Chapter One: Tragedy Strikes
An intense pain fill his consciousness and he groaned softly against the sudden white light that appeared behind his eyelids. Sesshoumaru blinked them rapidly, and allowed a moan to escape his lips. Everything was wrong, and he shifted his eyes to the side to see where he was. Somehow he was able to make out a few shadows and they grew larger, making him groan. To him the shadows were outlined by a bright white light, and somehow that didn't make any sense, so he closed his eyes again.
Someone spoke to him, but the words were muffled. Opening his eyes, he winced as the light brightened for a moment, and then the room was shrouded in a calming shield of darkness. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but his throat was raw.
He was lifted slowly, and something touched his lips, and he thankfully gulped down as much of the cooling liquid as they permitted him to. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his head to look closely at the shadows, and saw them to be doctors or nurses, dressed all in white. Frowning, he blinked again, allowing another groan to escape his lips.
"Easy, now." Someone said to his right, and he nodded.
"Try to take it easy, you've had a rough haul." Another voice followed the other one.
Confused, he stared at them, trying to remember what had happened, and it suddenly came back full force and his mouth fell open in remembrance. Trying to sit up, he was held down firmly, and more voices filled the air.
He struggled against their tight grips, and eventually pain won out, making him fall back against the bed panting from exertion. Swallowing against the onslaught of this abnormal feeling, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and moaned. A voice in the distance made his eyes snap open and he turned his head, seeking out the owner of that voice.
"Inu…yasha." He gasped softly, his voice barely a whisper.
His brother heard him without any troubles and stumbled into the room with two crutches, and a large white cast covering his left leg from the hip down. A large white bandage wrapped around Inuyasha's head, and two golden eyes surrounded in black rings met his. Blinking, Sesshoumaru gasped at his brother's condition, and furrowed his eyes.
A large gash curved around his younger brother's nose, stitched together in black thread. One of his ears lay flat on his head from another cut, which had cleanly sliced through it. His face was black and blue, along with his left side, indicating where the shoulder belt had been. Inuyasha's torso was also covered in black bruises, and the boy had tears in his eyes. The mouth hung open in sobs, and tears ran down his cheeks as he hobbled into the room.
Once again Sesshoumaru tried to get up, but the hands continued to hold him down. Glaring at them, he barred his teeth and snarled furiously.
Inuyasha finally made it to his bed and the young boy dropped the crutches and fell against the bed sobbing uncontrollably. "Sess!" He wailed.
"I'm here." He whispered, lifting his right hand and placing it on his brother's head, slowly stroking the tangled and matted silver hair. There were spots of faded blood stained into the fine silver strands, which had not been able to come clean from the spot washing, and Sesshoumaru moaned as the effort to move made his left side ache considerably.
Turning his head, he inspected his left side, and his mouth fell open at the wads of white gauze that surrounded his arm. The rest of his arm was under the white sheets, or so he thought, when he made to lift his arm, and discovered it lifted without effort. The pain intensified as he lifted his arm in horror, and his eyes widened in terror. Where was the rest of his arm?
The white gauze ran from his shoulder to just above the elbow, the rest of his arm was gone. Horrified, he lifted his gaze to the doctors for answers.
"I'm sorry sir, we had to remove your arm. It was mangled beyond repair." One tried to explain, and Sesshoumaru swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.
Inuyasha sobbed harder into the white sheets, and Sesshoumaru turned his head back to his little brother confused. Why was his brother crying so hard over his loss of arm? Shaking his head, he immediately knew it was something more. Narrowing his eyes, he once again turned to face the doctors.
They stared at him long and hard, before succumbing to his intense glare, and finally one stepped forward nervously.
"Sir." The doctor began, swallowing.
"Tell me!" Sesshoumaru demanded in a loud snarl.
"Well, the accident was serious. A drunk driver totaled the limo, mostly crushed the left side of the car, sending it right into a street pole. There were…"
Sesshoumaru ground his teeth together, his blood running cold in his veins.
Inuyasha choked on a sob and cried harder. "Haha, chichi…"
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. "Explain!" He snapped.
"I'm sorry sir, but Lady Souske and Mr. Souske both succumbed to their injuries."
Sesshoumaru's breath stilled in his chest, and his whole body froze up. The blood seemed to seep from his face and his chest, leaving him cold all over. Swallowing, he nodded.
"The two young ladies that were also in the car, sir."
Sesshoumaru clenched his eyes shut.
