Remember

Chapter 8

Family

Flashbacks

'Thoughts'

(Inner Youkai/Deity/Spirit)


"I'm going to pluck every single one of your god-damned feathers!"

Everyone was gathered at the table, waiting for dinner. Hitomi and Natsuko decided to join them this time, much to Inuyasha's annoyance, which provided entertainment for everyone else.

'Well, almost everyone…' Rin glanced at the seat right of Lady Katsumi, which was supposed to be Sesshomaru's but he hadn't arrived yet. 'Or isn't coming at all. Do you really dislike your family so much, Sesshomaru?' She watched as Lady Katsumi made a remark about Inuyasha 'compensating' with Tessaiga and all its powers, whatever that meant, it really riled him up.

"I wasn't the one walking around with three swords." Rin knew the comment was directed at Touga, who gave him an exasperated look. 'What are they talking about?'

"Believe me; he didn't need to make up for anything." Lady Katsumi said with a perverted smirk, before sipping a bit of wine. The daiyoukai grinned impossibly wide at her comment, male pride bright in his eyes.

"Ugh. Too. Much. Information." Inuyasha said, making gagging noises. Now Rin was really confused—

"Sounds like someone is going to be a very lucky girl…" Hitomi said under her breath, smiling at the human with a wink. She stared at the falcon, dumb-founded.

"Hitomi! Don't pick on her!" Natsuko whispered harshly, nudging her sister's side with her elbow.

"H-hey! I wasn't!"

"Can we not make jokes about my father's sex life when we are about to eat!?" Inuyasha howled, covering his dog ears. Rin's eyes widened at the hanyou's outburst, suddenly all the comments made sense. 'Hitomi meant—oh gods.'

The falcon began laughing, placing a hand on Inuyasha's shoulders from her seat beside him. "Alright, we'll stop, for now." The servants came, served more drinks, and soon the table was filled with delicious food. As everyone began to serve themselves, she noticed Touga give a request to one of the servers before they hurried off. The human gave him a questioning look when he met her stare, but he only smiled back.

The meal progressed with more banter, and Rin determined that humiliating Inuyasha appeared to be Lady Katsumi's way of bonding with him. Touga and Inuyasha would talk about anything, mostly their adventures, and Lady Katsumi and Touga would silently speak with each other in a way only they understood. Rin frowned at the foreign feeling of… jealousy? She couldn't quite place it, but she didn't like the feeling.

She shook it off, popping another piece of boar in her mouth. The human kept thinking, 'What about Sesshomaru?' She couldn't see the daiyoukai fitting anywhere in this, especially if he didn't want to fit. His way of spending time with Inuyasha and Touga was fighting to a possible death, and he only visits Lady Katsumi when he needed her expertise on something, visits that can span centuries apart. Rin's frown deepened and she wondered if she should seek him out and try to get him to the table. 'That would never work.' She nearly jumped in her seat when a large hand rested on her thigh, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Are you alright? You have barely touched your food." Touga whispered to her, worry clear in his honey-colored eyes.

"I'm fine." The daiyoukai's stare didn't let up, and she held back a sigh. She didn't want to mention Sesshomaru's name, as no one else had commented on his absence. "I'm just… lost in my thoughts. It's nothing to worry about it." She smiled at him, but his eyes still told her he wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Lord Touga, here is your request." A servant thankfully dragged his attention from her, as he accepted a small wooden box from them.

"I will return soon." He told her before rising from the table with a short "Excuse me." And leaving the room.

'Where is he going?' Rin thought as she watched the sliding door close behind his back.

./\.

"Why are you here?" His son's icy voice cut through the stillness of the library, where the younger daiyoukai sat with a scroll about who knows what.

"I bring an offering of peace." Touga said, sitting across from his son and placing the box down. Sesshomaru shot him a glare before opening the container, revealing several rows of green tea dango. "Why do you not join us for dinner?"

"I can hear the entire crude conversation just fine from here." Sesshomaru replied, before eating one skewer of dango.

"Rin is worried about you. She has barely eaten and has not stopped looking at your empty seat since the meal started." 'Surprise and that warmth again.' Touga thought, noting his son's reaction to his words. His gaze soon froze over once more.

"That is not my concern." 'A lie.'

"I can see it concerns you very much."

"What is it that you want?" Sesshomaru snarled.

Touga knew he pushed too hard, "I do not wish to cause a fight. " After a few moments of silence, the younger daiyoukai calmed, grabbing another skewer while he read his literature. "The panther demon Tsukiyo mentioned earlier…"

"He is from Tatsuya's tribe, his name is Hiyoshi." Sesshomaru responded, his eyes not leaving the scroll as he grabbed another dango. "His tribe was attacked after you left. As of now, he is the only survivor."

