Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha or any of Rumiko Takahashi's other characters.

Chapter 16

Last time:

Inuyasha crumpled the paper in his hand and frowned at the black cord on his wrist. Some of the words he didn't understand, but he did get the gist of it. So, Sesshomaru wanted to play nice now? Pretty words on paper meant nothing from a guy who had pretended some demon was his mother in order to get a sword. And why the hell had it taken him five hundred years to come to this conclusion? Certainly there had to have been an opportunity or two before now for them to reconcile.

This was his chance, though. The chance to confront his brother about how he had treated him. And maybe, just maybe, it really was his chance to have the brother he had always dreamed of having.

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When Inuyasha finally stretched and hopped down from the limb, the sun had already and set and the moon was rising high in the sky. After carefully tucking his messages deep within the folds of his fire rat, he raced through the forest and down the well.

Things in Kagome's house were pretty subdued, so Inuyasha bypassed the usual entrances and went straight to Kagome's window. Her lamp was on and she lay beneath the covers of her bed with one of her schoolbooks halfway over her face. Inuyasha smirked at hearing the soft snoring from beneath the book. Some studying.

He wasn't sure why she wore herself out like that. She tried so hard to keep up with her studies in this world, while she did such important and dangerous work with the Shikon no Tama in his own. Inuyasha admired her for it, but at the same time he wished she would just stop pushing herself so hard. This school thing couldn't be so important that it couldn't wait. He sighed. But it was important to her.

Deciding against the rude awakening he had planned, Inuyasha lifted the book and gently laid it on her desk. He then caressed her cheek and smoothed the hair away from her face. Kagome smiled softly in her sleep and murmured his name. The sound tugged at his heart and brought a smile to his face. Gently, he pulled her blanket up to her chin. Her soft lips opened and closed slightly as she turned her head and nestled more comfortably into her pillow.

Unable to resist, Inuyasha bent and brushed a kiss to her lips. Her scent filled his senses and set his heart to racing even faster. Not trusting himself if he remained this close to her, Inuyasha retreated and slumped down against her bed. He could tell her in the morning about Sesshomaru's request.

xxx

"So, your brother asked you to meet with him?" Kagome took another bite of her breakfast and looked expectantly at Inuyasha.

He frowned. "Yeah, and I need you to take me to him. You know how to get to him, right?"

Kagome nodded, then glanced at the clock. "I can take you before I go to school, and then meet you later. Unless you need me to go with you?"

"Feh, you go do your studying and what you need to do," Inuyasha told her, tapping her backpack with his claw. "I can handle Sesshomaru."

"Are you really going to take Tetsusaiga?" she asked.

"Of course. I don't care what pretty words he puts on paper, he's still a clever bastard and I don't trust him."

"He's different now. I don't think you need to worry," Kagome told him with a soft laugh.

Inuyasha slammed his palm against the table. "He pretended she was my mother! He tried to kill you more than once. He just fucking sat me for five minutes! If he had really changed, he would have done it long before now! Or else he better have a damn good reason for why he didn't."

Kagome put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Inuyasha. He has known where I live for just as long. He didn't kill me as a child, or attack you on your first trip through the well. He paid for my hospital expenses when that demon attacked me. He runs orphanages and even invited you to his wedding.

"I know he has done some despicable things in the past, but please, be better than your brother. Don't let it take five hundred years for you to swallow your pride."

Inuyasha calmed and glared at the table. "Oh, I'm better than him all right. And I'm still taking Tetsusaiga."

"Are we there yet?" Inuyasha groused as they passed yet another tall, smelly building that looked exactly like the many they had passed already.

"We would have been there already," Kagome peevishly pointed out, "if you had left Tetsusaiga at home and not gotten us kicked out of the underground station with that wonderful display of violence. I'm gonna be late for school, I hope you know."

Inuyasha sniffed. It wasn't his fault that man had tried to take the pieces of paper Kagome spent five minutes waiting in line to buy. She should have explained sooner that that was a ticket the man was supposed to take, if she didn't want him to jump to her defense. Like he'd ever let anyone steal from his Kagome.

"Here, this is the building," Kagome said, pointing at a set of double doors identical to the last fifty he had seen.

Inuyasha couldn't detect any trace of his brother's scent, though. He glanced at the black cord on his wrist. The flimsy thing that Sesshomaru said masked their scents and auras. It worked, he knew, because he had been looking in the mirror when he activated the thing. It was so odd to not see his ears and fangs and claws, but still have use of all those abilities. It was just a little hard to believe such a simple thing could do so much.

