!" He finally screamed and before anyone could really stop him, he crossed the room and within seconds grabbed Inuyasha by the collar of his haori. "What the hell were ya thinking!" He shook man while nearly lifting the very startled demon off the ground. "My god, I should'a beaten you more when you 'ere young."

"And that's the end of our previous conversation." Kagome thought as she slipped away from the two men, watching with amusement as her husband tried to protect his clothes by pulling at Paedar's claws which were sinking into his collar. It didn't appear to be working. She allowed herself to relax as she watched him knowing that their heavy conversations were pointless anyway. "There really is nothing we can do—except face the future." She sighed and feeling perfectly calm allowed herself to sink into the moment cheering for the closet thing she had to a father-in-law. "Go Paedar!"

"Hey!" Inuyasha growled in her direction as he finally managed to get Paedar to let go of him by prying his sharp wolf claws out of his shirt. "Whose side are you on?"

"The side that beats you up." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and huffed before pouting in the most adorable way she could manage. "After all," She spoke her words with deliberate tact, the kind of tact that living with Inuyasha had caused her to develop. "I didn't have a say in the matter." She pushed her bottom lip out and fluttered her lashes as Miroku came up behind her and shook his head slowly back and forth.

"It's a sad thing really." He joined in, taking Kagome's side as the woman nodded her head in agreement.

"Wait—," Aengus joined in now, stepping towards the man in question and his mate who was looking over his abused claws for damage. "You didn't consult her?"

Inuyasha looked down at his own clothes before responding, studying the holes in them that were already beginning to repair. "He cut through firerat?" He felt his whole body cringe as he realized those claws would have done far worst to his skin. "Were you trying to kill me?" He looked up pointedly, not answering Aengus' question as he sent a sordid expression towards Paedar.

"Answer my question!" Aengus huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Did ya consult her?"

Kagome laughed and mimicked Aengus' posture, leaning slightly on her right foot so as to look even cockier. "Yeah—tell them."

The dog demon sent his wife a dry look before sighing heavily. "No—I didn't."

"Stupid pup!" Paedar growled and yipped before clocking Inuyasha over the head.

"Hey!" Inuyasha made a motion of nipping his grandfather without actually biting him but the action spoke volumes. "We had an agreement," He pointed an accusing finger as his ears twitched on his head from the sound of Miroku and Kagome's mirth. "You can't treat me like a pup on my own ship."

"I'll do what I damn well please when my pup is being an idiot."

Behind them all, Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to laugh at his brother being hit over the head like a little pup. His father's constant training from so long ago kept his expression contained but it did nothing to stop his thoughts. "He really is their pup." He told himself, the urge to smile overwhelmed by a sudden jealousy he would never admit to. "Unlike—." He didn't finish the thought; a man such as him neither needed to nor should bother.

"What was going through your head?" Paedar continued to question as Inuyasha rubbed at his abused ear.

"Nothing!" He shouted and continued to rub as he looked towards Kagome and released a whimper.

She smiled sweetly, laughing just slightly under her breath as she gingerly made her way across the slim distance that now separated them and rubbed the ear. "Poor baby." She cooed and Inuyasha blinked dryly at her and snorted not appreciating her mocking tone.

"He had to be thinking of something," Eion chimed in and suddenly threw an arm around Inuyasha's shoulder's before whispering in a suspicious sort of way. "Probably had nothing to do with pups though, right?"

Inuyasha turned towards his grandfather and glared but Eion only smiled in return his arm still draped over his grandson's shoulders in a side hug. "Why do you get so much pleasure out of my pain?"

"Pup," Paedar interrupted before Eion could respond. "Seriously," Paedar's tone of voice was anything but joking; he, unlike the others, was serious. "Of all the half assed thoughts that ever came to your head—."

"Alright, look damn it!" Inuyasha shrugged off Eion's arm and took a step forward stabbing a clawed hand into Paedar's chest. "You need to get off my ass." He jabbed again as if to puncture the word 'ass' and this time the sound of tearing filled the air. Immediately, Paedar snarled, the sound making the other demons in the room, even Sesshoumaru although he would never show it, distinctly nervous. As if just realizing what he had done, Inuyasha's hand dropped as did his jaw. "I'm sorry." He apologized immediately and a whine built up in his throat that translated roughly to 'pup stupid.'

Paedar glared in response but didn't say anything.

