There wasn't any way, right?
Wrong.
Inuyasha was absolutely positive that the man standing in front of him was exactly who he thought it was. After all, scents didn't lie, though one could ignore them if they so wished. Like Koga did with Kagome. Or hell, even what Inuyasha himself used to do constantly. But after being beaten into the ground time and time again by Sesshomaru- the hanyo shaped up.
Which is why Inuyasha knew who this male was.
He came from the middle of nowhere, appearing in front of Inuyasha and Miroku in a ball of light just as Sesshomaru often travels when he needs to move quickly. Tanned skin, with two navy blue lightning bolt markings on the cheeks. And then there was the unmistakable molten amber eyes and long, regal silver hair. A wide grin was on the male's face as he looked at Inuyasha, not paying any mind to the hanyo's companion.
Yes, Inuyasha knew who this was, and he wasn't the least bit happy about it.
The hanyo's eyes narrowed, "What the fuck do you want, old man? Shouldn't you be, I don't know- shacking up with my mother in the netherworld or some shit?"
The great Inu no Taisho raised an eyebrow, "Oh? You don't sound too happy to see me, pup."
Inuyasha merely scoffed, while Miroku eyed the male for a cautious, curious second. But then the monk's face lit up in a grin, "You must be Inuyasha's father!"
The formerly dead male chuckled, "Yes, I am he. But please call me Toga."
"Alright then, Toga-sama... If I may ask, how is it you are here? I know Sesshomaru-sama would never reanimate you with Tenseiga."
Toga's eyes narrowed, what did that mean? Was his eldest going to be displeased with seeing his sire? Yet he merely hummed at the monk's question, "Yes, normally Tenseiga or something equivalent would be required. I stumbled upon the latter. I met a dark Miko in my time whom I befriended. She was able to cast a spell that would bring me back to life slowly if I was ever at the brink of death." A low chuckle rumbles through Toga's chest, "Though I never imagined it would take me 200 years to return to life."
"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed and turned away. "You've got some shitty ass timing then." Angry yellowish golden eyes return to level his father with a glare. "Where the hell were you when we needed you?! When Naraku was gonna destroy everything and everyone?! Or when my mother was being beaten to death by the villagers?! No, you just gotta pick now, huh? When everyone's at peace and happy, you stumble back in when nobody even misses you pathetic ass."
Toga, to his credit, was taken aback by his youngest statement. With wide eyes, the inu shook himself out of his shocked state. "Inuyasha, I never intended for you to grow up without your father. I wished to raise you with Izoyai, but as you know, things rarely go as planned."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "You think that's what this is about? You son of a bi-"
"What's going on here?"
The words froze on Inuyasha's tongue, everyone turning their heads towards the source. Standing there with all her five-feet-three-inches of height, was the Shikon no Miko Kagome. Her cerulean blue eyes shone like sapphires, long dark lashes framing them, porcelain skin, luscious pink lips, and curvaceous body making her even more attractive. She wore a white kimono with a certain red-cresting pattern across it, a bright blue obi around her waist, and on her hip was a toddler no older than the age of two. The babe had a shock of silver hair, amber eyes with a thin ring of cerulean blue on the edge of the irises, and he was giving Toga a look as if he despised his very presence.
Two other children were by Kagome's side. One with black hair like hers and was a human female just as Kagome, with an orange, red, and yellow checkered kimono who was about 11- Rin. The other was a fox demon, a young kit about 8 in human years in a blue haori and brown hakama pants with a frown on his face- Shippo.
"Okaa-sama?" Rin spoke, looking around her slightly taller adoptive mother and to the unknown male. Her eyes widened, "Whoa! He kinda looks like-"
Shippo snickered, "Oh this outta be good."
Rin smacked him upside the head, making the kitsune wince and hold the spot. Miroku blinked in mild surprise, "Kagome-sama? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Sango and the children."
"I was…" Kagome replied and turned an irritated glare over to Toga. "Until I felt his aura and decided to come see for myself if it was true. So what are you doing here, Taisho-san?"
Toga vaguely noticed the bare-minimum respect this miko was giving him and resisted the urge to growl, "You should watch your tongue to one such as I, miko. As for my business, can't a youkai visit his son after centuries of being dead?"
Kagome's bangs shadowed her face and she handed the silver-haired two-year-old over to the husband of her best friend, "Miroku, hold Katsuki for me for a few minutes. There's something I need to take care of."
Miroku quickly took the child from her, a cold sweat running down his back. He had learned a long time ago- do not piss off Kagome. "Hai, my lady."
The miko smiled in return, though that smile quickly turned into a scowl as she looked at Toga. Cerulean blue eyes shone with power and rage, unimaginable rage that made Toga take a step backwards in shock.
And before the inu youkai could even blink, his head whipped to the left, a harsh stinging sensation on his cheek.