Kagome slipped her hand into his and squeezed softly. "His office is on the tenth floor. Are you sure you don't want me to stay? I know he wouldn't hurt you, but just for moral support, you know?"

"Keh, I can handle this," he told her. "Just show me where his office is. I can't track his scent because of his damn charm. I still don't see how these things work."

Kagome giggled. "Don't worry. Just don't deactivate it on accident and you'll be fine."

She led him through the doors and over to what she called an elevator. Inuyasha fidgeted nervously the entire trip. It was one thing to jump into a tree, or fly on Kirara's back. It was another thing completely to let a strange box lift you slowly up some narrow tunnel in a human-made mountain. Though he said nothing, he was extremely grateful for the gentle pressure from Kagome's hand, her silent reassurance that all would be well.

They finally exited and walked to the end of yet another corridor. It wasn't nearly so crowded with humans, though he could smell them nearby. How did his brother stand to do this every day?

A squat, older woman with a harsh, pinched face glared up at them from behind a large desk. She guarded a door that said, "Daiginkeiko, Reizo" on it, and did not look very happy with their intrusion, her job, or life in general.

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman demanded in a very shrill, unpleasant voice.

Inuyasha winced. This human was worse that stupid toad his brother dragged around with him back in his time.

"Uh, no Ma'am, but Mr. Daiginkeiko will be expecting us," Kagome answered with forced politeness. If Kagome wasn't fond of this woman, she had to be bad. Kagome seemed to find good in everyone. "Inuyasha received a request for a meeting with him by mail."

The woman eyed Inuyasha disdainfully and straightened in her chair. "Children, I have been Mr. Daiginkeiko's secretary for ten years. I've known him since you were both too young to leave your mothers' sides. Now I have not been informed as to any meeting with an Inuyaso, or whoever you claim to be, so I suggest you leave before I call security and have you removed."

The woman blinked at them, obviously proud of her rant and her position of authority.

Inuyasha was far from impressed. He bent forward, towering over her, and snapped, "I don't give a damn who you are. You will tell that bast-" Kagome coughed loudly and kicked his shin, "-er, my brother, that I'm here and ready to talk, or I'll tear this place apart until I find him."

The secretary cowered back a bit, and licked her lips nervously. "Fine, he is in a very important meeting at the moment, and I'm sure he will not be pleased at the interruption, but I'll let you deal with the consequences." She continued to mutter under her breath as she lifted a phone and dialed. "I have never heard of Mr. Daiginkeiko having a brother in all my years as his secretary, but I do see a family resemblance in those tempers."

"Shut up and call him," Inuyasha snapped at her. She started in surprise and narrowed her eyes at him. Obviously, she had not expected to be overheard.

"Inuyasha, be polite, please," Kagome pleaded in a voice only he could hear.

"Mrs. Toyosawa, this had better be a life or death emergency for you to interrupt me during this meeting," Sesshomaru's smooth voice said from the telephone.

Mrs. Toyosawa gulped and glared at them again. "Forgive me, Mr. Daiginkeiko, but there are two youths here claiming they have a meeting with you."

"What youths?" they heard Sesshomaru ask.

"That young lady who has come here before and some young man claiming he is Inuyaso, your brother," Mrs. Toyosawa replied, giving them a smile that said, "you're in trouble now."

"Shall I have them escorted from the premises, sir?"

"You do that and I'll send you looking for another job, Mrs. Toyosawa. My brother is to be respected as is the girl. Have him wait in my office for me until I am done with this meeting. Inuyasha, wait in my office! I will be done here as quickly as I can."

"Yes, sir," Mrs. Toyosawa said and meekly settled the phone back on its receiver.

She folded her hand on the desk and cleared her throat. "Mr. Daiginkeiko says-"

"I know what he said," Inuyasha snapped. He opened the door with his brother's pseudonym on it, and flashed her a triumphant smirk.

"I'll see you after school, Inuyasha," Kagome told him. "I've got to go, though. I'm already late."

She waved at him, gave the secretary a smug look, then ran back down the hall to the elevator.

Inuyasha swept into his brother's office, looking at the décor with open curiosity. Mrs. Toyosawa was right on his heels. "Don't touch anything. You sit here and wait until Mr. Daiginkeiko returns."

