Explanation

Before anyone could stop him Sesshoumaru had turned into a ball of light and traced Inuyasha's blood scent; he was going to kill slowly whoever had tortured his little brother. To his surprise the trail led to the farm and not Makoto's family's holding. In fact it was almost too early for the farm to be waking and only the very early workers were around yet. Sesshoumaru found in a barn the tiny pointed milk fangs and a metal file where there was residue of his brother's claws and blood.

Only Inuyasha's scent was fresh; indicating that no one had been with him or had committed the atrocity; which meant that it was a self inflicted agony. As he flew back, Sesshoumaru's anger grew immensely and he had to school his face so that he wasn't actually snarling when he went to find his father. As expected, his parents were together outside the room that held Inuyasha and the healer.

Both his parents turned to look at him in concern as they felt his anger, and took note of the clenched fists. Surprisingly it was his mother who came to him and in a rare display of open affection, she put her arms around him and nuzzled him. It had the desired effect and disbursed his youki that had built up. He answered the unspoken question in a voice edged with anger;

"The pup did this to himself."

"That much is obvious Sesshoumaru."

"You knew?"

"There is no other scent on him; do you think your father would still be here had anyone else done this thing? No one would be living in the entire household that had contrived this, had your brother suffered at someone else's behest."

"Sesshoumaru...you will calm down pup; you are disturbing the peace that your brother and the healer need."

"Yes, Father; I apologise, it's just that I am so angry with Inuyasha, I could give him a good hiding for what he has done."

"I know how you feel, but you will not; he is not yours to discipline, unless you are in charge."

"He is my brother."

"But not your pup, my son; and you have much still to learn about pups, my child. Your brother tells us many things by this action; not all of them are obvious and we must learn from him when he is able to tell us what was going on in his mind."

"Little fool."

"Oh, Sesshoumaru, he is very brave; it took great courage and strength to do this. To carry on through his pain to complete his self appointed task at such a young age; most adults would have given up after extracting one fang let alone go to the second one and then de-claw himself. What drove this need in him? Do you realise that he made no sound either, his guard didn't hear him, he only scented the blood." At this point the healer came to them;

"My Lords and My Lady, I have completed the initial assessment of Lord Inuyasha; he is resting under sedation at the moment. You will be able to sit with him presently, I feel it would be beneficial to his state of mind that you do not appear angry with him; he must be greatly disturbed already about something to have done this."

"We understand, now will you tell us of your findings?"

"Of course, Sire; thankfully I do not think the damage is permanent. Milk fangs do not have the long roots of adult teeth but even so, they were not ready to come out yet, so he had to dig them out with his claws and that has caused injury to his gums. He will surely lose some of his other teeth because of this. However there is obviously no sign of the adult fangs, so I am optimistic that he has not managed to damage them. Unfortunately, milk fangs do not re-grow like adult teeth; so he will be fangless for a couple of years yet.

"As for the claws...again the claw bed is bruised; consistent with the trauma caused I would surmise from the scent, by a metal file used to rub away the claw itself. He was obviously in great distress by this time and probably had become introverted somewhat to blot out pain. This would not have been a conscious decision, but he has gone down far enough on both hands to graze the finger tip. There could be nerve damage, but I am hoping not.

"It will take time for the claw to grow again properly and they will need trimming to get rid of any damaged tissue. At the moment, I have plugged the fang socket to stop the bleeding and it might be of benefit to bring the pup's mother to him as soon as possible."

"Thank you, for all you have done; you will stay here with him?"

"Of course Sire; I do not yet release him from my care."

"I will go My Love; to fetch Izayoi."

"Thank you My Mate; I will sit with my son." Inu no Taishou left and Sesshoumaru followed him and they both went over to the bed where Inuyasha looked even smaller than normal. His mouth was open because of the packing; blood still stained his face and his tiny fingers were bandaged.

"Can I hold him?" Sesshoumaru whispered, not even fully realising he had asked aloud. But a deep seated need to wrap the boy in his tail was almost overpowering, a need that his father also understood, but the healer was quickly by their sides and was most insistent;

"No, My Lord, not yet; he is positioned so that his mouth drains properly. Please also do not yet hold his hands either; it will be a few hours before touching them will be tolerable for him." The healer brought a cup of painkilling herbal infusion for the boy to drink when he roused. All that the father and son could do for now was sit and wait.

Soon there was a bustling sound in the outer room and Izayoi rushed in and over to the bed, putting her hands to her mouth when she saw her son. The Lady had told them all she knew before they reached the Palace and although she wanted to, she didn't cry, knowing that the scent would disturb him and she wanted him to heal quickly, so she sat down and Makoto came to stand with her after having left Yori with one of the nurses.

Before Inuyasha came round the healer took out the cotton plugs and examined his mouth and then pleased that the bleeding was stopped, he gently washed the pup's face. Inuyasha didn't like that and it brought him out of his sleep. The healer made him drink the infusion of pain killing herbs and then helped him to sit up. It was only then that Inuyasha fully noticed everyone in the room with him. He looked to Izayoi and Inu no Taishou who were right next to him and smiled as much as he could, but the pull made him wince.

