High up in the cold mountain ranges, glittering eyes watched a lone figure plow through the deepening snow. Movingly slowly to avoid a fall, the poor man huddled further into his clothes as he made his way up the treacherous mountain pass. The howling winds and thick flurries of ice hid stealthy movements as fluid forms followed him closely. A few of these wraiths glided behind age-twisted trees and worn boulders, easily keeping pace with the plodding man. Fear flavored the air with delicious pungency when the fur wrapped figure glimpsed a darting shadow from the corner of his eye.

The phantoms reveled in the snatches of tremulous babbling they could hear from the prey. It was like the bleating of lambs trying to convince themselves that the lightning fast death stalking them wasn't really there.

Delightful.

A large slice of ragged moonlight given form broke away, rushing out to daringly graze the back of the man's legs. His cry of terror brought fresh amusement. Flashing milk-white canines were lost in the all encompassing blanket of ice, but were rendered no less deadly for their invisibility.

Soon, the feast would begin.

Cresting the last peak, the man took a moment to try and make out the fading sunset through the storm, as if valiantly seeking some fond memory to take with him into the cave ahead. He was denied even that. Thick, dreary clouds continued to spit out their icy charges, foiling his desire.

With an air of one resigned to the will of the gods, he turned and entered the mouth of the cave to deliver his message. A tide of heat and the musk of foreign bodies assailed him, but he didn't turn back. Like the heavens, he had a task to fulfill. Sleek bodies flooded the entrance behind him, cutting off any means of escape. It was a wasted gesture. He had known what was in store for him when he'd learned of his duty that morning.

Deliver a letter to the Ookami no Taisho, Gorotsuki.

Moving over the rocky floor with a composure he didn't feel, the young man reached into his heavy coat and withdrew a heavy, embellished cylinder. Bowing after he had handed over the tightly rolled scroll, the emissary stepped away from the dais and removed his coat and fur coverings. Beneath it, his young body was unclothed and unblemished. He had been washed and purified earlier, but the trek had coated him with a fine layer of sweat. It made him shiver as a gust of frigid air blew across his skin.

Wet snuffles and howls filled the chamber, causing his already chilled blood to freeze solid. However, he still had one last task to complete. Lying down on the discarded clothing, he withdrew a short knife from a pocket of the fur wrap. Stiff fingers flexed as they tightened around the hilt. He was ready.

Eager whimpers caressed his frozen skin right before his plunged the chilled metal into his own throat. Poison would have been swifter, but it was not allowed. Gouts of his life-blood poured forth across the fur piled beneath him and he fell over, watching the phantoms closing in with dying eyes. As he felt the razor sharp teeth tear into the flesh of his arms and legs, he regretted that death did not claim him quickly enough to avoid the agony of his end. It came for him swiftly enough that the pain was only an unpleasant flash.

Seated on his fur-lined throne, Gorotsuki watched his pack feed with utter disinterest. After all, was it not good manners to send a gift along with an invitation?

{}

"Here, use this." Clothing rustled as it was moved aside.

"Thank you." Moist slipping sounds arose momentarily, followed by relieved moans.

Outside the little cottage a small child played happily with a new toy ball. Sunlight shone warm and gentle on each blade of grass, forming a verdant carpet filled with wild flowers. Laughing as he caught his new blue ball yet again, Shippo's nose wrinkled as he caught a familiar and tangy cool scent.

'Been gay?' Hopping over to the windowsill, he peeked in on his mother and aunt, from whom the smell was originating. 'What's wrong now?' Wide blue eyes watched as his 'mother' squeezed some more minty smelling cream into her hand and rubbed it over the neck and shoulders of the young woman seated before her. 'Gee, I wonder what happened to auntie Kuroi this time?'

The siren call of his new toy couldn't be ignored though, so with one last curious look, he hopped away to continue playing.

Back inside the room, the young lady in question gingerly pulled her pale blue robe back over herself. Stiff shoulders had originally made that small act seem like the torture of the damned, but thanks to her new sister's creams, it was achieved with far less agony.

"Thanks again Kagome, I really appreciate this." Shifting around, she held her hand out for the bottle.

Kagome gave it over gladly. "No problem. Usually I have to wait until Sango comes by, but now that you're living here, I don't have to wait so long." With a relieved sigh, she pulled away the top of her kimono to allow the other girl access to her shoulders.

Another burst of mint filled the air with soothing coolness and Kagome allowed herself to relax as the unguent relieved sore muscles. 'Oh, this is nice. Too bad it'll be over soon.' Sighing with heartfelt regret, she wondered how much longer she would have her new sister around.

It had been a little over two months since she and Inuyasha had been married. Kuroi and his brother Sesshomaru had been wed two weeks before them. Since that time, the couple had found themselves temporarily evicted from their home as Sesshomaru's father, Lord Yamatsu, made room for his newly extended family after wedding Kuroi's adopted mother Shinaki. Twenty or more youkai, hanyou and human children had managed to fill even the regal mansion to the hilt.