Touga cursed under his breath, "Ayumi stayed in that village, Rin is going to be devastated." The older daiyoukai missed the look his son gave him. "Well, I must return to the table." Touga stood from his spot; the younger youkai was already working on another skewer. "Don't eat those so fast." He teased his son before leaving the room, dodging a pointed skewer that stabbed the door.

./\.

"Touga, can I speak with you for a moment, in private?" They had just finished dinner, and they were all rising from the table and heading their own separate ways. Lady Katsumi had pulled Touga away, a giggling Hitomi dragged off a cursing Inuyasha, and Natsuko and Tsukiyo walked away, speaking to each other in serious, hushed tones. Rin decided she would head to the library, seeing as all the others were busy and she had no idea where Sesshomaru was.

Making her way, she realized there were no guards around the library entrance. 'Weird…' She slid the door open, not expecting to see Sesshomaru sitting at the large table with a green dango in his mouth and a scroll in one hand. "I'm s-sorry! I thought no one was here—"

"It's fine."

Rin smiled, closing the door behind her and strolling over to Sesshomaru. "What are you reading about, Lord Sesshomaru?"

He glanced at her, "The history of my enemies." Rin was surprised he actually answered. She noticed the box that Touga left with earlier was now on the table in front of Sesshomaru, and it had been filled with dangos. 'Does Sesshomaru like desserts…?' She held back her question, made her way to the shelf and grabbed one of the scrolls she did not get to last time. The human looked between the door and Sesshomaru, unsure where to go. 'I don't want to bother him…'

He caught her staring at him. 'Ah, oops.' He didn't say anything and continued to hold her gaze until her eyes dropped to the floor, uncertain. "Rin." Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice, "Sit." Was he… inviting her to stay? 'Is this real?' Nonetheless, she walked back over, sitting across from him. She rolled the scroll open and quietly began reading.

./\.

"Touga… What are you doing with that girl?" Lady Katsumi asked once they were ways away from everyone.

"Pardon…?"

"You know what I speak of." The female said, before she gave a soft sigh, her lids closed part-way, her lips a smile that crinkled her eyes, a small tilt of her head. Her expression quickly panned out, "That ridiculous look, you look at her in that matter."

"I am not doing anything with Rin, Katsumi."

The female daiyoukai stared at her mate with a disbelieving look, "Touga… Perhaps you don't recall… but when you wanted something, whether it was a girl or a piece of land, you took it 'kindly' in an underhanded sort of way… and threw it out when it was no longer needed." She shook her head, "You won't get away with throwing this human girl to the side when you are done."

"I would never do such a thing." Touga growled, insulted by his former mate's words. That may have been who he was before, but things had changed drastically since then, and that she should know. In the end, he had sacrificed his life to save his human mate!

"If you hurt that woman's feelings, Sesshomaru will kill you. This is not a joke, or a bluff, there is no possibility of a civil outcome—he will murder you. There is nothing in this world that means more to him, than that girl, even if he does not realize it yet."

./\.

"What are you reading?" Rin jumped in seat, not expecting Sesshomaru to speak, at all, during their reading.

"I.. uhm, I'm reading this story called "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter"." She shifted in her seat, nervous under his gaze. "Have you heard of it?"

"I never read human folklore."

"Oh…" 'Should have known…' It was quiet again; her eyes were planted on the scroll. The silence never bothered her before, but there was something different in the air now, something she could not place… 'Is it because those things I said that night?' Did she disturb something between them? 'He just… disappeared after that, but seemed fine the next morning…' She mentally shook her head. 'But Sesshomaru always hides what he is really feeling.'

Rin realized she couldn't let it go. Seeing Sesshomaru again brought all the questions back to the forefront of her mind. She couldn't just be here, sitting here with him as if that night wasn't spoken, as if that sudden abandonment did not happen. The human sighed in frustration, 'Is this what it feels like to finally ask the questions you've always wanted to, and have them linger in the air unanswered?'

"Rin, what troubles you?" Was her internal battle that obvious? 'I can't hide anything from you, Sesshomaru, but you always hide things from me.'

"You never answered, Lord Sesshomaru." Rin swallowed hard, "It is hard to try to enjoy your presence, when I'm still waiting on your words." The silence in the room thickened, and the human began to roll the scroll back up to keep her hands occupied. He didn't say anything. 'Why are you doing this…? Why don't you talk to me…?' She slowly rose from her spot, walking over and placing the scroll back where she found it.