Toga blinked, lifting a hand to the spot as he glared down at the miko, "Did you just-"
But he never finished as Kagome smacked him clear across the other side of his face, making his head whip to the right. The sting of reiki pulsed through the wound, making Toga wince. There were gasps of shock from the people there, but Kagome didn't even bother to look at them.
She glared at the taller male with as much fury as a single woman could hold in her eyes, "How dare you?! You think after all that you've done, after all that you've made your sons go though, that you can just show up out of the blue?! No way in hell! Do you have any idea what you've done to Inuyasha?! To Sesshomaru?! Are you seriously so dumb as that you think your sons will just let you back into their lives after you've been dead for centuries?! You claim to be all powerful, yet you were killed! You left your children alone… And now expect them to welcome you with open arms?!
"Are you insane?!"
Toga stared at the little miko in shock for a good few seconds, before a low growl echoed out of his chest, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You dare hit this one, not once, but twice, and then proceed to castrate me for coming back, before proceeding to question my intelligence! You are lucky I don't kill you where you stand!"
Kagome scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Says the man so dishonorable he took a concubine to bed even when he had a wife. Thank Kami you've never found your mate, you probably couldn't be faithful if your life depended on it."
Toga growled once more, the ground rumbling beneath his feet, "How do you know that?!"
Only a select few… Sesshomaru, Totosai, the woman herself… only they knew that Sesshomaru's mother was not Toga's mate.
"This one told her."
The voice was cold, elegant, emotionless, and one they all knew. Toga whipped around only to see his eldest son standing a few yards away. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, "And I would advise you, Chichiue, to step away from my mate- otherwise she may cause you greater damage than you would ever dream."
"M-mate?!" Toga screeched, his gaze flickering back and forth between Kagome and Sesshomaru like a game of ping-pong. "You mean this ill-tempered, ill-spoken little thing is your mate?! I didn't think you'd have one!"
And mates they were, despite the shock of their friends and comrades… In a sense, mates were the soul's perfect match. Humans found theirs in the aspect of true love, while youkai… they knew from instincts. And somehow, Kagome and Sesshomaru were mates.
They met once outside of their respective groups and found neither was as off-putting as originally perceived. After Naraku was defeated when Kagome was 16, Sesshomaru sent Rin to live in the human village and the miko found herself taking the girl into her care as she raised Shippo.
Kagome had the option to go through the well and did so once a month like clockwork, but decided to stay in the feudal era permanently instead. She no longer belonged in that world after the things she had witnessed, been through, experienced. So she never finished high school, or junior high, yet that didn't matter to her. Nor did it matter to the miko's mother, as long as Kagome was happy.
Sesshomaru came by often, dropping off presents for Rin and checking in on her, and soon found himself checking in on Kagome as well- even bringing her new furs for winter. It also didn't take long before Kagome craved his presence, enjoying it every time he came around. The inu even took Shippo under his wing, giving him the youkai training Kagome could not, as she was teaching Rin the things only a woman could teach her.
And it was after that, they fell in love.
To say Inuyasha was happy about this was an understatement. Since Kikyo had died before the final battle against Naraku, the hanyo no longer had to go to hell with her, and Inuyasha finally turned his attention to Kagome.
But by then, Kagome was sick of coming second best to Kikyo and decided to let Inuyasha go. She told herself they'd stay friends no matter what happened, and things continued as normal between them for a good while, because Inuyasha was scared of rejection after all he had put her through.
And by the time he got around to telling Kagome how he felt, she had already fallen in love with another.
'Inuyasha nervously paced back and forth outside Edo Village, the sun just rising in the distance behind him. The half-melted snow glistened under the light, the vibrant grass just beginning to perk up as winter slowly faded away. Today was the day… the day when he'd tell Kagome how he felt about her. She was 17 now and even more beautiful, but that was unimportant, for the hanyo could know his feelings were getting stronger.
He wished to be with Kagome for as long as her human life allowed her to be. That was for certain.
Inuyasha glanced over at the direction where Kagome's newly built hut sat where Shippo and Rin lived with her. The two kids were having a sleepover with some of the village kids, leaving Kagome alone in the hut for the evening. He scowled, Sesshomaru's brat… Inuyasha didn't like having her around Kagome because it meant that the icy bastard was also around her. It also didn't help that Sesshomaru brought Kagome new furs for winter when the season began, when he brought Rin hers. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed- just what was that bastard getting at?
The hanyo took another deep breath, his scowl deepening when he didn't smell Kagome nearby. But what he did smell…
Was Sesshomaru.
Inuyasha growled and shot up, taking off towards Kagome's hut. Why… Why was that bastard's scent there of all places?! And this early in the morning?! Sesshomaru had visited Rin yesterday, having dinner with his ward, Kagome, and Shippo, but didn't he go home after that?! Just like he always did?!