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at her and then pointedly reached out and tipped over one of the picture frames on the desk. He smiled at the woman's frustrated snort and waited until she left the room to go around to the other side of the desk and set it back up.

He sniffed the air. Sesshomaru's scent heavily permeated the room. The youkai must deactivate the charm sometimes, when he was alone in here. Inuyasha sank awkwardly into the large chair behind the desk and settled Tetsusaiga on his lap. It pulsed once in reaction to Tenseiga's proximity, but Inuyasha ignored it for now. The items on the desk were much more interesting.

The picture in the frame he had knocked over was one of Rin. He lifted it for closer inspection. She stood in the center of a field of flowers with a crown of them on her head. It wasn't a portrait, either; it was an actual picture like one Kagome had. How had he gotten one of these?

Another picture, hidden behind that one, fell out as he handled the frame. Inuyasha lifted it and frowned. It was a picture of his brother, the old, er young Sesshomaru, dressed in his armor and usual kimono while Rin braided flowers into his long white hair. He had never seen his brother allow Rin such free reign with his person. Not when anyone was able to see, at least. Whoever had managed to witness that scene had to be extremely stupid. Or extremely sentimental, which was practically the same thing.

Inuyasha paled. Kagome! He was certain. She was the only one who would risk herself to do something like that. And he suspected a certain youkai had put her up to it, too. With a growl he tried to shove the picture back inside the frame, then gave up and just left it there when he couldn't. Now he had one more issue to discuss with his brother. If that bastard ever asked Kagome to do something for him that put her life in danger, he wouldn't hesitate to rip his throat out.

At that point, the secretary stuck her head inside the door. "Mr. Daiginkeiko will not appreciate your touching his things. He is very picky about his personal items."

"You got that right," Inuyasha told her, and smirked at her as he lifted a stack of papers at the corner and rifled through them.

The woman turned an interesting shade of red and stormed back to her own desk. Inuyasha chuckled and after a moment's consideration just dropped the papers down in front of him. It wasn't much, but rearranging the once immaculate area made him feel a bit better.

An hour later, Inuyasha had gone through all the pictures, even the ones hidden behind the others, emptied the file and heaped every paper he could find into a teetering stack in front of him, and was now extremely bored, nervous and increasingly irate. Here he was about to speak with Sesshomaru with nothing better to do than stew about all the grievances the youkai had committed against him over the years.

Inuyasha tried to relieve his frustration by kicking over a small wastebasket under his brother's desk. That only drew a frantic Mrs. Toyosawa into the office. She squawked at him for about five minutes, then stormed back out. Tetsusaiga pulsed on his lap yet again, and he snarled at the unruly fang. It had been doing that since he'd gotten there.

There was a responding quivering from the shelf above him, then suddenly stars exploded in front of his eyes. Cursing loudly, Inuyasha whirled to see Tenseiga on the floor, pulsing happily at Tetsusaiga.

Mrs. Toyosawa rushed in. "I told you not to touch-!"

"That's it!" Inuyasha roared, frightening the woman to silence. "Sesshomaru!"

The irate hanyou brushed past the bewildered secretary and back into the hall. He sniffed and turned to the left, in the direction of the strongest smell of humans. He ignored the surprised protests of various other humans along the way and flung open the door at the far end of this hall.

Inside, a group of men dressed in elegant black suits sat around a very long, tall table. They were speaking in hushed whispers while one young man stood at the front of the room addressing them. Everyone froze at the sudden intrusion, but Inuyasha didn't care. He scanned the room, his eyes widening when he saw Sesshomaru seated among the humans. He stared at Inuyasha with an enigmatic expression on his face.

Inuyasha quivered with rage. "You bastard!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at his brother. "You devious, underhanded," Inuyasha ignored the startled looks from the other men and stalked over to his brother. In one smooth motion, he drew his arm back, balled his fist and slammed it into his brother's jaw with enough force to shatter stone. "You leave me with that- that- insane woman for over an hour! Then you get your damn Tenseiga to attack me, while I'm trying not to kill her! I didn't think even you were low enough to do something like that."

Sesshomaru didn't flinch. He didn't try to dodge or make any move to acknowledge the blow. A small trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth. Without changing his expression in the slightest, he wiped the blood and said, "Are you quite finished, little brother? Was this not something you could have waited until after the meeting to tell me?"