Rin did not expect the iron grip around her body when she turned to leave. "Lord Sesshomaru?" She asked, her mouth muffled from being pressed against his chest. She wanted to look up at him, but the clawed hand tangled in her hair kept her head in place.

"It was foolish of me to leave you behind." Rin didn't like the sound of his voice. Regret and guilt didn't suit Sesshomaru, and she didn't want him to feel that, not for her, not ever. Sesshomaru said nothing more, abruptly letting her go and backing a few steps away. She saw his face, his frozen mask had fallen, leaving a tight frown and tormented gold staring back at her. He looked as if he was going to say more, but instead he made a move to leave and Rin grabbed his bare hand—"No!"

There was a hot, burning flash through her mind. A vision of blood and loss as she cried over a body she could not see. She felt an indescribable pain, threatening to tear her soul apart as the visions became clearer. She couldn't pull away from the force, and began to feel the sensation of her body leaving her. The next thing she knew, she had fallen flat on her rump, Touga in-between her and Sesshomaru. "What…"

"Rin, are you alright?" The older daiyoukai quickly helped her off the floor.

Her hands clutched her pounding head, "Yes, I'm fine." She looked at Sesshomaru, but his eyes were to the floor, his long bangs covered his gaze. He appeared to be panting. "What… What was that?" Neither youkai responded to her. Sesshomaru briskly left the room, as if he was escaping from something. "Lord Sess—"

"Leave him."

Rin looked up at the daiyoukai in confusion, "What happened? What was I seeing?" Touga did not respond to her, pursing his lips lightly. "What is going on, Touga?"

"I cannot tell you, it is not my place." The daiyoukai pulled her into an embrace and petted her hair; his eyes still tinged worry and… fear? "You are sure you are fine?"

"Yes, I am fine—"

"You should take her to the medical ward to be checked, as a precaution." Lady Katsumi appeared in the doorway. Her voice sounded very strange, but she walked away immediately. "I will check on Sesshomaru."

./\.

Rin lay wide-awake on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Touga had not left her side, despite the healers saying she was perfectly fine. He hadn't said another word of what happened, and she hasn't seen Lady Katsumi or Sesshomaru since. Whenever she tried to think of what she saw, a scorching pain danced throughout her mind. It left her head pounding. She turned under her covers, to face Touga who sat on the floor just outside her mat. "My head aches; can I go and get some tea?"

"I will ask a servant to bring some up." Touga said, rising from his spot and leaving the room. Rin sighed, bringing her arm over her eyes. There was so much blood in that image, and why was she crying? Who did those red eyes belong to? She dropped her arm and moved to stand, kicking the covers away from her. She slipped outside to the middle courtyard, hugging herself against the nighty chill, before sitting down on the porch. "You should be resting."

Rin didn't react when Touga reappeared, sitting down beside her. "I can't sleep like this. My head hurts so much… Where is Sesshomaru? He didn't seem okay…"

"He will be fine by the morning as you will." His claws found their way into her hair again, lightly petting.

"Has that happened to you?" The way his hand froze was enough to confirm her suspicions. He was too confident in his answers, and much too worried about her condition. Whatever it was, both Lady Katsumi and he knew.

"Yes… It was unintentional; as I'm sure it was this time as well." His hand resumed its comfort, "Though I must admit, I am a tad curious as to what you two were speaking of to leave Sesshomaru in a state of less-than-perfect control."

"I had asked him again why he left…" Touga made an interested noise, but did not purse the topic further. A servant swung by a few moments later, setting down a tray with a steaming pot of tea and cups for both of them. The human thanked the servant before they dashed off. The night dragged on, they went through two pots of tea with casual chatter. It was around midnight that the daiyoukai rose to stand.

"You must rest, Rin." She looked up at him and nodded, accepting his hand to lift her to her feet. They returned to their original positions in her room, her on the bed and him beside it.

"Touga?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you tell me how you met Inuyasha's mother?"

"Will it help you sleep?" Rin nodded eagerly, clutching her pillow close to her with wide eyes. The daiyoukai smiled at her reaction. "Very well. I had traveled to China, in search of the Robe of the Fire Rat…"

"How has your search been, Lord Touga?" The daiyoukai sat with one of China's most influential demon lords, a kirin named Guozhi.

"Not well, every lead has dropped cold." They were in the dining hall, conversing over tea.

"It has been a long time since we last saw the robe, I barely remember it." The horned daiyoukai took a sip of tea, "Will you stay for dinner? I have some guests coming by and I would love for you to scare them off."

The Inu no Taishou chuckled darkly, "Don't you love company?"

"Oh, I do. I love to torment them even more, especially the humans."

"I thought they worshipped our kind here."