"Seanathair." Inuyasha glanced around looking at everyone, his cheeks actually reddening as he realized he would have to do this in front of his wife and his son. "Please." He turned to his grandfather and released a little sound that asked for forgiveness; Paedar didn't respond. "Damn." Inuyasha's ears went back on his head and he looked towards Sesshoumaru who now displayed an actual look of amusement that even he couldn't hide. He, unlike Kagome and Miroku, knew exactly what Paedar as the alpha was waiting for. Turning back to his grandfather, he lowered his ears and licked his lips carefully. "I'll grovel later, okay?"

Paedar tilted his head to the side slightly; he knew what his rights were in this case and he wasn't going to walk away without the consequences being played out. "No." The word was blunt and not at all amused by Inuyasha's current predicament.

"But!" Inuyasha looked from Kagome and Miroku to Aengus surprisingly. "Help?"

"Pup." Aengus sent Inuyasha a look that seemed to speak volumes. "Ya know the rules—," He spoke firmly leaving no room for argument as he supported his alpha and his mate. "Now do what ya must and stop yer pouting."

Exasperated, Inuyasha looked at Kagome and Miroku his face scrunched up in such a way that he actually looked the part of a chastised child for a moment. "You can never say a word." He told both of them, his words practically dripping with venom.

Kagome and Miroku glanced at each other and then back towards Inuyasha just in time to see the clearly humiliated man lean forward and nuzzle Paedar under the chin with his nose. It was an odd action, both because the pirate Captain was doing it and also because they had never seen anything like it. Well, Kagome had felt Inuyasha do it to her before. He would very lightly brush his nose against her chin and, at the same time, inhale her scent as if to check on her. The action made her feel safe when he did it as if he were watching over her, scent and all. She usually acknowledged it with a heavy sigh, leaning into his touch.

Paedar, on the other hand, didn't seem to recognize the action at all. Even when Inuyasha pulled away and whined slightly, as if he were trying to ask if that was enough, Paedar continued to ignore him. The dog demon glared at the wolf in response to his blunt brush off before sighing with defeat. "You're not gonna let me out of this, are you?" He asked and the only response he received was an upturned, amused eyebrow. Glancing quickly at Miroku and Kagome he leaned forward once more, ducking his head down and in a very hesitant motion licked the other man's chin.

Paedar seemed immediately pleased by the action and turned towards Inuyasha, nuzzling the side of Inuyasha's forelock in a sign of acceptance.

"We good?" Inuyasha asked his voice laced with mortification, as he allowed his great-great grandfather to cuddle up to him for a moment.

"Yes." Paedar said easily and finally dropped his arms to his side, the atmosphere in the room calming, almost like nothing had ever happened.

To Miroku and Kagome, this whole exchange seemed utterly illogical and they let that be known with a combined squeaky noise of surprise. Aengus answered their unspoken question with an approving nod and a smile on his face. "When a stupid pup," He snorted when Inuyasha glared at his words. "Challenges 'is pack leader," He motioned with his chin towards the chastised Inuyasha. "He's gotta reaffirm the leader's authority."

"By licking his chin?" Miroku questioned and received a near snarling baring of teeth from his father that he promptly ignored.

"Yes." Eion answered for Aengus and made his way across the room towards Inuyasha and Paedar. With a smile he did much the same motion as Paedar, nuzzling the irritated looking half demon before turning and nuzzling Paedar as well. "It's a sign of respect." He told them as he pulled away from a much happier looking Paedar. "Demons are a lot less vocal than humans." He looked towards Miroku and Kagome with a smile on his normally peaceful face. "We tend to express many emotions with actions over words." He glanced at Inuyasha unable to hide the turn of his lips as he smiled mockingly. "But I bet you knew that from living with 'is one, yeah?"

"Leave me alone." Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms over his chest with total exasperation.

Aengus laughed at the obvious discomfort of his grandson and grabbed hold of an ear. "Poor pup," He cooed as he rubbed the flicking, aggravated triangle. "It's okay, it is."

Inuyasha kept his arms crossed, making a point of not moving as he narrowed his eyes and resisted the urge to growl. "You're making it hard for me not to get in trouble again." He commented under his breath but everyone heard, including Miroku who was in front of his father within seconds.

"Poor Otou-san." He spoke with amusement, his eyes filled with mirth as he grabbed his father's other ear and rubbed.

The narrowed eyes turned into a look that could have (and probably would in the right circumstance) kill and without thought, Inuyasha grabbed his son, throwing him in a headlock. "I won't get in trouble for beating you!"

"Let me go!" Miroku cried out but there was more laughter than panic in his voice.

"Pup." Paedar said the term warningly, his position as alpha giving him absolute authority (which he was currently taking advantage of).

"Come on!" Inuyasha dropped Miroku who stumbled and fell to the ground but was unharmed and obviously entertained. "He's my pup, damn it!"