"Young Kikyo died early this morning, and the Lady Kagura has still yet to regain consciousness."
"Kagura…she's still alive?" Sesshoumaru gasped.
"Sir, she is in critical condition. It's a lucky thing either of you survived. You gave us quite the scare sir. A few times, you did. You were in a coma for just over a week, and your brother almost died."
Swallowing, Sesshoumaru nodded, and closed his eyes.
"Sir?"
"Enough!" Sesshoumaru snapped, causing even Inuyasha to jump. He continued to stroke his brother's hair gently, trying to ease the sobs, but nothing seemed to get through to his little brother. "Leave." He commanded, and to his great surprise the room emptied immediately, leaving Inuyasha and him alone.
"Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru whispered.
"Haha, and chichi…Sessho, what are we going to do?" Inuyasha lifted his face, looking much like a raccoon then an Inu hanyou, and Sesshoumaru struggled to a sitting position.
"Climb up." Sesshoumaru patted the spot beside him. Inuyasha struggled onto the bed awkwardly, hefting the cast up last. The hanyou pretty much pulled himself up onto the bed, and curled up against Sesshoumaru's chest. "It'll be okay, little brother. We'll think of something."
Inuyasha nodded and sniffed, slowly falling asleep as his brother ran his fingers through his silver hair, untangling it in areas. They were alone now, but if they stuck together, they had to make it through this tragedy, right? Sucking in his breath sharply, Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes to the ceiling, thinking about what they were going to do.
Without their father, the company would fall. Their mother's restaurant would also be left unattended. Being the oldest, Sesshoumaru knew the responsibility would fall to him, but would he be allowed to? Scowling, he realized that not only did he have two businesses to run now, he had his little brother to look out for, and school to tend. Moaning, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and allowed the drugs, which slowly dripped through the tube into his arm, to finally take over.
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He felt his brother shift beside him, and his eyes flew open in renewed pain. Gasping, Sesshoumaru snapped open his eyes and groaned softly. Inuyasha's face came into view and an apologetic look crossed the boy's face.
"Ah, I'm sorry Sessho." Inuyasha swallowed.
Sesshoumaru shook his head, blinking back the tears of pain that filled his golden eyes. "Iie. It's fine."
"You slept a long time, brother." Inuyasha rubbed his eyes.
"Hnn. How long?" Sesshoumaru sucked in his breath through his teeth, causing a hissing noise to sound. The pain that flooded his senses sent his body into a state of shock, sending shooting needles through his body.
"All day, and all night, and all this morning." Inuyasha lowered his head, and played with the hard cast. "Want me to get someone?"
"Stop playing with it, and no, I'll be fine." Sesshoumaru tilted his head back against the pillow and sighed.
"How long do you think they will keep us here?" Inuyasha asked softly, turning his head to his brother.
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I'm assuming until we heal."
A knock at the door brought both brothers' head towards it, and they shared a brief look before Sesshoumaru called out permission to enter. The door swung open and three police walked in.
One stepped forward, while the other two pulled up some chairs setting them near the bed. "Sir?"
Inuyasha turned his head to face Sesshoumaru nervously, and Sesshoumaru nodded to both. "What do you want?"
"Sir, we have come to inform you that the drunk driver has recovered from his wounds."
"I don't care what happens to him." Sesshoumaru snapped.
"We also have come to let you know that Kagura's father has filed a suit against you and your family." The cops sat down near the bed, and Inuyasha shied away.
"A suit against us? Why?" Sesshoumaru felt his world spin for a moment in fear.
"Yes sir."
"And did you inform the girl's father that we were not at fault in the accident?"
The first cop nodded. "We did sir, but he feels he has due cause to file a suit against you as well. He informed us that your family was irresponsible and failed to protect his daughter.
Sesshoumaru snarled, and struggled to sit up, managing to pull himself into an upright position. "Irresponsible? Ridiculous!" Sesshoumaru made to reach over for the glass on the nightstand to his left and growled when he rediscovered his arm was missing. Shooting a glare in the cop's direction, he snapped. "His daughter is alive, and well?"
"She is sir. However she has yet to awaken from her coma."
"Tell him he may continue this façade as he desires, but he will not have an easy haul. I will fight him fang and claw through the court system if required. He will not get a cent from my family." Sesshoumaru growled.
Two of the cops backed away at the angry brother, and the first one shook his head. "The other matter is you two."