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted as he barreled into the house, only to freeze in place at who was leisurely sitting by the fire-place. The hanyo glared at him, "You! Where's Kagome, you bastard?! What have you done with her?!"
Sesshomaru looked at him blankly, his armor off in the corner along with Moko-moko-sama, leaving him in his haori and hakama pants. "Hello to you too, half-breed."
"Inuyasha?" Kagome's soft, half-asleep voice spoke as she tumbled out of the sleeping room while rubbing her eyes. "Why are you being so loud? It's so early!"
Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief at seeing she was unharmed. He rushed up to the miko, holding her shoulders in his hands. But still, even as his eyes saw her… Kagome had no scent… No, wait… it wasn't that she didn't have a scent. It was more like she was so coated in another's scent that hers was unrecognizable… It was on her skin, imprinted so heavily onto Kagome's body that only the one who put their scent on her could smell her own sweet scent. And the scent covering Kagome's own?
It belonged to Sesshomaru.
Said daiyoukai let out a threneting growl as he shot to his feet, "Hands off my mate!"
All the color drained from Inuyasha's face, "M-mate?"
Kagome blushed heavily, "I, uh…"
Sesshomaru pulled Inuyasha's hands off her, and tugged the miko into his side as he glared at Inuyasha. The faint hints of a smirk was on the inu's face, "You would do well to remember that fact, half-breed."
Inuyasha stared at Sesshomaru for a long moment, then looked at Kagome's pajama clad form. He did this a handful of times, before finally settling his gaze on the miko. "K-kagome… I-is this true? A-are you really Sesshomaru's mate?"
Kagome pulled away from the daiyoukai to smile softly at her long time friend, "Trust me. I was just as surprised when I found out… But I wasn't mad. After all-" she looked up at Sesshomaru with a beaming smile. "Now I don't ever have to leave the man I love!"
The silver inu looked down at her with a fond expression, his eyes softening ever-so-slightly. Inuyasha felt his heart shatter at that very moment… he could see it.
Right under his nose, Kagome had fallen in love with Sesshomaru, and somehow… The ice-cold daiyoukai fell in love with her.
And to top it all off, they were mates… soulmates.
How could Inuyasha compete with that?
At that moment, he tried to tell himself how if he hadn't waited, then Kagome could have been his… But even Inuyasha knew that was a lie. He knew that Sesshomaru and Kagome would have found their ways to each other eventually- that's just how mates worked.
Inuyasha looked between the two of them and sighed… At least this way, he wouldn't ever lose Kagome. Her life force was bonded to Sesshomaru's, so she'd be with him as long as he lived and wouldn't get much older than she was now.
He… Inuyasha supposed he could live with that…
For which would he rather? Have Kagome as a lover for a short amount of time or have her as a friend, a sister, for even longer? The latter, because Inuyasha couldn't force her to love him and if Kagome didn't love her partner- she could never be happy.
And all Inuyasha wanted was to see her happy… So if his ice-prick of an older brother made her happy, so what?
Inuyasha scowled, "Ugh, this means he'll be around all the time, doesn't it?"
"No, for I will be taking my mate back to my fortress," was Sesshomaru's immediate answer.
"I-hey!" Kagome interjected. "You can't do that! I wanna see my friends!"
"And you will, mate, though not until it is safe for you to travel. You will wait to return until after you give birth."
"I'm pregnant?!"
Sesshomaru looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Yes. Did I not tell you that the first intercourse of mates always results in an heir?"
Kagome glared up at him, "NO! You ass!"
Inuyasha blinked once, then twice, then grinned. Oh this would be fun to watch…'
Nine months later, Sesshomaru's heir, Katsuki was born. Kagome mostly stayed with Sesshomaru in his fortress despite her initial irritation with the idea, as did Shippo and Rin, but the miko still visited Edo village about every three months once she was able to travel again.
That was a year ago, and today just so happened to be the last day of one of those visits- the day Sesshomaru was to come pick up his mate and children.
Sesshomaru dryly raised an eyebrow at the male, "As if you can speak on the subject. You may be an honorable ruler, Chichiue, however there are many other aspects that you could be considered the single most dishonorable male to have ever lived."
Toga's eyebrows shot up, before he glared at his eldest. "And here I was going to praise you for finding something to protect."
"I will admit that is true strength, however your methods." Sesshoamru's eyes narrowed. "Are not honorable, nor will I ever stoop to such things. I will never dishonor myself or my mate by doing such things as you.
"If you truly believe I will let you into my life with open-arms, then you, Chichiue, are an even bigger fool than the half-breed."
Inuyasha chuckled, "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, bastard."
Sesshomaru shot him an icy glare, which the hanyo grinned in reply. Toga blinked, he thought… he always thought Sesshomaru hated hanyo and humans, yet now- here the inu was. Speaking civilly with his half-brother and having a human miko of all things as a mate, along with a hanyo heir.