"While my brother's humiliation is amusing," Sesshoumaru suddenly chimed in, reminding everyone that he existed in the first place. "I believe there are important matters which need to be discussed."

The room fell into a moment of quiet as everyone took in individually what those words had meant. There were indeed things which needed to be discussed but they were all topics that seemed better left unsaid. Not because they shouldn't be discussed but because discussing them was like opening the flaming throngs of a volcano; you would get burned.

Not one to be deterred by the harshness and deadly possibilities of any matter, however, Paedar straightened and looked at the other alpha male in the room. "Should we," He took Sesshoumaru in as he spoke, sizing him up expertly. "Go somewhere more discrete?" He ventured to ask the question but his words didn't sound much like a question at all. Instead, they bore the uncanny resemblance to a demand.

Sesshoumaru straightened almost unnoticeably as he took in those masquerading words. With an expression that seemed both bored and forceful in the same instant, Sesshoumaru drug his golden eyes over Paedar, returning the intimidation gesture in kind. The room remained silent as minutes began to tick by, the two men having a near silent battle for dominance as Paedar's heavily contrasting silver eyes looked at Sesshoumaru's gold ones head on.

For his part, the Captain of the Shikuro stared between his brother and his grandfather uninterested and didn't say a word to stop their battle for dominance. "It wouldn't do any good." He told himself as he brought his hands up to cover his chest once more. "I really don't care if I piss off Sesshoumaru." He glanced towards the demon lord, brotherly love still not really in his heart for the other man but beginning to burgeon just enough that he didn't say anything against him or take an obvious side. "But—Paedar is a different story—I actually like him." He closed his eyes briefly before opening them to look at Kagome.

The girl was standing watching the display in silence beside him. Within seconds, her eyes flickered recognizing that he was looking at her. She turned her gaze, just allowing herself to spot her husband out of her peripheral vision and sent him a shrug. "Why bother?" She mouthed the words and Inuyasha realized she had been privy to his thoughts.

"Couldn't have thought it any better myself." He leaned his head back as he let the comment echo in his brain, knowing she would hear it. Sure enough, she giggled quietly in response, the sound seeming to bring the room back to life.

Rolling back his shoulders in a gesture that seemed to indicate the standoff was over, for now, Sesshoumaru finally responded to Paedar. "We shall go to my palace." He offered and informed all in the same breath, his body tensing a little because even he realized that Paedar was technically his elder but for a man like Sesshoumaru that really didn't amount to much.

"Very well." He nodded his head and motioned towards Sesshoumaru. "You will take us there." Everyone in the room realized instantly what that order represented. It was a command and a test all at once. Sesshoumaru's response would dictate the atmosphere for the rest of their time together.

Inuyasha felt himself hold his breath, "Please don't be an asshole," he thought not wanting to step in and exert his own authority (which neither man thought he had) to stop an alpha fight. "That would take way too much effort."

But Sesshoumaru didn't respond to Paedar's testing command in the way Inuyasha assumed he would at all. "Follow me." He responded flatly, no emotion hitting his voice or his face at all as he turned on his heel and started out the door.

Within seconds, Paedar followed after him, not even bothering to signal to his pack. He knew they would obey without orders. Sure enough, Aengus and Eion followed without so much as a word, as did Miroku unexpectedly (probably because it was more the logical thing to do than anything else). Inuyasha, however, took a second to watch after the group as they filled out of the room, pure surprise on his face. Blinking, he looked towards Kagome who returned his own look of surprise with one of her own.

"That was not what I expected." She whispered to Inuyasha as everyone else made their way through the door. "And I can get into people's heads."

"If it makes you feel better I didn't see it coming either." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and then offered his elbow to Kagome, giving her a place to slip her hand through so they could walk together.

The girl smiled softly at the sight and with ease looped her arm through his own, resting it gingerly against him. The dog demon took his free hand in response and placed it on top of the back of her hand. Rubbing his thumb against her knuckles, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin underneath his fingers, he began walking. Right before they reached the door to the cabin, the sound of someone shifting uncomfortably caught his ears. Stopping, he followed the noise until his eyes landed upon the form of Myoga. The tiny man hadn't moved, in fact, he was so still that Inuyasha wouldn't have realized he was there without the sound of his shifting feet.

"Myoga." He said the name slowly and watched as the tiny man blinked and looked up at him as if surprised to be noticed.

"Myoga wa—," His voice froze and his old eyes stared painfully at the man he had served for the better part of four hundred years. "Gomen nasai." He dropped his head down in a low bow as he offered his apology. "Gomen nasai, Inuyasha-sama."