Inuyasha, his rage now partly sated, backed up to the door again and looked around, suddenly very much aware that he was the center of attention. The room was still and no one made a sound. All eyes were turned to him with various levels of shock written on the faces.

His mouth opened and closed. "I uh, I…"

Suddenly, a rather large man at the head of the table threw back his head and laughed. A few other men joined him and the more uncertain ones chuckled, looking from their superiors, to Sesshomaru, to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha's cheeks burned, and he was certain they matched his fire rat. He glanced at Sesshomaru, who was now staring at the laughing man.

"I always told you that secretary would drive someone to violence one day, Daiginkeiko," the man finally said. "I don't know why you keep that old hag around. If I didn't know you better, I'd say you had a soft spot."

He looked Inuyasha up and down, then glanced over at the unreadable youkai at the table. "So this is your brother? I see the resemblance."

"Young man," he added, addressing Inuyasha, "perhaps you will be so kind as to remove the stick from your brother's ass as well? He is too uptight for his own good. I'm always saying he needs to ease up and have some fun."

Inuyasha relaxed a little and smirked at Sesshomaru. "I think he has a point. And if there isn't something up your ass, there will be soon." He gripped the handle of Tetsusaiga pointedly, a gesture that Sesshomaru would understand. "What the hell did you get Kagome to do? I saw the pictures."

Sesshomaru ground his teeth, clearly displeased with this turn of events. Inuyasha almost smiled. Yes, he needed to get his brother angry, draw him out. Inuyasha wanted to confront Sesshomaru, not Reizo, Daiginkeiko, or whoever this was with the black hair and fancy suit.

The youkai narrowed his eyes dangerously and replied, "I have asked nothing of her she was unwilling to attempt." His dark tone implied much worse than had actually happened.

The laughter subsided as the tension in the air grew. Mr. Daiginkeiko was not someone you angered. Not if you wanted to keep your company or your job. Everyone waited to see what the brothers would do next.

Inuyasha snarled and flexed his invisible claws. Sesshomaru recognized the gesture and rose gracefully to his feet, stepping smoothly back from the table in one movement. He extended his right hand to his side and said calmly, "Try it, little brother."

Inuyasha smirked. "Thanks for the invitation." Then the hanyou leapt over the part of the table and the few men who sat between him and his brother, claws extended, at a speed almost faster than the men could follow.

Sesshomaru was faster. Much faster. Before Inuyasha had gotten close enough to even grasp for his brother's clothing, the youkai was gone. Then he felt it, a firm hand on the back of his neck. The world spun, and Inuyasha found himself rushing towards the ground back first. He slammed with a loud crack into the polished surface of the table. He smirked up at the blank, emotionless face of his brother as Sesshomaru pinned him down. The invisible, but deadly points of his brother's claws pressed against his neck, but nowhere near firmly enough to break the skin.

There was the sound of chairs sliding and a few hitting the wall as the men in the room jumped to their feet. The stench of fear was heavy in the air. Inuyasha met his brother's gaze and said, "There's my brother. Now that you're here, we can talk. And you have a lot of explaining to do."

"You are quite trying, little brother. This, then, is the time and place of your choosing?" Sesshomaru replied, without removing his vice-like grip from Inuyasha's throat.

Inuyasha tried to pull his brother's arm away and couldn't, which surprised him a little. Sesshomaru was going easy on him, being very gentle so as not to hurt him, and he was still too strong for Inuyasha to budge. That much raw power was a little awe-inspiring, even if it was Sesshomaru's. Was this how strong their father had been when he was Sesshomaru's age?

"Keh, this is the time, but I don't like this place. The smell is getting to me," Inuyasha retorted and rolled his eyes towards the on-looking humans.

"Indeed," Sesshomaru said and finally released his brother. "If you do not object, I have a place in mind that you might like."

Inuyasha stood up. "Keh, whatever, let's just get going already."

Sesshomaru nodded and gathered his papers.

"Mr. Daiginkeiko, if you are finished with that outburst, we do have a meeting to continue here," the large man who had spoken earlier inserted.

Inuyasha paused at the door and turned to see how Sesshomaru would handle that disrespect.

Sesshomaru did not like it at all. He paused and looked at the man. "This 'meeting' as you call it, has, in my opinion, gone on long enough. This dismal presentation has done little to enlighten me about anything more than the utter lack of intelligence your kind so foolishly flaunts, and has been an utter waste of my time.