Kuroi had considered moving into her old home, but that wasn't an option. Shinaki's old house was now being occupied by her eldest son Kiso and his new bride Midori, as well as her sisters Ki and Aka, who all happened to have been Kuroi's former hand maidens.

'Who needs television? It's enough like a twisted soap opera around here as it is.' the wry thought brought a giggle to her smiling face. 'And Inuyasha almost had a cow when I offered the newlyweds our spare room.' As a finger slid across a particularly sore spot, Kagome hissed and felt that the joke was on her in the long run.
Silently, Kuroi's thoughts were running along the same lines. 'If we don't leave soon, he's going to kill me with pleasure.' Finished with the massage, she wiped the excess on a rag and took a seat on the edge of the bed. Both girls sat there in the sunlit room, shrouded in a companionable silence as the medicated lotion worked it relaxing magic. They broke it at the same time.

"We have to do something about them."

Blinking, they gaped at each other in surprise and then laughed. As the decidedly bolder girl of the two, Kuroi was blushing only a little compared to Kagome's full crimson flood. Clearing her throat to allow her little sister a moment to compose herself, Kuroi got right to the point.

"I love Koinu and Sessy, but if we don't do something about them soon…"

"They're going to love us to death. Yeah, I know." Still red, Kagome nodded her head in quick agreement.

Nibbling on her lower lip, Kagome shifted stormy blue eyes to the floor. "I thought they would have made up better than this. Sesshomaru isn't like he used to be and Inuyasha is a lot more mellow, so this doesn't make any sense to me."

Kuroi snorted rudely, "You are a little naïve if you can't tell a pissing contest when you're in one." Rolling her head around on her shoulders to test her range of movement, she echoed Kagome's earlier hiss when something protested. The bed shivered as she fell back with a groan. "Baka boys, both of them."

Kagome stretched out next to her, laying on her side to accommodate the growing swell of her stomach. "Yeah, they're idiots. The question is can we survive until they grow up?"

Each girl was referring to the increasingly disturbing habit their husbands were displaying. Mainly, making love to their wives until they were catatonic from bliss. Kagome wondered if it was possible to die from a blush. If so, she knew she was about to set a precedence.

Stuttering while focusing her eyes on a spot on the wall, she said brightly, "Not that I m-mind s-s-se…what we do. It's just that with the twins and everything, I don't think s-s-se…doing something like that so vigorously is good for the babies." Still watching that spot, she asked shyly, "What do you think Kuroi?"

Hooded eyes slid over to watch her heated face. "I think that a woman who's pregnant with twins should be able to say sex without looking like a cherry tomato." Wry humor colored the teasing reply. "However, I agree. Koinu should pace it out a bit and if Sesshomaru doesn't as ease up well, I'm going to die screaming my brains out." A wistful smile touched her lips while ice blue eyes turned dreamy with pleasant memories, "Although I can't think of a better way to go…"

She glanced over as the embarrassed heat rolled off of her sister in waves. Kagome was still red, and darkening by the minute. A quick poke in the ribs drained the color away. Swatting the offending finger away, Kagome rubbed the ticklish spot. "Stop Kuroi! I'm serious. Why are the guys like this?"

"Pack behavior." Turning over on her side to fully face her friend, Kuroi scowled in annoyance. "This house belongs to you and Inu. Everything within three or five miles of here Koinu probably marked as his territory. For Sessy, it's like being in a gilded cage." Waving her hand to indicate the low wooden bed they reclined on, she looked sad. "It's nice, but it isn't his. Even the bed we make love on was touched or marked by Inu at some point since he's the one who built it."

Seeing the look of disbelief on Kagome's face, Kuroi sighed and sat up. "Look Kagome. We love our husbands and despite how human they physically appear to be…" a delicious shiver made her tingle when another unbidden memory of unclothed moonlit glory surfaced. Touching her mouth, she murmured distractedly, "So nicely human…"

Kagome coughed sharply, snapping her attention back to the point she'd been trying to make. "Where was I? Oh. Nice, yeah. Despite how gorgeous they look, they still have dog tendencies." Kuroi cut off a protest with a finger. "You are the alpha female, Inu is the alpha male. Here."

A hand waved in a general direction past the open window, "At the mansion, Sesshomaru was okay with being the second in command because Lord Yamatsu was such a strong leader that he didn't mind. But here is different."

Cradling her head in her hand, she closed her eyes. "His youkai side tells him that he should by right be the alpha because he's stronger and older than Inu. But his heart and mind is telling him that this is his brother's house, and to respect that fact. I'm pretty sure it's eating him up a little inside."