Sesshoumaru actually wanted to cry when he saw that smile but he didn't of course, that would never do, not now; he was no longer a child. Inuyasha reached his hand out to his parents and called to them both, Mama and Papa. His lisping voice was strange to him, but Izayoi looked briefly at the healer who gave a small nod and pulled Inuyasha to her in a fierce embrace as Inu no Taishou stroked the long silver hair and petted the ears but didn't touch his hands.

Inuyasha felt very happy, everyone seemed to be pleased with what he had done, and the pain became worth the result. He smiled again and asked where the babies were and could he hold them, now that he wasn't dangerous. His mother and father looked at each other and then at the others, they didn't know what to say and the healer took over.

"Perhaps it will be better when your fingers aren't so sore Master Inuyasha."

"O.K. I'm tired as well; but I did a good job didn't I, aren't you pleased?" He looked eagerly at Izayoi who looked as though she was going to cry at any moment and Inu No Taishou took Inuyasha from her and laid him back on the bed tucking him in.

"You always do your best to please us Inuyasha; we all love you very much." His father said and the boy smiled sleepily before remembering and saying;

"I'm sorry about Michiko's dress and tell Sesshoumaru I'm sorry for hurting his tail, but I fixed it for him so's I can't do it again."

"Don't worry Inuyasha, go to sleep and recover. Your Mama will stay with you."

"And Sesshoumaru...can you stay with me or is it near to Michiko's time?" He didn't hear the answer because he had fallen asleep. The youkai stayed sitting silently by his brother, feeling as guilty as if he had caused Inuyasha his pains. Izayoi could pick up on his saddened aura and put her hand on his and smiled at him.

"Do not assume the guilt alone Sesshoumaru; Inuyasha is an impressionable child, he has picked up on many things that have been said to him, to make him do this."

"I understand; I also know that I was the last one to speak to him last night, what happened was the deciding factor for him."

"No one blames you; least of all Inuyasha." She said and watched him stand proud and strong, his face impassive and calm.

"Inuyasha never blames anyone for anything. Goodnight, if he wakes and needs me I will come." He walked off down the hall to the dining room where the evening meal awaited him. Makoto was a guest for dinner and the two fathers were already deep in discussion about how to deal with the small hanyou. Many ideas were put forth and talked over and at the end the main thing decided was that Inuyasha should never have the reason or opportunity to harm himself again.

While this was going on, the Lady was watching her son; Sesshoumaru was eating and adding to the discussion, but there were small telltale signs that he wasn't coping as well as he was trying to project. She remembered the time when Inuyasha was born and the strong bond that had formed between the boys; Sesshoumaru was hardly any older now and he still needed his brother whether he knew it or not, especially now there had been strain.

When Sesshoumaru left the table, his mother looked across at his father who nodded at her briefly; he too knew his son and would check up on him. When he did, he found Sesshoumaru standing by his fire but his body was not relaxed by the warmth; so he went over and put his strong arms around his rigid son noticing that his pup held the tiny fangs of his brother in his hand.

"We have all contributed to the way Inuyasha perceives himself Sesshoumaru. I will not have you take on too much of the burden, but recognise that which is yours and rectify it if you can."

"I will Father; Inuyasha will be well again soon."

"Yes, the pup has shown remarkable strength and resilience, he will be a fine man one day, just as you are."

"Thank you." Truth be told, Sesshoumaru didn't feel very strong, but he appreciated the thought and said 'Goodnight' to his father. Inu no Taishou left the boy knowing that he wanted solitude, but he left the outer door ajar. He did the same when he checked on Inuyasha, noting that both the pup and his mother were asleep.

Later Inuyasha awoke, he was feeling much stronger but something was wrong; his mother was asleep and a scent check confirmed she was alright, but someone else was awake and he knew who it was. He got out of bed and went to the door and then unerringly turned to his brother's room and padded down the hall to where he could hear Sesshoumaru.

His brother was whimpering and his aura was distressed which made Inuyasha feel the same, so as he had done ever since his birth, he crawled to his brother and climbed his tail. Then he pushed his head under Sesshoumaru's chin and nuzzled him calling 'Shu' before his brother's sadness overcame him and he started to cry.

Sesshoumaru responded instinctively as he always had used to do and he too finally found relief in tears while he clutched Inuyasha to him. He had wanted to hold him since he'd been found, but had also felt afraid and unworthy which was most unusual for him, but true nonetheless. His tail came around the younger child and Inuyasha felt safe again, especially when Sesshoumaru told him that he would always make room for him.

When Inu no Taishou came by later to check, he was pleased to see his boys together asleep peacefully. It was time for harmony to be restored in their relationship and although Inuyasha was the obvious one who needed to be helped in the near future, Sesshoumaru too was vulnerable and would now have to accept that he too required a brother's understanding. They would need each other all of their long lives; the strongest youkai families were built around strong sibling packs.

Tomorrow would be soon enough to help out Inuyasha.

IYQ March 2008 Week 3 "We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more." - Madame Swetchine