Toga scowled, "And you consider yourself to be honorable, Sesshomaru? You never even accumulated half the-"
"You shut your mouth!" Kagome shouted as her reiki whipped out around her, making Inuyasha and Shippo take strategic steps backwards. Katsuki and Sesshomaru were immune, one being her child and the other being her mate. The miko pointed furiously at Toga, "Don't you dare begin to question Sesshomaru on his honor! What the hell do you know, huh?!
"And besides, Sesshomaru's surpassed you years ago!"
Toga's eyes narrowed, "What?!" he glared over at his eldest. "Is this true…"
"Yes it is, Chichiue," the inu repiled, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "And don't think this one shall be returning the fortress to you. I find that your subordinates are quite content under my rule… Nor are you Alpha anymore- that title belongs to this Sesshomaru. …"
The formerly dead youkai let out a growl, his eyes bleeding red. Alpha… claiming to be Alpha was a huge deal. Normally, it was the father who was the Alpha, the most powerful male… And for Sesshomaru claiming to be Alpha…
"No, boy…" Toga's voice came out a low growl. "I will be taking back my spoils. I am Alpha, just as I always have been."
And now, the smirk was fully prominent on Sesshomaru's face. "I will enjoy your attempts to defeat me."
The older inu snarled and lunged forward, pulling his youki created sword out of its sheath. Sesshomaru drew Bakusaiga effortlessly, blocking Toga's strike with practiced ease. Molten golden eyes narrowed at their sire, "If you think you can beat me, obviously your senses have diminished since being dead."
"I'll beat that insubordination out of you, pup," Toga growled as his eyes stayed blood red. His beast, his inner demon, was livid. How dare his son claim to be Alpha over him…
"Uh…" Miroku watched nervously as Sesshomaru and Toga began exchanging blows quickly, Kagome taking back her son from the monk. "Should we… stop them?"
The miko shook her head, "No, this is a challenge. Since Toga came back to life, he automatically assumed he'd be Alpha once more. But Sesshomaru had long since assumed that role. And besides," Kagome turned her attention to the fight- her nose scrunching up. "Like hell I'd ever submit to anybody but Sesshomaru."
Inuyasha snorted, "Yeah, she likes being Alpha Bitch too much."
"Hey! Why can't you just say Alpha Female like everybody else!"
The hanyo started cackling, "And you don't even deny being his bitch! Ha!"
"Okaa-sama…" Rin started hesitantly, grabbing onto Kagome's kimono sleeve. "Otou-sama… he'll win… right?"
"Of course he will!" Shippo beat the miko to the punch, a wide smile on his face. "You can tell by their youki! Sesshomaru's way more powerful than that bastard! Ow!" the kitsune held the top of his head, looking over at Kagome, who held her free hand in the air. "Okaa-san! Why?!"
"Don't say such bad words around Katsuki, Shippo!" Kagome shouted, chastising him as the toddler on her hip shifted his gaze to continue watching the fight. Shippo laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, while Rin couldn't help but start laughing.
"Mama…" Katsuki pulled on her kimono top, drawing Kagome's attention back to him. The toddler pointed towards the fight, "Look!"
The miko returned her gaze to the fight, only to find Toga laying on the ground heavily injured with his blade several feet away. Sesshomaru stood over the male, a triumphant smirk on his face, his eyes giving away his amusement with the situation, barely any signs of battle on him. "Didn't you say you were going to beat me down, Chichiue?"
Toga snarled from the ground, his claws and fangs elongated as his beast still refused to submit to his own son. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he stomped on one of Toga's hands, the sound of bone crushing echoing through the clearing.
"Submit, Chichiue, or die."
"Not a chance in hell," Toga growled, his eyes returning to their normal amber color, before they widened. No… his beast was… submitting?! Was it… was it truly that hopeless? Has Sesshomaru truly surpassed him?!
Yet as Toga tried and failed to stand, only barely managing to breath with a cracked rib, he knew it was true.
Sesshomaru had long surpassed his sire.
With a long sigh, Toga let the back of his head hit the soft ground, pulling his youki and aura back in. He could feel it then, just how much power Sesshomaru held in his hands… it was far more than Toga possessed himself. "Fine… I-I submit… You can have it all, son."
"I already did," was Sesshomaru's only reply, before turning on his heel and walking over to his mate and children. Yet then he stopped half-way, looking back over at the former dead youkai. "And you would be wise, Chichiue, to take up residence somewhere else.
"Not with this one, or Inuyasha. If you want to be around, you'll have to earn it."
Toga sighed and then chuckled lightly, of course that's how it would be… A wince left him as his broken rib dug deeper into his lung. He'd heal soon… though he would be withering in pain for a while…
Maybe he should've stayed dead…