Chapter 8: The Western Palace

Despite modern conveniences, many youkai still felt more at home around nature. The freedom, the simplicity of it all. The Inu no Taisho was not just respected for his power, but also the fact that when humans were developing rapidly, he saw the need to protect the youkai world. Now in the modern day, he owns nearly sixty percent of all the undeveloped land in Japan, which at least partially houses over seventy five percent of the remaining youkai species. For ruling over it all, his palace remained in his original lands in the West, and Taisho headquarters in Tokyo. Whereas Taisho headquarters was meant to impress humans, the Western Palace remained true to the old ways, like a museum out of the feudal era.

"Holy hell Sessh, this place is huge!" Growing up around humans, Inuyasha had never been brought to the Western Palace. And even if he had, only a spiritualist or youkai could see through the barrier. Other humans would see only thick, uncrossable forest and mountain lands. Even hanyou could not see beyond the illusion until their first transformation permanently weakened their seals.

"As it should be. Father spent two millennium building his fortune." Although Sesshomaru fully supported his father's conquests among humans, he could only truly relax amongst his own people and lack of human pollution.

As they approached the main entrance a tiger youkai approached and bowed. "My lord. It is good to have you back," he looked at Inuyasha, "and to have your brother finally free too." Free?

"Hayai, has the council assembled?" questioned Sesshomaru.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Good, I will meet with them. Inuyasha you may wander and Hayai will observe you to ensure you do not do anything foolish."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at that, "gimme some credit, I may be new to being hanyou but I've been to a few business meetings and parties of dad's. I'm just gonna explore, check out the scents."

Sesshomaru only turned to Hayai, "watch him," and went inside the palace.

Inuyasha followed him in to explore the palace with Hayai in pursuit. For someone who just a month ago didn't really believe in youkai, the palace was quite the culture shock. The paintings lining the walls all pictured either youkai in their true forms, some looking like children's nightmares, while others showed families who could not quite pass for humans. Several servants passed in the hallways, many with their own non-human traits: claws, fangs, tails, scales, too many arms, one even had green skin and smelled like… lizard? There was also a kinda terrifying lingering scent of blood. Fortunately, it smelled like only animal's blood. What was also amazing was the obvious presence of magic. It wasn't candles or light bulbs that lit the palace, but some kind of torches on the wall. Inuyasha put a hand towards one of them, but it didn't even feel hot. It didn't smoke, and it didn't smell of ash. The only oddity was that they were radiating demonic energy. He'd have to ask his brother. After another hour of wandering the corridors, the hanyou started feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of new discoveries and went outside to breathe. Fortunately, the palace had a wonderful garden. Finding an open field of grass, the hanyou lied down in the grass staring up at the sky.

"Well well, what do we have here? A half breed sullying our lord's estate?" called out a voice from his side. It was a group of three.

"Sullying? What? The only one sullying anything here is you with that god awful stench. What did you do, go roll around in the mud?" Honestly it was a fair question. Once his nose got through the reek, he could pick out the scent of pig youkai. Although it was questionable if they were rolling around in mud or something else.

"Don't like our smell half breed? It's a wonder you can smell anything with your tainted blood," he replied.

"You kiddin'? Even a human would think you stink!" As if to emphasize his point, Inuyasha covered both his mouth and nose with his hands.

That made the pig mad. "Half breed trash! You dare disrespect your betters. Go back to the human filth where you belong! Or better yet." Fortunately, he didn't get a chance to suggest the alternative.

"Lord Doro, I apologize, but Lord Sesshomaru has requested his younger brother's presence." Hayai had noticed the commotion.

"His brother?" he questioned with a sneer, "I thought the Inu no Taisho was too embarrassed by his little mistake to ever let him come here."

Before, Inuyasha was just speaking his mind, now he was pissed! "Mistake!? My father loves my human mother and havin' me wasn't a mistake!"

"No? Then why'd he seal your youkai half? Why didn't he just raise you here?" the pig looked pleased with the line of questioning.

Huh? He could've- "No! He did that for my mom's sake! She couldn't come here so he had me raised there!"

The pig looked positively smug. "As if he'd give up the chance of a properly raised heir for some human."

"He raised me plenty properly! And he did it for her. I have plenty of time to learn to be a youkai heir, but my mother's time is limited."

It shouldn't have been possible for the pig to look even more smug. "Really? Then why didn't he mate her? She would've gotten his lifespan if he really loved her."

"W-what?" Sesshomaru didn't say anything about that. Is it really possible? But… but I've seen mother for 21 years! She married young but, shit, I know she looks older. Inuyasha growled. "I don't care what you say! I've seen them together and they're happy. Whatever choice he made, he did it for me and her!"

"Young Lord!" the poor tiger youkai did not want this argument to go on any longer. "We have to return to your brother."

Inuyasha looked back at the pig youkai and snarled. "You know what? You ain't worth my time and next time I come back here, it'll be with all the skills Sesshomaru is teaching me in harnessing my youkai half. Trust me, I'm a fast learner. You won't look down on me as a half breed then." With that parting, he started back into the castle, Hayai quickly running to guide him to Sesshomaru.

"Sesshomaru!"

"Yes, little brother?"

"If father were to mate my mother, would it really give her his lifespan?"

"Yes"

"Then why the hell hasn't he?!" I know that pig was lying!

Sesshomaru's expression didn't change. "How can he? Your mother does not know he is a youkai."

"What? He can't tell her so that he can take her as a life-mate?" he questioned, a little more calmly. "But… c'mon!"

"If the spiritualists were to make one exception, then others would request the same." Grr! Where are these spiritualists so I can give them a piece of my mind. Wait!

"But, I don't have a strike, so technically I'm allowed to reveal myself to a trustworthy human right?" he questioned.

"…" Right Sesshomaru doesn't repeat himself. That means…

"Time to head back then?"

"Indeed"

Sesshomaru started walking towards the car parked outside and Inuyasha followed. Both left the Western Palace in silence, with Inuyasha mentally plotting how telling his mother could go. It was an hour into the drive when Sesshomaru out of nowhere said, "Besides, now Izayoi is of a much closer age equivalency to father."