"As of late, I have been increasingly unimpressed with the lackluster performance of your company and see little advantage to my own in our tenuous alliance. Now, I shall take my leave unless there are any further objections?"

He arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the men, who shrank from his challenge. All except the larger man who had spoken earlier. He reeked of fear, but his words were bold.

"Daiginkeiko, boy, I do not appreciate your tone. You are correct in your assessment of this alliance as tenuous, and I feel I must warn you that you are on very shaky ground at this moment. I respect your position and do not wish to throw aside our alliance lightly, yet I must also remind you that I, too, am a formidable enemy. Do not underestimate me. You do not own my company."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and smiled that smile that could freeze marrow in the bones. "Yet," he told the man firmly, then walked regally towards the door. "Your company has not interested me because it is not a threat to me. But it would hurt me none to liquidate it and ruin you, if you force my hand. Good day."

With that, Sesshomaru swept regally from the room with Inuyasha on his heels. They returned to Sesshomaru's office where he growled softly at the chaotic state of his desk.

"I got bored," Inuyasha explained with a shrug.

Sesshomaru set the papers on his desk and bent to retrieve Tenseiga, which pulsed in his hand as Inuyasha moved closer and rubbed his head.

"Oie, that damn sword attacked me, you know," he tattled angrily.

Sesshomaru smirked as Tenseiga pulsed as if confirming the story with pride. "It has done the same thing to me," he confessed. "It is really quite vicious for a healing sword."

"Keh," Inuyasha sniffed and crossed his arms. "So, um, where are we going to talk?"

Sesshomaru smiled at him as he slipped out of his suit jacket and tie. He walked over to the window and slid it open. "Come. I will show you."

That said, Sesshomaru jumped out of the window. A little less enthusiastic, Inuyasha sauntered over to the window. He looked out and didn't see his brother. There was a balcony of sorts, so he climbed out and scanned the skies. A hand gripped him by the back of his fire rat and hauled him into the air. Before he could even shout, a glowing energy surrounded him and Inuyasha felt himself hurling at a great speed through the air.

"Calm yourself, little brother, I won't drop you," Sesshomaru's voice reassured him.

Inuyasha clamped his eyes shut and tried to quell the upheaval in his stomach. "Easy for you to say," he muttered through clenched teeth.

Sesshomaru chuckled. "Maika enjoyed it immensely."

"She's a wind youkai," Inuyasha pointed out. "And she obviously has something wrong with her if she's agreed to mate with you."

"We are already mated," Sesshomaru told him. "The wedding is a human formality for our human identities."

Inuyasha decided to save his retort for when he was out of this bubble of his brother's energy. However, he forgot all thoughts of banter when he saw the massive castle Sesshomaru had taken him to.

The grounds were clean and very lush. In appearance it was an intact feudal castle, nothing like the rest of Kagome's modern world. Inuyasha felt like he was home again. Even the air smelled as fresh and clear as did in his time.

"It's a barrier," his brother explained. "Other than a few conveniences I have allowed, it is perfectly preserved."

"This is your home?"

"One of them, yes," Sesshomaru explained. "This is my mother's family estate. I inherited it when she left to avoid the humans. I figured you would be most comfortable here."

A surge of youki stirred the air around them, and Inuyasha glanced sharply at his brother in time to see him change from human to youkai. He smirked. "It's weird seeing you change like that."

He then twisted his own charm, pleased to see his hanyou form returned to him. Sesshomaru strode quickly towards the main entrance and motioned for Inuyasha to follow. Inuyasha complied, mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of such an elaborate castle. He wrinkled his nose as they walked down the halls and looked at Sesshomaru with a knowing smile.

"I see you and Maika have broken the place in. Several times, in fact," Inuyasha commented, pleased to see a slight pink dust his brother's cheeks beneath the maroon stripes.

"Are you hungry?" Sesshomaru asked, obviously trying to change the subject. "The servants can prepare you something."

Inuyasha shook his head, then turned suddenly when Sesshomaru abruptly entered a room to the left. The smell of Maika and his brother was even stronger in here, and he soon saw why. These were obviously the master's quarters, aka, Sesshomaru's. After a quick inspection, he had to avert his eyes as his brother stripped and shrugged into a silk kimono and matching hakama.

"Warn me next time, will ya?" Inuyasha grumbled. "I'm not Maika. I don't want to get to know you any better that way."

