Things you will learn/see in this installment:
-Even the Inu no Taishou gets scared from time to time
-Inuyasha is stuck between his father and brother
-Izayoi and Sesshomaru's haha-ue make an appearance
-Sesshomaru's mother is the Inu no Taishou's "first mate" (she's frequently referred to as such)
-A major secret is revealed
-...all this, among other things!
Chapter Six
Everyone within the immediate vicinity felt the grounds of the estate tremble with an ominous cry of outrage, as if a god himself had been abandoned on earth and was now tearing at the skies and ground in his anger and sadness.
Somewhere in the distance the Inu no Taishou flinched slightly, a nervous sound escaping his esophagus. It seemed that something had upset his eldest son. He hoped against hope that he and Inuyasha had not conversed on a more familiar level.
If that were to have happened his lifespan would start to feel imminently shorter by the second; he had actually rather hoped he was dead by the time his great betrayal was found out. But then again, that probably wouldn't work either since his eldest had possession of Tenseiga, the Sword of Heaven, which was able to bring the souls of the dead back to their bodies. He was fairly sure that if the sword had the ability to revive a person more than just once that Sesshomaru would do so, just to torture, kill him, revive him again and start all over until he tired of that game.
After having stared down the hall in the general direction of the south west wing, the great Inu no Taishou gulped and then thought it best if he were to return to the rooms his youngest had provided for him in order to rest during his stay.
Translation: the great and feared Inu no Taishou needed a place to hide.
However, turning around in his general path of escape he came face to face a pair of narrowed, angry eyes which hinted at the promise of something close to murder in them.
Ah, damn it all, no such luck. He was fairly sure he was still alive, which meant he was definitely in for copious amounts of torture and pain still.
Oh well, at least Sesshomaru can get it out of his system right away and not wake my slumbering soul later, the Inu no Taishou figured depressingly.
The eyes he stared back at never relented in their fierce accusation. No, it seemed things were not boding very well for him at all. Especially his life expectancy.
"Chichi-ue."
"Sesshomaru," the Inu no Taishou said evenly, not giving the slightest sign that his son's sudden arrival had unnerved him, if even a little.
"Stop it already, Sesshomaru, there's no way that-" Inuyasha said, running down the hall.
The Inu no Taishou raised a finely arched brow at his youngest before his eyes switched back to Sesshomaru. "No way that what?"
His eldest continued his narrow-eyed accusation. "It was you, wasn't it, Chichi-ue. You are to blame-"
"-For keeping everyone waiting, of course! It's almost time for the banquet, little ones," came the velvety voice of a white goddess.
"Haha-ue," Sesshomaru acknowledged, bowing. The elegant woman seemed to glide down the hall towards her estranged family, taking in each one of their expressions, especially the one that passed over her son's face as he began to speak again. "The banquet can wait. Inuyasha will not be mating a female of such low class."
"What? Inuyasha, is this true?" Sesshomaru's mother asked, turning to her stepson, knowing what the reaction was going to be almost immediately.
"What? No! I never said that! He's being presumptuous!" Inuyasha fumed, his old spirit of recklessness coming forth. He suddenly turned on Sesshomaru. "Don't assume that you can just come here and order me around like you used to, because you can't! I'm the ruler of this place! I have the last word on what happens here! Not you, not Father, me! So just stay the hell away from me until I'm properly mated and happy for a change!"
Everyone stared in surprise, some in amusement, and some in fear at their lord's obvious stress, as the East ruler glared harshly and stormed off into the opposite direction of which he was supposed to go.
Well, that went over well, the Inu no Taishou thought almost optimistically. That is until he found his eldest son glaring avalanches of anger at him once more.
"Chichi-ue. You and I will speak privately," came Sesshomaru's dark tone.
Said chichi-ue only stared at his son dumbly.
"That will have to wait, Sesshomaru. I need your father at the moment. We must discuss the last preparations with Izayoi before the banquet begins. Oh, and another thing, darling, you must change into the attire I set out for you in your room." With that Sesshomaru's haha-ue strode off, a disgruntled but very relieved-looking chichi-ue in her grasp.
The Inu no Taishou looked back, catching his eldest son's last glance. A glance that clearly conveyed, You cannot hide from me.
The great and terrible dog youkai shivered.
"What on earth were you thinking!?"
"Well I didn't think that-"
"Exactly! You weren't thinking! By the gods! You may be the Inu no Taishou, Touga, but you are by far one of the more asinine ones our clan has ever had!" hissed a frustrated Izayoi when he entered the court yard with his first mate.
"Izayoi," the Inu no Taishou warned his second mate, the mother of his youngest son, Inuyasha. He would not let this woman talk down to him!
However, she, apparently, would have none of that.
"Don't you growl at me!" Izayoi barked, which caused the one being growled out to shrink into a sitting position upon a rock in front of her. Hell hath no fury, as they said. "You could have gotten yourself killed! By your own son! We told you your meddling would get you into trouble one day, didn't we!" The Inu no Taishou chose to remain silent at his second mate's declaration.