"They do, frighteningly so. I have done nothing to receive such admiration." The kirin shrugged, "Not that I am complaining." He waved a dismissive claw in the air, "Regardless, the humans coming to visit are from your lot—"

"My lot? –"

"They are from Japan. Something about the humans there doesn't sit so well with me. You have quite the reputation in your country; I thought your presence might make them scurry off. Though…" Guozhi rubbed his chin, "His daughter is a beauty."

"Bedding humans now?" The inu-youkai raised a brow.

"You've never had one?" The kirin whistled low, "You are missing quite an experience. What they lack in strength and intelligence, they make up in will and passion, especially the women."

A servant quietly entered the room, bowing low. "My Lord, your guests have arrived."

"Now you must stay! It would be rude of you to leave." The horned daiyoukai grinned.

"I didn't know there were any kirin youkai…" Rin said, "Or are all kirin youkai? I've never seen one, only in paintings."

"All kirin are youkai, their numbers were quite low back then, I am unsure how many are left now." Touga responded before continuing,

"Lord Sugawara, it is a pleasure to see you!" Touga watched the two lords greet each other with bored eyes until his gaze met the young woman behind the human. Her skin was the color of porcelain, contrasting against her long dark hair. Her brown eyes were watching him silently until she noticed his stare, her gaze darting downward with a soft blush tainting her cheeks.

"Princess Izayoi! Look at you!" Lord Guozhi acknowledged the woman, a wide grin plastered on his face. Touga frowned at the faint scent of arousal coming from the kirin. "To think you were only up to here—" The horned youkai raised the side of his hand flat against his waist, "—the last time I saw you. Human children sure do grow quite quickly."

"Aye, they do. Much too quickly."

"Oh, where are my manners?" Lord Guozhi motioned Touga forward until he stood next to him and in front of the guests. "Lord Touga, Demon Lord of Western Japan—though, I'm sure you both know that—will joining us today. I hope that is not an issue…"

The human lord broke out into a nervous sweat, "N-No, of course. The more, the merrier!"

"She did not speak a single word to me that night; she only spoke when spoken to by her father. He had a very tight leash on her due to her family losing its power and wealth, and was using her as a scapegoat by marrying her off to a wealthy and powerful samurai. Despite that, I could not forget her face the entire time I was in China. It was maddening. I made a point to completely avoid the little territory that human lord held when I returned to Japan some months later, but I suppose the fates had something else in mind…"

"Is that the last of them?" Myouga squeaked, hiding under the gaunlets of Touga's armor. The inu-youkai said nothing, placing Sounga on his back before he continued making his way into the hyena liar. This particular group of hyenas thought it was a good idea to pray on a human village in his territory, a complete and utter disrespect to him as Lord of the land. He explored the village until he heard a whimpering sound come from a cave near the cliff-face.

Touga walked over, entering the dark cave and finding a prisoner of the hyenas… Princess Izayoi. All she wore was a flimsy, white yukata that was shredded across her mid-section and torn inches above her knees, the perfect porcelain skin he remembered was bruised harshly on her legs, her stomach and arms, her wrists were chained above her head and held by a wooden pole in the center of the cavern. Her head hung low, he could not see her face through her thick bangs.

"Who is that?" The flea asked, hopping over to the human woman and landing on her nose. "Are you alright?"

The woman groaned in pain, lifting her head up just slightly. "A flea…?" Her eyes continued upward, widening in shock when they met his. "Lord Touga! Behind you!"

The daiyoukai cursed as he just barely dodged a swipe of lethal claws from an immense hyena youkai just outside the cave's entrance. He had been… distracted, and had not noticed the youkai approaching. Judging by the size of the creature, it was the leader of this pack. 'Good.' The two began to fight, and the hyena quickly learned that it was outmatched. Smacking down Sounga one last time, the feline made a run for it.

"We will meet again, Lord Touga, and I will have your head!" The hyena cackled as it escaped. Touga was ready to follow when a pained whimper brought him out of his bloodlust. He looked back at the human again, who was trying to raise her injured body to stand. Wordlessly, the daiyoukai walked over to the women, shattering the weak iron with his claws. He frowned at her swollen, purple wrists.

"Thank you, Lord Touga." She said, bending at her waist while holding her side. Izayoi straightened herself the best she could, before smiling up at the youkai. The way it lit her face—revealing the soft dimples in her cheeks, the gratitude shining in her warm eyes—would be imprinted in his mind forever.

"She continued finding her way into trouble after that. It turned out her original marriage arrangement never went through. Her father was desperate, taking her to youkai leaders to be either married or whored out, whichever ended up giving him the most profit. It was disgusting."