"What of it?" Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose, turning his eyes slightly at the glass of water out of his reach.
"You are both under age, and both your parents are deceased."
Sesshoumaru turned his glare to the cop slowly. "What of it?"
"Well if the courts are involved sir, you will more then likely be send to foster care."
"Ridiculous! There is no way anyone will separate Inuyasha or myself from each other. I am old enough to take care of the family." Sesshoumaru snarled.
"Sir, you are only sixteen years of age." The officer shook his head sadly.
"In human years. I am older then that in youkai years. There have been cases when an older brother has tended the family. I am the older brother and will take care of this on my own. Call my father's lawyers, and send them here!" Sesshoumaru said angrily.
The cops nodded and quickly slipped from the room silently.
The two brothers waited until the door closed behind the cops, before Inuyasha turned to stare at his brother. "You're going to take over?"
Sesshoumaru groaned. "Of course I am, you baka. Let's wait to hear what the lawyers say, okay?"
Inuyasha nodded slowly. "Sess?"
Sesshoumaru turned to look at his brother.
"What are we going to do? I don't want to go away."
"Don't worry, we'll think of something. Father left a will, he wasn't stupid enough not to. As I said, let's wait for the lawyers."
It was late afternoon when the lawyers finally arrived. Sesshoumaru recognized them both immediately, and he sighed in relief when they entered.
"Toutousai, Bokusenou." Sesshoumaru nodded towards the two youkai who entered. Both were tall, and looked ready for business. Toutousai had his hair bound at the nape of his neck and his blue eyes flashed with purpose. Bokusenou was slightly shorter, and his brown hair was short and neatly placed.
Inuyasha looked over and smiled slightly at the two who he also recognized.
Bokusenou sighed and pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down while Toutousai placed a briefcase onto the night stand on the left side of the bed, and lifted the glass without a word passing it to Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru smirked and gripped the glass in his right hand, gulping the liquid wordlessly. Inuyasha stared at his brother and gawked. "You should have said something, baka."
Bokusenou shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well shall we get down to business?"
Toutousai nodded, and pulled out an envelope addressed to the two boys. "Inside this, there is a letter for each one of you, plus a letter addressed to you both."
Bokusenou pulled out a folder and held it in his lap. "Your father had these revised several times throughout the years. As you both are well aware, your father owned a growing company, which he established when your mother was still alive, Sesshoumaru. It was left in your name Sesshoumaru. He believed in your ability to run this company and thus has given you full power over it. Due to your age however, we can always hire someone to run it while you finish school." He opened the folder and pulled out several papers. "Your father and Lady Izayoi left the restaurant to Inuyasha. Both are growing companies, and are flourishing."
Toutousai nodded. "Mr. Souske and Lady Souske left the house to you both, as well as a hefty sum to run both businesses and the household. In the letters your father requests that you sell the house and move to another location. As you are well aware, your father was a powerful youkai, known to many as the Lord of Western Japan."
Bokusenou continued without missing a beat. "When he was younger, he was known as the Lord of the Western Lands, and is well known in this age. He had many enemies."
Toutousai sighed. "Regardless of that, starting out somewhere new will probably be the best for the both of you. The lord also requested that you change your last names for the time being to that of your mother's maiden name Sesshoumaru. It was not known among the enemies your father had, and therefore will prevent any threats made to you both. Lady Izayoi's maiden name was well known so he ruled that one out."
Bokusenou nodded in agreement. "Mr. Souske also left all his possessions to you both, giving detailed information as to what goes to who, and so forth. He also requests, Sesshoumaru that you continue with school so that you may run his company fully. You are entrusted with Inuyasha and the establishments until Inuyasha is of an age to take over."
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru shared a look before nodding. "So what will happen to us?"
Toutousai and Bokusenou shared a look and nodded before responding. "You will have two people who will watch out for you both, retainers if you will, until you are of an age to fully take advantage of what your father had. Inuyasha was granted Myoga and Sesshoumaru is granted Jaken."
The brothers rolled their eyes and grunted. "Those two?" They groaned together, and then shared a look knowingly and chuckled.
"We have filed a suit against the drunk driver, and have a court date set up." Bokusenou informed.
"What about this Naraku who has filed suit against us?" Sesshoumaru asked.
The two lawyers nodded. "Indeed. Nothing will come of this. The courts knew your father well, and so you both are not held responsible for what happened. What will eventually happen is the suit will turn and fall into the drunk drivers lap and nothing will come of the suit that was placed on you both. Besides that, there is plenty of money for the both of you."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "The money is nothing. I could care less about it."
