A/N: Beta is Lord Yau

The Sons of Their Fathers

The lord of the lands sat on the royal couch, white and golden banners hung along the white walls, here and there broken by the brilliant red pillars that supported the ceiling. Dark wood of the floor was made into a pattern of darker and lighter squares where the light fell in through the windows covering one sidewall of the great chamber. No sitting mats for nobles were laid out in the space in front of the raised platform where the ruler of the West sat, pale white like a spirit of death.

Only two others were present in the spacious room. There was a woman in a rich, colorful kimono, her hair in an elegant bun adorned with jewels and feathers. Her eyes glowed like rubies, full of life and cunning. She sat next to her spouse, pretty comfortable in the seat of power, soaking in the presence she had missed for so long without remembering what she had longed for.

"Oh, dear sister, you are like a phoenix that rises next to the throne of the great ruler," said the man standing in front of the pair, in the middle of the floor in front of the platform. He wore a flamboyant attire of flashy colors and patterns, his hair long and tied back in a swaying tail. His eyes shone with amusement, but also a hint of approval.

"Cut to the chase, Byakuya. You flatter people way too much to have things done before dusk," Kagura smirked and opened her fan with a snap, fanning herself in a way that her younger brother recognized as a sign that her harsh words were not to be taken seriously.

"Ah, sweet sister," he put a hand to his chest in a dramatic movement, grinning. "I came here to bring you tidings of warning from our father dear, and to welcome you back home and that is how you choose to treat me?"

Kagura laughed. Her laughter filled the air and seemed to soothe the last bits of tension from her spouse's aura caused by her long absence.

"Byakuya," Sesshomaru said softly, his voice level. "Do not dawdle.

"You are no fun," Naraku's youngest pouted. "Oh well, have it your way. The ones that are responsible for Kagura's kidnapping and for most of the attacks that the West suffered are the moths from the continent."

Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed and that was all that Byakuya got in lieu of a response. Kagura paused her fanning, tilting her head in thought.

"Insects," she murmured. "Foul fools."

"And does your sire feel inclined to share what he knows of their purpose in this one's lands?" Sesshomaru asked slowly. Byakuya beamed at him.

"Oh, yes, in fact. Menōmaruwishes to become the next Lord Hyouga."

"Impossible, since this one's sire has slain his," the daiyoukai pointed out flatly.

"Not with a little spell," the master of illusions winked at him. "I can assure you he is on his way where the last Lord Hyouga died to extract his power from the corpse."

With a sigh the Lord of the West rose from his royal seat.

"Very well," he intoned. "This one shall return shortly."

Byakuya grinned as he looked after the retreating pale figure before he glanced back at his sister.

"Dad is glad you are back home, Kagura," he said.

"Sure he is," she said dryly.

"Well, okay, so maybe he isn't, but we, your siblings, are. I almost had to duel Kanna to be the one to come visit you today."

"How sweet of you," Kagura shook her head and stood up gracefully. "Come, I am certain there is some sake warming up for you."

.

Sesshomaru landed on the ground without any noise, his hair and sleeves settling down as if a gentle breeze ceased blowing. He spared no time as he walked inside a cavern, in the depths of which his father had once sealed the corpse of one of his many foes.

There was no haste to his steps, but neither was there hesitation, he walked inside the cave with calm features, his aura as per usual drawn within his body. Only during the past months, when Kagura had been gone, had he allowed his youki to flare and shift around him. It indicated how close he was at any given time so he was able to just transform to his true form and lay waste to the entire island.

Now she was back with him, safe and happy, so he was almost serene. After today his lands would no longer suffer strangers attacking villages, his subjects prospering under his rule. And the old guilt, for so long buried and almost forgotten, was now gone as well. His little brother - the half-breed - was alive. Sesshomaru was oddly pleased that the brat was apparently fine and not terribly disgracing the royal bloodline.