"But you always saved her, right?" Touga looked at the young woman in her bed. He sensed her tiredness, but her eyes were wide, looking at him with curiosity and admiration. The daiyoukai looked away, ignoring the strange, yet familiar, warm feeling in his chest.

"I had scented her to deter the youkai without thinking. No youkai would touch what belonged to me, unless they wished death."

Rin yawned, burying the side of her head into her pillow. "Why didn't you take her away then? Didn't you love her?"

"I was in denial, very deep denial. By the time I pushed away my pride, my fears, and accepted the consequences such relationship would have on my position and family… It was too late. Her father decided to marry her off with a moderately wealthy samurai that was smitten with her beauty, and carried a deep hatred for youkai."

"That man that fought Sesshomaru and Inuyasha with the evil sword?"

"Yes, him."

"Wait… But didn't you marry Izayoi?"

"No, we never had the chance."

"But you two had Inuyasha…?" Touga looked at the girl strangely, not understanding her confusion.

"Yes, we did…"

"I thought babies only happen after marriage?" She asked as she propped herself up on her elbows, looking at him quizzically. The daiyoukai was about to ask where she got that idea from, but stopped. Was it such a bad thing if she thought that?

"Sunrise is close; you should get what sleep you can now, Rin." Touga said, petting her head and hoping she will drop the subject. "We can talk more about it tomorrow if you wish."

./\.

"Has that traitorous brat been found yet?" Lord Raiden hissed as one of his many servants stumbled into the throne room.

The weak demon stuttered as he spoke, "N-no, m'lord. The wolves l-lost track of him after catching his scent around the w-weasel corpses."

The dragon daiyoukai rumbled, "I will not have Hakuron spoil our plans. What good are you all if cannot kill a single youkai?!"

The servant cowered, legs shaking in fear. "T-they say he is using some s-sort of cloaking magic, m'lord. It is making it almost im-impossible to stay on his t-tail."

"I grow tired of these excuses!" Lord Raiden roared, the power of his voice trembled the walls of his home. "Tell the wolf king I demand his presence immediately! I will not tolerate any more delay."

"Yessir!"

./\.

"What the hell happened here?" Inuyasha mumbled, exploring the forest below Lady Katsumi's home. It was early morning and the hanyou wanted to let go and run, being cooped up in the mansion with youkai that constantly teased him was getting exhausting. Unfortunately, he had to ask one of those very youkai to get him down from the castle in the sky.

Hitomi strolled beside him, scanning the damages done to the land. "Remodeling?" The falcon shrugged, at a loss. The hanyou could smell Sesshomaru was in the area, but the scorches in the earth from Bakusaiga and his whip of light, the fallen, melted trees, and tiny silvers of dry blood his eyes caught among the green—it was too irregular, there was no direction of the attacks. 'What was he doing? Fighting a ghost?'

The hanyou frowned; wanting to shake off the feeling of why he knew this damage looked familiar, because Sesshomaru didn't do that. Sesshomaru wasn't the kind of youkai to level a forest in a hazy, pain-filled daze like he had done when Kagome disappeared. Sesshomaru was too controlled, too perfect to fall into that. Now, if he could only also shake off the voice that nagged him about Sesshomaru being a sentient being and having emotions like every other person in the world.

"I have never seen your face so serious, Inuyasha." Hitomi whispered, lightly dragging the hanyou out of his thoughts, "Do you know what would cause so much chaos for Lord Sesshomaru?" He blinked, hard. 'How did she know?' The hanyou replied with a shake of his head. "He didn't join us for dinner last night; Natsuko told me some commotion happened in the library afterward with Lord Sesshomaru and Rin but m'lady forbade anyone to investigate." The falcon youkai grimaced, "I don't like this, Inuyasha."

His ears twitched at the concern in her voice. "Whatdaya mean? So the bastard probably finally got an earful from Rin about ditching her, now he's all weird about it. I don't see the big deal." The hanyou crossed his arms, a little miffed that the falcon was so concerned over Sesshomaru out of all people.

"You don't worry about your brother?" Hitomi asked.

"Pfft, no, and you shouldn't either." Inuyasha responded, mumbling the last part.

Suddenly, the falcon youkai grinned, "Are you pouting? How cute! Are you getting jealous, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou blinked in shock before turning angrily to her, "Jealous?!" He picked up his pace, "Feh. Don't be ridiculous."

"You don't have to worry. I can, in no way, tolerate ever being romantically involved with a full inu-youkai." She shuddered, "All the licking, and with my feathers? No thanks. But…" Her hand gently tugged on one of his ears, before rubbing softly. "I think I can enjoy being with half of one."