Toutousai smiled knowingly. "Indeed. So what would you two like to do?"
"Well how long are we suppose to remain here?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously.
"You both will be released by tomorrow. If your injuries are still bothering you, a private nurse will be sent to aid you. A therapist will be sent to you Sesshoumaru, to aid you with the lack of limb. If you wish it, we can order a prosthetic arm."
"Ridiculous! Forget it. I'll learn to live without it."
"Very well. Later tonight, your names will be changed to Chidori and you will be given instructions from there." Toutousai informed.
"So there are threats against us already?" Sesshoumaru asked frowning.
"None as of yet. No news has been granted in the deaths of Mr. Souske and Mrs. Souske. No one is aware of this yet." Bokusenou informed them. "As far as anyone is concerned, they are only aware of the accident, and the doctor's here have been given strict orders to keep quiet, or heads will roll."
"Literally." Toutousai finished.
"Toutousai?"
The lawyer glanced over at the older brother and waited patiently.
"Place the house up for sale, keep what possessions you believe we will require, and find another house for us." Sesshoumaru instructed.
Toutousai nodded with a sharp understanding, and wrote it down in his notebook. "Consider it done. Anything else?"
Sesshoumaru glanced at his brother. "Is there anything in particular you want to keep?"
Inuyasha nodded. "A few things actually."
Toutousai waited patiently, his pen held still above the paper.
"There was one thing that father gave to my mother." Inuyasha began.
"The fire rat robe?"
Inuyasha looked up and nodded. "Can I…can I have it?" The younger boy looked pleadingly at his brother.
Sesshoumaru nodded without a word.
Bokusenou smiled slightly. "Anything else?"
"My…" Inuyasha flushed. "My…"
The two lawyers blinked at him, and Sesshoumaru raised a single brow.
"My bear…" Inuyasha whispered very softly.
Toutousai nodded and scribbled it down on the paper.
Sesshoumaru rubbed his brother on the head chuckling. "That old thing?"
Inuyasha frowned and nodded, his face a brighter shade of red.
The two lawyers glanced at Sesshoumaru waiting to see if he would add anything.
"I ask for three things I think should be kept with the family. One is Tenseiga. Two is Tessaiga, and the other is my father's laptop. Event though he had a password, I'm certain he had information on it that he wished for no one to gain access to."
The lawyers nodded and stood making ready to leave. "Whatever else we can come across, we will have sent over to a new house which will be ready for you boys by tomorrow. You will both be registered in a local school and things will be set into motion."
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha nodded, both looking at one another sadly for a moment. They had not asked for this turn of events, or for this secrecy, but Toutousai and Bokusenou obviously felt it was required and so they went along with it.
"As of right now, you will keep your last name of Souske, until you leave and go to your new home." Toutousai said before he closed the door, leaving the two brothers' in the room.
Inuyasha then glanced at Sesshoumaru. "Is it really necessary to hide?"
Sesshoumaru shrugged. "They seem to think so."
"I miss Haha." Inuyasha whispered.
"What about Chichiue?"
Inuyasha's eyes widened and he nodded frantically. "Yes, of course I miss chichi."
Sesshoumaru smirked. "I know, I was only teasing."
"I can't believe Haha left me the restaurant. I thought that would all be left to you." Inuyasha sighed.
Sesshoumaru snorted. "You've been bussing there since you turned fourteen, Inuyasha. Obviously, she thought you could handle the place."
Inuyasha grinned. "So, I'm the boss?"
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Not yet, you aren't. I'm not giving you that power yet. First things first though, you have to finish school. Besides that, I was given watch over both until you are of an age to run it yourself."
"You're only sixteen. What makes you so much better?" Inuyasha scoffed.
"I never said I was, otouto. All I'm saying is we are both too young to run these businesses fully. I'm certain that we will have help."
Inuyasha nodded, and sighed. "I want to go home now. I don't want to be cooped up in here any more."
Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement, and glanced at his bandaged arm.
"Does it hurt, lots?" Inuyasha asked softly, his eyes following Sesshoumaru's.
"Of course it does. How about I cut off your arm, and you can experience it first hand?" Sesshoumaru snorted, glancing at his brother with a smirk.
Inuyasha held up his hands and shook his head. "I'll pass, thanks."