Sesshomaru said nothing, but swept open the doors to a private garden and led Inuyasha outside. Inuyasha smirked. Sesshomaru and Maika had been here, also.

"You two have been busy," he remarked, thoroughly enjoying the way his brother stiffened.

"Inuyasha, I have invited you to speak with me, so that I may offer you my apologies, petition your forgiveness and perhaps reconcile with you," Sesshomaru spouted out quickly.

Inuyasha frowned, his desire to tease suddenly dampened. "Why, Sesshomaru?'

The youkai turned to face him, a sad expression on his face and said, "Because I have wronged you. I have hurt you irreparably, and I desire to atone for those mistakes."

Inuyasha crossed his arms, hugging Tetsusaiga against himself and dropped to the grass. "I gathered that much from that pompous bullshit you wrote to me. I want to know why, Sesshomaru? Why now? Why did it take you over five hundred years to want to do this? Are you just trying to do this to impress Maika?

"I'm the same hanyou. Literally, this is the same me you just sat for five minutes straight through Kagome. Why can you accept me now and not then?"

Sesshomaru swallowed and turned away from him. The youkai walked over to a tree a short distance away and sank to recline at its roots. He rested his hand on his knee, the picture of composure and perfection, but Inuyasha could sense the inner struggle taking place.

"Inuyasha, that is—difficult to explain," Sesshomaru finally said, still not looking at him.

Inuyasha's throat felt thick, and he could hardly swallow. "I see. So it just really took you five hundred years to finally decide I wasn't worth hating? What is so damn hard to explain, Sesshomaru? Either you hated me all that time or you didn't. Which is it?"

"Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru snapped, finally looking at him. Inuyasha blinked, surprised to feel the hot wetness of tears in his eyes. "That is not it. I have regretted my actions towards you for some time. I even regretted sitting you after Kagome asked me if I truly enjoyed it, because when I considered it, I realized that it brought me no joy or satisfaction at all. I did not regret it to the extent I do now, but it was a beginning.

"I do not know how much I can share with you that will not effect the course of things to come, but I- I never had an opportunity to do this before."

Inuyasha froze, and his heart seemed to stop for a moment. Sesshomaru wasn't looking at him anymore. He tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. Did that mean he didn't live for much longer? Did he die in the battle with Naraku? Or in some minor skirmish to protect Kagome? Did that mean Kagome died, too?

It was clear to him now, though he felt little comfort from it. Sesshomaru had made this effort to speak with him now, because this was the only opportunity he had had. What had been his fate, then? What would be his fate?

And if he were gone, what would happen to Kagome?

Inuyasha glanced at Sesshomaru, who returned his gaze to the ground. There was no way the youkai would just tell him things that would happen, but he had to know that Kagome would be all right.

"I- Sesshomaru-" Inuyasha began, but his voice faltered. Gripping Tetsusaiga tightly, he looked firmly at the ground, willing his voice to be steady.

"Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru finally said, once the silence had stretched uncomfortably.

"I need to ask you a favor."

Sesshomaru nodded. "Anything within my power, little brother."

Inuyasha swallowed hard, and looked at the youkai. It was strange speaking this candidly with him. "When I- when I die, will you- will you watch over Kagome. Protect her for me."

Sesshomaru started visibly. He blinked, then quickly replied, "Of course, Inuyasha. I am touched by your trusting me to protect your intended. Indeed, if I should outlive you, I promise I will protect her as pack."

The hard lump in Inuyasha's throat vanished instantly and he jumped to his feet. "What do you mean 'if' you outlive me? Obviously you do, if you're still alive and kicking and this is the first opportunity you've had to apologize."

Sesshomaru blinked at him. "You did not die, not that I am aware. You and the miko vanished. I looked for you for years, but there was no trace of you. I finally assumed you had chosen to remain on this side of the well with Kagome."

Inuyasha's knees almost gave out in relief. "We didn't die. And we defeated Naraku?"

Sesshomaru smirked. "I am not about to tell you your future, Inuyasha. I have already said more than I probably should have. I do not wish to alter the past in a way that could upset the present."

"Keh, you weren't that concerned about messing with history when you asked Kagome to take pictures of Rin for you," Inuyasha said and crossed his arms. "And just so you know, if you ever ask her to do something that risks her life again, I will hurt you."