Kagome mulled over the presented facts. The theory made sense, but it still didn't explain the escalating levels of delight she and her sister in law were being subjected to. "So what's that have to do with us?"

A calloused hand reached over and rubbed her slightly rounded belly as Kuroi smiled at her brightly. "They're morons sis. We can't hear each other at night, but you know that's no problem for their senses. Our beloved spouses are basically trying to see who can pleasure their mate the best!"

Oh, she knew the blush was going to kill her this time.

{}

"Dodge and then throw." A wave of light ripped up the ground, sending clods of earth and shattered stone everywhere. The speaker shook his head sadly at the display. "No, dip your head a little lower and then throw the Kaze no Kizu Inuyasha."

"I'm trying dickhead, so lay off!" Throaty growls accompanied the heated retort. Gripping the sword handle tighter, Inuyasha tucked his head lower against his shoulders and swung. This time, the blades of light from the tetsuaiga cleaved wide, neatly spaced furrows across the earth.

Sesshomaru gave a slight smile. "Very nice, very nice. A few more swings like that will finish the job." Obliging, Inuyasha created more scores in the earth beside the previous ones. When he stepped back, a neatly plowed square of dirt stared back.

"That should be deep enough for Kagome to plant her herbs now." Kneeling to examine a row, Sesshomaru let the dark rich soil slide through his alabaster fingers. "Hmm, this should definitely do it." He turned warm yellow eyes to regard his scowling little brother. "You should be proud Inuyasha."

"Of what, playing in the dirt? This is such a fucking waste of time." He huffed and went to sit beneath a large tree, folding red clad legs beneath him.

Pressing slender fingers to his temple, Sesshomaru followed. "Little brother, helping your wife is not a waste of time." Beautiful features arranged themselves into a stoic mask, and then slid back to humorous resignation. "You wouldn't want her to try and dig that whole plot on her own, would you?"

"Fuck no! She should just let me do it for her." A hot curse fell out of his mouth. His brother had gotten him again. "Okay, okay. I'd have been doing it one way or another." Sheathing his blade with more force than needed, he still muttered irritably, "I just don't see why I needed to use the damned sword to do it."

"Because you need the practice." Taking a seat beside his sibling, Sesshomaru rested against the trunk of the tree, looking out over the recently plowed field. His own white haori and hakama mirrored his brother's red ones, except that he'd only recently started wearing them. With a touch of regret, he noted that he could no longer smell the perfume of the woman who'd made it for him so long ago. 'Do I have to say good bye to you yet again Ukiyo?'

Sadness darkened his tawny eyes, so he looked to the clear sky overhead, silently pleading for her forgiveness. The warm light played over his face like the caress of ghostly fingers. 'She wouldn't want this. She'd want us to be happy.' Silver hair caught and reflected the dancing shafts of sunlight filtering through the leaves, lending a sublime quality to the reclining youkai.

Despite his harsh tone, Inuyasha found himself gaping in honest wonder. 'Sometimes, he doesn't seem real. He's too freaking perfect.' When Sesshomaru glanced his way, he averted his eyes. Hiding a rising flush behind thick white bangs, he focused on the field before them instead. "I can handle myself just fine. I don't need any coddling." The gentle flitting of cool fingers over one ear made him flinch away.

Hurt shone faintly behind sun colored eyes. "When have I ever coddled you little brother?" The words were as soft as the touch had been. Unsure of how to respond, Inuyasha could only stare. 'Sometimes I wish he was the way he used to be. At least that I could understand.' Instead, he got up and walked away.

Troubled eyes watched him leave. 'This is proving harder than I thought.' But what could he expect after all these years of taunting and ridiculing his younger sibling for his very existence? A pale hand marked with wine red stripes brushed aside flowing silver hair. "Just a little trust is too much to ask, I know this. But it still hurts when he looks at me like that."

In stories and fairy tales it was always so easy. A kiss was given, a curse was lifted and everyone lived happily ever. A delicate snort sounded as firm lips drew up in a depreciative grimace. "Bullshit." His brother was twitchy as hell when he came around and the little pack of friends Inuyasha had, treated him with polite caution at best.

A hand grazed his shoulder before two arm wrapped lovingly around him. "Hi koi." the soothing voice brought him out of his dreary mood.

Grinning widely, he pulled the soft body to him for a thorough kiss. "Hi yourself Kuroi." Kissing her again, he drew back when she stiffened with a small sound. Slender brows furrowed in a frown. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Too much sparring." A tug on a snowy lock elicited a smile. "I came to deliver a message." Bright and clear as the sky overhead, Kuroi's eyes danced with a teasing light.

Intrigued, he nuzzled the side of her neck, "And what, may I ask, is the message?"

Angling her head so that her lips ran lightly along one pointed ear, she whispered huskily into it. At her words, his eyes widened as his heart froze with a fear too vast for any man to ever have to face.