The effect her words had were instantaneous: that annoying, fluttering feeling in his stomach, the warmth heating up his face, a stupid, inexplicable happiness threatening to curl his lips into a smile—the little things he hadn't allowed himself to feel again since the well was sealed years ago. His mind began to go blank as the falcon petted his ears, leaning into her touch.

Hitomi giggled, "Are you purring?"

Inuyasha shook his head out of her hands, scowling at her half-heartedly. "Don't touch my ears!" The breeze blew towards them, carrying the scent of Sesshomaru. The hanyou frowned, 'So still around, eh…' "I need to take care of something, alone. Think you can come by a bit later and pick me up?"

Hitomi nodded, "Of course." Her wings opened, spreading their impressive wingspan. "Good luck!" With a couple of great flaps, she shot into the sky. 'How the hell does she know what I'm going to do?' It was very irritating; maybe she was a secret mind-reader or something. Not dwelling on it, Inuyasha continued following his brother's scent until he reached a small river, his brother's back was towards him.

The hanyou paused, noting the dried blood crackling over Sesshomaru's hands and sleeves. It was his. "Did the trees fight back or something?" He expected something from that, but the daiyoukai did not move. 'Well, alright.' Inuyasha walked up beside his brother, his arms crossed into his sleeves. "So, I guess Rin finally yelled at ya?" That earned him a quick punch in the face. The hanyou hissed, rubbing his cheek before looking back at the youkai. Of course, it looked like Sesshomaru had made no move, staring rather intently at the water in front of them. "What the hell was that for?" No response. Surprise, surprise.

When the hanyou looked back down at Sesshomaru's hands, he suddenly had gloves on. "Where did those come from? How the fuck did you do that?" He knew his brother was fast but… 'Wait a second.' "Oh, I see, can't even punch your hanyou brother with your bare hands now right? You are such—"

"Inuyasha, enough." The hanyou raised an eyebrow at the tone of his brother's voice in surprise, like the fact the tone was something other than coldness or hatred. It sounded almost strained with hurt. Then Inuyasha began to wonder, what was he doing here? This was obviously going to be deeper shit than what he knew how to handle. They have graduated from constantly drawing their blades as a greeting… but they were far from friends; Sesshomaru still couldn't even call him half-brother yet. Maybe he should get out of here before—"She was… unhappy."

'Oh fuck. Does… does he want to talk? Shit.' Too late to run now. 'What? I don't have to stay here to listen to him after everything!' But Inuyasha still stood in place, unable to abandon his brother the same way he had done many times to him. 'Fucking human heart.' The hanyou grumbled in his mind, though he was grateful it saved him from being as cold as his brother.

"Her and father…" Sesshomaru trailed off, not finishing the sentence. He couldn't blame him, hell, he wouldn't want to finish that sentence.

"I saw them earlier. I was thinking of ways to sabotage their relationship, but then I figured, screw it. I know he is our old man and all, but I thought you were just gonna kill him or something."

"She is happy with him." Sesshomaru responded. 'And you don't want her to be sad, or hate you for killing him.' Inuyasha mentally finished the statement with the words he knew his brother would never say.

The hanyou shrugged, "I guess she is. I just can't wrap my head around having to call her my step-mother." Inuyasha shook his head, "If it gets to that, I mean."

"I will not allow him to dishonor her."

The hanyou blinked, "Well, yeah. If he fucks up, I'm going to be right there with you kicking his ass." After all they could only 'get along' when fighting over something about their father, right?

"Hn." A quiet moment passed them, and Inuyasha was still at a loss of what was truly eating Sesshomaru. The daiyoukai was still tense, his youki was still occasionally sparking up, his gloved hands twitching lightly.

"So…" Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, preparing for a blow. "The problem is… she is unhappy with you?" Thankfully the blow never came, but never did a response either. "Well, five years is a pretty long time for humans." He shrugged, "To us it might be nothing, to her it felt like you abandoned her forever. Kagome would get all crazy if I actually did what she asked and not visit her for the next five days or so. It was just five days, and she asked!" Inuyasha shook off the memories. "Anyway, Rin was really attached you, Sesshomaru, really attached. The first few times we all visited her, she would only ask about you."

"She was…?"

The hanyou stared at his brother in disbelief, "Yeah. She basically fucking loved you, Sessh, are you blind or something!?" That earned him two blows to the head; one was probably for butchering his name. Inuyasha growled, rubbing the top of this head. "What the hell!? I thought that's why you dumped her! So you wouldn't have to deal with her 'petty human emotions' towards you and have her move on with some human at the village or some shit, I don't know!" The hanyou felt bumps forming on his head, and he huffed in annoyance. "If that wasn't why, then I really don't understand you. Why leave her?"