Inuyasha lost steam when he saw the flash of pain and hurt that crossed his brother's face. The youkai looked at the grass and dug his claws into the ground until his knuckles went white. For an instant, Inuyasha thought he caught a moist glimmer in Sesshomaru's eyes, but the youkai turned his head away completely before Inuyasha could be sure.

"I admit I have been – tempted to seek you out and send warnings and advice to you, your group and my past self," Sesshomaru said quietly. "But things happen, both good and bad. Some good things resulted in bad consequences, and some bad ones resulted in good. Even hindsight and experience do not give me the wisdom to know what might come of my altering something." He took a deep breath and continued. "Rin-"

Inuyasha flinched at seeing how his brother physically wilted at the mention of her name.

"When I lost her, I was not sure what would become of me. It had been so long that I had nearly forgotten her, the important details. And I succumbed to temptation and petitioned Kagome to at least get me a photograph of her."

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said slowly, unsettled by his brother's obvious sorrow. "I am sorry that she died, but I will not allow you to put Kagome in danger again, even for something like that."

The youkai nodded. "I promise, Inuyasha, I will not ask anything further from her that could endanger her. You know, she even inquired about how Rin died, but I did not give her the details. I knew she would want to prevent Rin's death if she could, but as I said, it is not my place to alter the past. Even something like that was meant to happen."

Inuyasha looked at his own feet. It felt surprisingly good to be talking this way with his brother. No tension or fear or hatred. Sorrow was strong, but then suffering did seem to be a part of their family.

"Kagome's kind like that," he admitted. "With a heart big enough to love anyone who will allow it."

"She will make you an excellent mate, brother," Sesshomaru told him. "I am proud to call you both pack."

Inuyasha blushed. "You consider me pack?"

Sesshomaru nodded. "You are pack and my only family. I will consider you that whether I receive your forgiveness or not. And I truly hope you will be able to attend the wedding."

Inuyasha considered a moment, then nodded. Sesshomaru smiled, a genuine smile, but Inuyasha lifted a hand to keep him silent.

"But even though I'll go, I still think you're an asshole and a jerk. You've done a lot of things to me, Sesshomaru, and I have a feeling you'll do even more."

Sesshomaru winced slightly at the truth in the accusations.

"Cutting off your arm doesn't even hold a candle to what you've done to me. Especially since it grew back." They both smirked wryly at that. "But I'm gonna do something you couldn't. I'm gonna forgive you. Here and now. Not because I need to, or feel obligated, but because I want to be your brother. To show you what it's like to have someone you can depend on. Because for all the good breeding and money and power you have, I don't think you really know the meaning of pack."

"I had a pack," Sesshomaru replied in a hoarse whisper. "Rin, Jaken, Ah Un. And I am rebuilding a new one with Reiku and Maika."

"Yes, you protected them," Inuyasha told him. "You took care of them, but you did not treat them as a true pack. I think Rin came the closest."

Sesshomaru turned his back to him. "I saw those pictures, Sesshomaru. I can sense your sadness now that we talk about her. In a true pack, you protect and care for them, but they also do the same for you. Rin was the only one you allowed even the slightest chance to do that."

Inuyasha was surprised at how frail and small his brother looked now. The tall, powerful youkai was hunched over, one hand still buried in the ground, his head bent as if he had it resting on his knees.

"Don't keep us out, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha told him gently. "Remember, the leader needs his pack as much as they need him. Let us protect you and care for you. I think Maika and Reiku are doing that for you. I'll be here when I can, too."

"I knew this would be difficult, but I expected most of that to come from your stubborn temper," Sesshomaru confessed in a whisper, his voice shaky and thick. "I don't deserve a brother like you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha smiled broadly, "Well, it's a good thing we don't always get what we deserve. I'm sure we'd both be dead a dozen times over if that were the case."

Sesshomaru chuckled softly. Inuyasha stretched tall and rolled his shoulders.

"Oie, I'm not much for all this talking crap," the hanyou barked out. "This place has a barrier, right?"

"Yes," Sesshomaru told him, as he too stood and stretched. His pale face was slightly flushed, but Inuyasha refrained from making a snide remark. He was going to make the effort here. Besides, he could always insult his brother in the past if he felt like it.

"You feel up to a little sparring?" he asked, laying Tetsusaiga on the grass and flexing his claws.

Sesshomaru smirked and flexed his claws as well. "I've been meaning to come out here for a little practice. Being around all those humans tries one's patience."