"Didn't we?" his first mate, the mother of Sesshomaru, came over and emphasized for the other woman, a hard squeeze to his shoulder helping him with his lack of speech.
"Yes, damn you! You warned me. But surely you cannot expect me to just sit back and watch them destroy their lives, not to mention allow them to be found out! Not only that but if they were to be discovered then I, by royal decree, or the appalled accusations of the other lords, would have to execute my own sons! I will not have it!" he roared, standing up. "Now get off me, woman! I have things I need to see to!"
The two women watched as the mighty and greatly feared Inu no Taishou strode out of the gardens and into the Main house toward his designated chambers.
"He's going off to hide until the banquet, isn't he?" Izayoi observed, frowning.
"Yes," Sesshomaru's mother sighed. "He's such a coward sometimes."
It was peculiar, he thought, that one moment the corridor outside his rooms was tittering with noise and the next, everyone had either scattered the area or had been killed without his knowing. Since he seemed to be at the end of his patience, he really hoped it was the latter.
Walking in to his bed chambers from the bathhouse, Inuyasha looked around for his garments for this evening. They were presented neatly upon an armless chair; armor, battle gear and sword all polished and cleaned thoroughly. His attire for the evening was basically that of what he had been wearing all day, though now clean of sweat and frustration.
Ah, but now, now he was fresh from bathing and planned on taking the time to calm himself, basking in the comfortableness that his informal wear provided for the next hour or so. His attire consisted of a sheer, light blue kimono wrapped loosely around his body, perfect for relaxing.
Really, he hadn't needed to bathe before the banquet, but seeing his brother, smelling him and having him so close wreaked havoc on his body, his hormones once again getting out of hand, as they had so many times when they were younger. But that was over 200 years ago and he had hoped that since then he had gained a bit more control over his baser urges. And then that face would materialize in his mind and all hope would then be lost, all of his morals and training left to be damned.
Inuyasha allowed himself to fall backwards onto his futon, eyes closing and a sigh escaping from between his lips.
Damn his brother. Damn the rules of their Clan and Household. If it weren't for them his rotten brother wouldn't even be here in his castle, ruining his mood! Ruining his life!
The sound of a sliding door suddenly caught the Lord of the East's attention, but not enough to sit up straight and open his eyes to acknowledge the intruder.
"Beloved, I don't mean to be rude, but I want to rest before I have to go through that damned banquet. I'd appreciate it if this could wait until after the dinner," Inuyasha told his mate-to-be in a tired voice; she was the only one that would dare not make herself known before entering his chambers.
Had he not been drenched in perfumes from his bath he would have been able to smell how wrong he was.
The door closed but Inuyasha knew he still wasn't alone in the room.
"Beloved, I really-" he stopped mid-sentence as his eyes opened, only to behold his elder brother leering down at him, a piece of cloth dangling upon one of his claws. He sat up automatically. "Sesshomaru... What the hell are you doing with-"
"I couldn't have very well not spoken with her, Inuyasha. After all, we will be related soon, will we not?" the elder one said, striding forward as he played with the piece of ripped kimono between his claws.
"What did you do to her!" Inuyasha roared as he jumped up. He was going into an attack position but was stopped short by a pair of hands on his shoulders, pushing him backwards onto the bed. Again he laid, face up, another body on top of his, punishing him with their strength.
"You belong to me, Inuyasha. Not her."
"If you hurt her, you will regret ever having set foot within my land," the Lord of the East threatened lowly, snarling.
"Don't worry, I haven't hurt your whore. I did, however, express my great dislike with having to share that which is mine. She seemed to understand after a while of suggestive repartee."
Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly, his heart stopping. He couldn't take this anymore. It made him sick just thinking on it and his brother's close proximity wasn't helping matters either. He was both terrified and intrigued of what his intended had thought of that declaration, or if Sesshomaru was merely pulling his chain to get him to throw everything he'd worked for out the window... Either way, both of those thoughts evaporated as his brother moved against him to further his leverage, his body sliding against Inuyasha's.
Sesshomaru was clad in only a sheer lavender kimono, fresh from bathing as well. The garment hung loosely around him, enticing all that had probably set eyes on him, including Inuyasha's betrothed.
A blush was threatening to reap havoc across the plains of Inuyasha's body. He did the only thing he could in order to avoid the awkwardness that this situation would become if his brother were to see the beginnings of his arousal.
"Get out. I told you, I don't want to see you right now, Sesshomaru," he said tightly, trying to push his brother off of him as maturely as possible.
"And I told you, otouto, that I will not let this night end until I have your writhing beneath me once again." With that Sesshomaru pinned wrists above a wet head of hair, nudging the younger inu's thighs apart with a knee, settling himself in more comfortably.
Sesshomaru smirked and Inuyasha shivered, whether from fear or anticipation, he did not know.
"You are mine for the next hour, little brother."
Chapter end.