"Myoga." Inuyasha repeated the name, his voice surprisingly soft as he looked at the top of Myoga's head, his thinning hair revealing his age. "I—," He glanced towards Kagome who didn't make eye contact with him, keeping herself removed from what was a personal matter. "Damn it—right when I need you." He glared but she only smiled. "Myoga—," He tried again, turning his attention towards the flea demon who was still bowing. "Come on, don't bow." He grumbled and Myoga instantly straightened but didn't make eye contact at all.

"Myoga—try," The demon spoke in a hushed whisper. "Myoga try demo—so much-i can't say." He finally looked up at Inuyasha desperation on his face. "Myoga can't say."

"I know." Inuyasha took a step forward, bringing Kagome with him his hand still covering her own asking for strength. "Look—I," He glanced once more at his wife, knowing exactly what she would tell him to say. "I understand." The words left his mouth and he realized they were true. He might be angry at all the secrets but the truth was he understood why they had been kept. "You promised and a man like you," He turned and looked at the tiny man seeing the age that had been there his entire life. "Never breaks his word—never." He thought he saw the hint of a smile play on Kagome's lips but he didn't turn to look at her. Instead, he kept his eyes on the ancient Myoga as he continued to speak, using Kagome's very words. "What's in the past," He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Is in the past—," He watched as Myoga looked up at him in amazement, his mind flittering over the fact that he could remember when Myoga had to look down at him. "I've known you my whole life." These words came directly from his heart without him even knowing it. "You've done nothing but protect me until I was old enough to protect myself." He looked down at the ground, away from Myoga, before smiling secretively. "And when I was old enough, you stayed, and did whatever you could just to help me." He looked up and sent the flea a genuine and rare smile. "So please, help me now—like you always have."

The old flea looked for a moment as if he were about to cry but he stopped himself and straightened his back. "Myoga," He spoke his own name with firm resolve, telling Inuyasha everything the demon needed to know. "Always."

The dog demon smiled at his retainer for only a second before he stilled his features, stepping into his role as the alpha of his own small pack. "Stay with the ship and keep yer eye on things." He commanded and Myoga stood even straighter his firm eyes narrowed with understanding of his own importance in all of this.

"Yoshi ikuzo!" He clipped the words firmly, the sound of agreement echoing around them, and in one swift motion bowed towards his master, his hands firmly planted at his sides with determination.

"You're dismissed." He punctuated his final command by taking his hand off of Kagome's knuckles so he could point towards the still opened door. Vaguely, he wondered if the rest of the group was waiting on him and Kagome but realized they probably had moved on. "They either know I'm talking with Myoga or think I'm groveling to my chided mate." He didn't allow himself to smile at his own comment as he watched Myoga turn on his heel and head out the door quickly, obeying his alpha's orders.

"Is it strange," Kagome spoke quite suddenly as they stood in their cabin for the first time in over a week physically but really years. "To be an alpha and not an alpha all at once?"

"You mean with Paedar?" Inuyasha titled his head towards her, staying still for now. It wouldn't be wise to carry this conversation out of the room.

"Yes."

"Sometimes." He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "But really—it's a good thing to have an alpha." He watched her as she tilted her chin up, questioning. "Because if I didn't," He leaned forward and nuzzled her, the action completely different than the one he had given Paedar. This was slower, him savoring touching her, scenting her, as his nose ran down her jaw line for a moment before he pressed a soft kiss to her chin. "It would mean he was dead."

Kagome's eyes snapped opened at his words, the sensual quality of his nuzzle lost as she took in his meaning.

"There are three ways to become the alpha of a pack." He explained as he looked down into her face, her curls which crowned her forehead catching his eye. "First, by challenging the alpha—which is why I had to grovel for Paedar." He finished the sentence with an annoyed twist to his voice as he reached up and caught a curl between his fingers. "Second by death—when the alpha dies a new alpha will be chosen by the pack and last," He moved the curl to the side of her head, teasing it to see if it could reach behind her ear but it wasn't long enough to do so. "By starting your own pack." He dropped the hair which was too short to plant behind her ear, his hands falling back down to his side. "But if you do that—they're still technically your alpha when they're around."

"So that's your's and Paedar's relationship?" She questioned as she looked up at him through her thick lashes.

"Yeah." He tilted his head back inhaling her scent deeply before dropping his chin forward. "Come on—let's follow before I get in trouble again."

Kagome giggled and followed his lead as Inuyasha started out the door to their room. "That was fun to watch."