Inuyasha watched his brother's gaze drop to his gloved hands, but he said nothing. He didn't like the stupid look the daiyoukai had on his face nor how it made him feel almost sorry for his brother. The hanyou quickly changed subjects, "And what's with the gloves? I haven't seen you wear any for nearly a century."

"A precaution."

"For what? You know how to control your poison claws, not that I think those would help against them anyway." The hanyou looked away when his brother didn't answer, "Fine, don't tell me. Bastard." Inuyasha heard the whispered sound of demon silk, but did not bother looking back at Sesshomaru. What he hadn't expected, was his brother to grab his wrist with his bare hand—and his mind landing back in Kagome's time.

"Oi, hurry up!"

"Inuyasha! What are you doing here?!" Kagome screeched, clutching her bath towel close to her. The hanyou had just jumped in through her bedroom window, wondering why she was taking sooo long to return again, but he didn't anticipate to see the girl leave her bath with nothing on.

He quickly turned around, his red face against the wall before shouting, "You were taking too long again! And why did you leave your window open while you're naked!?"

"This is my room!"

His dog ears twitched at the sound of clothes rustling, "Yeah, well, any creep can just jump up here and I won't be here to save you!"

The school girl sighed in annoyance, unwilling to argue further. "Turn around." The hanyou did, looking over the young woman once. She changed into navy blue top with long-sleeves and a short light blue skirt. Her arms made their way around his waist, and she quickly placed a small peck on his lips. "I'm glad you're here, Inuyasha."

The hanyou blinked in shock when his vision returned to his brother by the river. "What…?" He was vaguely aware of his brother letting go his wrist, and the sound of him slipping his hand back into the leather glove.

"Still erratic…" Inuyasha heard Sesshomaru say with a curse under his breath, before speaking up. "It appears what Rin had told me was correct and your miko was not from this time. How interesting." The hanyou barely heard him. What he had just experienced was not just a memory, it was almost if as he relived the moment. He still felt the warmth of Kagome's arms around him and the softness of her lips against his.

"What was that?" The hanyou finally asked, unaware of the shakiness in his own voice.

"A test." Was the vague answer.

"How…" He swallowed down the lump in his throat, "How did you do that?" The daiyoukai didn't respond, and began to walk away. "Where are you going? You can't just do whatever you did and walk away!"

"I do as I please—"

The hanyou jumped in front of his brother's path, growling low. "No, you don't! I felt her, she was there. How—Why did you do that?! Why would you make me feel that?!" The last part almost came across as a whimper, his heart constricting in his chest from the pain of a lost love.

The daiyoukai only gave him his typical cold look, "Do not blame me for your inability to control your emotions, Inuyasha."

"You fucking bastard. Drop the act! You can't criticize me when you just demolished an entire damn forest because YOU can't control your emotions over a human girl." That did it, and the two brothers began to do what they knew best—fight each other to an uncertain end.

./\.

"Lord Touga? M'lady?" Hitomi knocked lightly on the door of the war room, where Lord Touga, Lady Katsumi, Commander Tsukiyo and General Tamotsu were having some hushed discussion about the South.

"Come in." Lady Katsumi stated. Hitomi quietly slid open the door, entering the room and bowed to all.

"I am sorry for interrupting. It's just that…" The falcon looked at Lord Touga, "The two sons are fighting, and rather violently… I tried to separate them but…" She sighed, "It was as if I'm not there. Inuyasha is already very injured…" 'And I'm worried.' All eyes rested on Lord Touga, Lady Katsumi giving him a particularly annoyed look when he met her stare.

"Do not look at me. You are the one with all the elaborate plans to bring those two together." The older daiyoukai sighed, putting a hand on Hitomi's shoulder while he walked past.

"I will take care of it."

./\.

Touga had not anticipated the sight that greeted him. Inuyasha was significantly injured: gashes across his midsection and down his left shoulder, his face was bruised and partly swollen, and was limping on one leg. Sesshomaru looked a bit better with only his armor shattered and a large cut on his left side, but the amount of blood pouring from the wound was highly concerning, something vital might have been damaged. Hitomi had all the right to be worried about the two dueling brothers.

"My sons…" Their two swords met and grated against each other, both spared him an annoyed glance before ignoring him. "Why are you two fighting?" Sesshomaru overpowered Inuyasha, disarming the hanyou and letting Tessaiga fly across the clearing near Touga.

"Because he likes to fuck with people's heads!" Inuyasha roared, before sinking his claws into his wounds and using his blades of blood technique. The older daiyoukai casually walked over to the fallen Tessaiga, picking it off from the ground.