A part of him, one he would never admit to existing, wished to visit the hanyou. To torment him just to see where his temper flared, to see how strong he really was, how skilled with the blade. He wished to learn how to push the boy to his limits and just a tad further. There was a hint of malicious mirth in that desire. It was the duty of an older sibling to ensure the youngest was tormented, right? Sesshomaru was almost certain it was and he was nothing if not dutiful.

He exited the tunnel and stood in the opening of a spacious cavern where the last Lord Hyouga had died. It had been the place the two daiyoukai had battled, broken rocks still scattered over the scarred ground, parts of the walls weirdly smooth and sporting patterns suggesting that they had been once temporarily inclined to run down like wax of a burning candle.

A lone moth youkai in rich clothing stood before the sealed corpse, one of his hands plastered to a piece of parchment affixed to the corpse. The paper and the hand glowed faintly with youki.

"So it seems the fool spoke true," Sesshomaru muttered, drawing the attention of the moth. The insect gasped and turned around, his eyes wide, then narrowing.

"Sesshomaru," he said in an arrogant tone, not deeming it fit to even incline his head or use his title. His face twisted in a look of annoyance. "Someone told you about my plans."

"Correct."

"Well, this is fine. You shall witness my rise to the exalted rank of Lord Hyouga and have the honor of being the first one to be slain by the great Lord Men-"

That was all spoken in the span of time Lord Sesshomaru deemed apt for the fool's final words. As soon as the daiyoukai counted to five in his mind he leapt forward, Bakusaiga drawn in one fluid motion.

The blade whispered as it slashed the air and split the insufferable moth in two from one collarbone to the hip on the opposite side of his body.

"What?!" the moth screamed in agony, Bakusaiga's power rendering any healing abilities obsolete.

Sesshomaru flicked the sword in his grip, sending droplets of blood flying and splattering over the ground. The parchment fluttered to the floor harmlessly, the youki fading away in an instant after it was released. The light whip of the daiyoukai disintegrated in a flash.

"Did you truly believe this one would waste more of his time listening to your nonsense?" he asked as the youkai collapsed at his feet. "This one has a land to rule."

With that he turned and left, leaving the cave with no backward glance, back straight, his pristine white robes fluttering around him.

Yet again the cave bore witness to a dog slaying a moth. But this time there were no vassals of the moth vowing revenge on the dog, since the one cut down had not trusted his followers enough to take at least one of them with him to the grave of his sire.
There was no epic duel of powerful lords this time, for the one that was a true daiyoukai found nothing in the other that would compel him to even entertain the thought of allowing him to draw the power of his father and wear it as a mantle that he clearly didn't deserve.

And those who couldn't take pride in their own power and abilities were most certainly not worthy of spending time around.

Sesshomaru rose into the moonlit sky, thinking once again about his hanyou brother, who was most certainly taking pride and working to master his own powers and abilities. Here was a person he wouldn't mind beating. Of course it made sense that even as a hanyou Inuyasha was a more worthy son to Touga than the moth fool was to his father, despite his pure blood.

Wind whistled past her ears, making it hard to talk, so the people sitting astride the white dragon flying over the storm clouds remained silent. They clung to the body of the beast and stared in awe at the arcs of thunderbolts that connected the clouds from time to time, rising above the canopy that hid the ground from their view.

Kagome held tight onto Tempest, the dragon's body warm and the flight smooth despite the speed they were moving at.

Her eyes remained focused on the area of the clouds she could see between the gnarled horns of the dragon who seemed to sense or smell where Inuyasha was because he was going in a straight line in the direction somewhat more north than towards where the captors of her hanyou had seemed to go.

The miko bit her bottom lip, finding solace in the soothing energy of the dragon, so much like her own, in the presence of her friends behind her, in the weight of her bow and quiver on her back.

She was going to get him back. She was going to hear him bitch about her coming to his rescue and not fleeing to the safety of the shrine. She was going to bring him back home and kiss him even more silly than he already was if he thought she would leave him behind.

'Wait for me, Inuyasha,' she begged, sending her thoughts ahead of her, wishing she could hear his response, even if it was just a scoff.