He glared down at her, his sunburst eyes flashing a warning that seemed to promise something dark and dangerous as they made their way down the hall. "You know I'm your alpha, right?" He growled low in his throat feeling the way she shivered a bit under his heated gaze but also noting that it didn't make her back down, in fact it made her stand a little taller in a way that made his stomach tighten and his whole body coil, ready to spring. "You have to obey your alpha."

"I know." She whispered and the sultry sound of her voice made him inhale sharply as his feet stilled. They stood half way down the hall, him looking down and her looking up, their bodies close enough to feel each other's heat. "But I also know something else." She lifted herself to her tiptoes and very gently kissed his chin, his ever so slight stubble brushing her lips as she allowed her mouth to open and cautiously (a little hesitant) licked his chin. She felt the instant response in his emotions and smiled secretly to herself. "Submit to him and he's putty in your hands." She looked up at his chin, noting the way he had angled it begging her to kiss it again, loving the way she submitted to him. "How to make the alpha tame." She shook her head and he snapped his chin back down catching onto her game.

"You little—." He growled low in his throat and without another word planted his lips on top of hers.

His hand unlooped from her arm and before he quite put together where he was going, he pushed her backwards against the wall. Kagome gasped into his mouth, her hands coming up around his neck, treading through his hair as the kiss deepened. Within seconds, his tongue was pressed against her lips and their roles reversed; she became putty in his hands. She felt his claws as they brushed against the silk of her kimono and then the firm press of his palms against her waist as he pulled her to him. Wanting to be closer, she brought a leg up, the robe falling opened slightly as she moved to wrap it around his hip so as to hook and drag him in. Instantly, one of the hands around her waist dropped, grabbing that leg right where the material had opened. He hissed at the feel of her skin against his fingers and she moaned from the sensation of his rough calloused fingertips against her thighs. He pulled his lips away from her own, panting as he dropped his mouth to her neck searing her skin with hot, wet kisses from the bend of her shoulder to her ear.

"You," He whispered as he placed a kiss behind her ear. "Need," He licked a trail from earlobe to top before whispering in panting breaths right against her ear. "To be," He couldn't resist nipping at her earlobe for a second. "Taught a lesson."

Kagome shivered but didn't back down as she turned her head sideways until she could actually see him. He opened his eyes as if sensing her own and she licked her lips as she took in the ring of red around his pupils and the little flecks of brown that seemed to darken with lust. His breath hit her cheek and her body trembled with need. "So," She inched her face forward until they were close enough to simply fall into one another. "Do it already."

"She's already pregnant you know."

Paedar's voice hit the air like a stream of cold water from a bucket. "God damn it!" Inuyasha nearly dropped Kagome from the surprise but managed to steady her even as the urge to launch into a tirade of curse words overtook him. Turning towards his grandfather, he snarled and the other man promptly rolled his eyes. "Do you mind?"

Paedar raised an eyebrow and for one reason or another looked behind him. "You're okay." He spoke over his shoulder as he searched for something out of his own sight and then turned back towards his grandson. "Finish up yer little mating time," The words were harsh but the tone was slightly apologetic. "And come join us."

"I don't need your permission to mate." Inuyasha ground out as Kagome turned a lovely shade of purple and hid her face in his chest while mumbling something about wanting the floor to swallow her whole.

The older man surprisingly smiled at Inuyasha words. "I know." He agreed and his shoulders relaxed in a way that gave Inuyasha pause. Inuyasha watched the man's face as Paedar sent him a taxed look, tired and well beyond his youthful years. "You can't stop pups from growing, can ya?" He asked no one in particular and before Inuyasha could response disappeared from the hallway, leaving a puzzled Inuyasha and an embarrassed Kagome behind.

End of Chapter

Please Review

A/N: I find it fun to write Inuyasha when he is with his grandfathers. He is such a dominating character that it is entertaining to see him when he is not allowed to be dominating. When grandpa comes to town he has to be a 'beta,' lol. Still, it seems that Paedar does realize that Inuyasha is an alpha of his own pack and gives him some of that authority (to a degree). Sesshoumaru on the other hand, just doesn't have a say in any of it. Poor Sesshoumaru…

Anyway, this chapter was more of a break before we get into the down and dirty finale. Think of it as some of our comic relief mixed in with a bit of plot. I hope you enjoyed poor Inuyasha's misfortunes, they were so much fun to write.

Thank you for reviewing! I have taken into consideration what you have said and now will do what must based on those picks regardless of happiness or not. I do assure you, it will be wonderful either way. I will inform everyone at the end what the three choices represented.

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UNEDITED

POSTED

4/30/2015