"You are a weakling." Sesshomaru hissed, easily dodging the attack and sheathing Bakusaiga. The acidic smell was Inuyasha's first warning, evading a lethal swipe of poison claws.

"Pfft, says the Almighty Sesshomaru, taken down by a little girl!" The older brother's eyes tinged pink as he punched the hanyou in the face twice and slashed his claws across his chest. Inuyasha staggered backward, the boy must have been in extreme pain but he only smiled, mocking Sesshomaru.

Touga raised his eyebrows at the passion behind the attack, 'So this is about Rin then…' The older daiyoukai decided to intervene at that point, noting Inuyasha could barely stand. He got in-between, struck down his elder's son clothed arm before the poison claw connected to the hanyou, and slammed his armored shoulder into Sesshomaru's upper body with enough force to knock the wind out of him. "I believe this battle is over." To his surprise, it was Inuyasha who protested first.

"Stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you." His younger son must be delirious from the blood loss if he believed he could continue on.

"You can barely stand." Touga stated, and then looked at Sesshomaru, now being able to see how deep Tessiaga's blade got into him. "And that wound is practically pouring out blood."

"So?" Inuyasha spit to the side before wiping the blood off his lips, "It isn't anything we can't handle."

"Step aside, the hanyou obviously wishes to die. Perhaps he believes he can join his precious miko in death."

"Go fuck yourself, you black-hearted son of a bitch!" Touga stopped his youngest son from running, or more like stumble, towards his brother.

"Enough! Both of you!" The older daiyoukai growled, growing increasingly annoyed with the behavior of his children. "You are both going back to Katsumi's home for medical attention. You will behave like the grown men you are and you will not provoke each other throughout the rest of the day. Am I clear?"

"Pfft, you don't gotta tell me that. Fluffy-kins over there is the one who's been blowing up lately—"

"Inuyasha." The threatening tone in Touga's voice cut the hanyou off. "Not. Another. Word." Thankfully, Hitomi seized the opportunity, swooped down and snatched up Inuyasha before he could object.

"I got him!" She yelled as she made her way back to the castle. Touga sighed in relief before bringing his attention back to his eldest son, who was walking away, towards the nearby river. Sesshomaru removed his broken armor and lowered the left side of his top. His son made the smallest, nearly inaudible noise of pain when he lowered himself to one knee, and began to gather his youki to heal his wound. The older daiyoukai made his way to his son, standing in silence beside him.

"Mind clarifying what all that was about?" Sesshomaru did not respond. Touga bit back a sigh, before dropping his gaze to his son's wound. His youki was mending the cut flesh, but far too slowly, a light sheen of sweat began to appear on his body. It was barely healed a third of the way before his son let out a pained gasp as he fell forward, dropping one hand on the ground. Something was wrong. "Why can you not heal?" The younger youkai still said nothing. Touga reached out to place a hand on his son's shoulder. "Sesshomaru, speak to me. What—"

"Do not touch me!" The younger daiyoukai snapped, effectively stopping his movement. Touga frowned, bringing his hand back to his side before crouching down to his son's level. 'He must still be having trouble…'

"I will take you back to your mother's—"

"No." The younger youkai struggled to stand, but was unable to lift himself from the ground. 'His attempt to heal most likely sapped the remainder of his strength.' Touga thought, worried about his son's condition. 'Coupled with the recent use of his ability and blood loss, I am surprised he is still conscious.'

"Sesshomaru, you are weak, you need—"

"I need nothing from you—"

"Let me help you!" Touga grounded out. He was frustrated that his son was being difficult, more so because it was his own fault that his son wanted no help from him. When will they be able to walk down the path of forgiveness? Where was he supposed to start if Sesshomaru kept pushing him away? 'Every time… it's been the same.' "Please, my son… let me help you…" The older daiyoukai repeated, softly this time.

There was no acknowledgement of his plea; his son's blood began pooling on the grass below him. The sight and smell of it sickened him, recalling a time when it was he who spilt his son's blood. 'Things will change, they must.' Once more, he tried reaching out, this time Sesshomaru did not react and allowed him to lift him to his feet. "Hold on." Touga whispered, unsure if his son was even still aware, before flashing into a ball of light, racing towards the sky.

End of Chapter 8


Author's Note: I hope I did not frighten anyone with the delay! There all these small little things I needed to shove into this chapter before continuing. I kept removing, adding, editing, ugh.

Today I just threw my hands up in the air in defeat. I said most of the info I needed anyway. Lol. I swear the next chapter will be better, cause of bad guys! :D

Thank you everyone who reviewed! I truly appreciate any feedback I get! :3