Explaining to Kouga

The following morning as the class convened for lessons, Inuyasha was grateful that The Tiger made no reference to the preceding day and no one else made a fuss. Kouga surmised that their teacher had made sure that nobody asked Inuyasha or himself any questions. The normally curious children were all suspiciously reticent; probably after the two boys were eventually and specifically dismissed to go to their rooms the day before.

By the end of the morning lessons the children were working hard and nobody noticed the silent white figure standing at the doorway, until their attention was called by The Tiger to stop work and show their respect to the Prince of the West, Lord Sesshoumaru. At this the whole class stood and bowed, including Inuyasha who had learned long ago that he too gave proper obeisance to his father's heir, especially in public.

Besides when he had sneaked a look at Sesshoumaru's face he could see that his brother's mien was very formal and stern. In fact, he was at his most pompous Inuyasha noted forlornly; his brother had not so much as glanced in his direction. Sesshoumaru inclined his own head to The Tiger, who he remembered well from when he was in this same class.

"You have two pupils that Inu no Taishou wishes to interview. I have come to escort them to my Father."

"Of course My Lord Prince; Inuyasha, Kouga, you will follow his Lordship." The Tiger said and dismissed them before allowing the rest of the class to go to the dojo for the rest of the morning. Inuyasha's ears drooped sadly, he was not afraid of his father in any way, but he hadn't wanted to let down his family and now he was sure that Sesshoumaru was disappointed in him. He tried to swallow the whine that had arisen in his throat, the instinctive plea to his Alpha brother to acknowledge him, knowing that had Sesshoumaru been going to, he would have done so already.

Kouga heard Inuyasha, but didn't understand who the pup was calling to, as he didn't know the relationship between his companions. But the sound made him feel guilty again and he moved closer to the hanyou and whispered to him.

"Don't worry Inuyasha, let me do the talking; I'll explain what happened." Kouga asserted much to Inuyasha's surprise and Sesshoumaru's annoyance. He understood Kouga's motives far more than either of the younger two; the wolf cub was still acting on his dominant instincts, taking charge over Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru had read the letter that The Tiger had sent to Inu no Taishou about what had transpired the day before, and he knew how the problem had occurred. It didn't matter though, Inu no Taishou was well used to dealing with presumptuous creatures, whoever or how old they were.

The boys were instructed to wait outside until called for and Sesshoumaru glided away, well aware of the pair of soulful golden eyes watching him go. It was hard for the elder brother too, just leaving his Inuyasha when the boy needed him to reassure and comfort. His youkai was berating him for not attending to and answering the hanyou; the bond they shared could sometimes be troublesome.

Sesshoumaru knew that the reason he had had to fetch his brother was to remind him too that Inuyasha was not his son, but his brother. Inu no Taishou had not taken kindly to the interference of his elder son in Inuyasha's defence and had had to firmly remind Sesshoumaru that it was not in Inuyasha's best interests to allow him leniency in this. Sesshoumaru had seen the sense in his father's wisdom, but it was not going to stop him from listening in.

Soon the boys were summoned to the presence of the Lord of the West; he looked over them and could sense the nervous tension and the shame from both, but there was also a determined set to the chin of the wolf cub. It was obvious that Kouga wanted to explain first and Inu no Taishou turned his attention to the cub who on this occasion anyway had, by means of his Alpha rank, first call on his time.

Diplomacy must be at work at all times and in all situations, the child may just be a schoolboy at the moment and at the invitation of the West, but he was the future ruler of an allied people and already Kouga knew his status. Inu no Taishou gave him a nod to indicate he could speak, but the General already knew of the problems the boy was having, The Tiger kept his Lord abreast of the situations in the school.

Kouga stood proudly in front of his benefactor and tried to put into words how he and Inuyasha had arrived at this point, but as he spoke, his pride crumbled as he could hear how petty his excuses and reasons sounded now. He was also too ashamed to say exactly how he had caused Inuyasha to lose his temper, beyond saying that he had spoken words that upset the boy and had taken the pup's rabbit and thrown it out of bounds.

The Dog General could see and hear the contrition in the wolf cub's demeanour and speech and in any case he understood him. Now he turned his attention to his younger son whose ears were down in his hair and whose eyes were hidden behind his fringe.

"Inuyasha, you know why you of all your classmates are forbidden to release your youkai." He stated.

"Yes."

"You become unreasoning and dangerous; your control is not developed, I am not convinced that school is the best place for you yet..." He had not finished speaking, and Inuyasha had not had chance to protest, before Kouga jumped in;

"No Sir, please it was mainly my fault; let me take the blame, Inuyasha is hanyou, he might find it difficult in finding another school or opportunity like this one. Who knows but this might be his only chance to make a place for himself in the world." Kouga was obviously repeating phrases he had overheard, but whether they had been applied to himself or Inuyasha was not so obvious.

"I am aware of course that Inuyasha is hanyou...Inuyasha, do you consider Kouga a friend or merely an acquaintance, just someone you know?" He clarified.

"I like Kouga...when he is not being bossy to me. I suppose normally he is a friend, he did try to get me out of trouble as well as getting me in it." Inuyasha shyly replied.

"Very well; I need you both to listen to me and heed me well. I will explain what is going on here." Making sure he had the pair's attention, Inu no Taishou carried on. "Kouga, you are an Alpha, of this there is no doubt, you will be leader of your people and already that is known. However most of your classmates are Beta, not through nature yet but by circumstance. They are all younger siblings, some several places lower.

"But as of yet they haven't decided if they are Beta permanently, some will assume Alpha roles within packs of their own when they are grown. Of these still uncertain ones, you can become leader, they will learn from you or follow you, but Inuyasha is different; his youkai is Beta and knows it already. This is by both birth and circumstance; as a hanyou amongst strong youkai he is automatically in Beta position, he is also Beta to his human stepfather while he is still a child.

"The reason however that he rebels against you being the class Alpha is because Inuyasha's youkai is bonded already to his Alpha brother. His youkai will accept no other in their place; therefore he will not submit to your leadership, he has no need to do so. Do you understand this?" He looked at the boys' faces and could see the confusion, but no matter, they would learn to understand.

"I understand I think, I will not try to influence Inuyasha to my way, but I promise if you let him stay here I will undertake not to let him get into any more trouble."

"You have not fully learned yet Kouga, you are still trying to assert your influence over Inuyasha, and you will fail. But you need have no fear over Inuyasha's future. You have one more chance Inuyasha."

"Thank you." Was the dual reply and Inu no Taishou smiled at them.

"You and your whole class have your full lives ahead of you and the future is full of unknown things; as of yet you have no idea on where that life will take you. None of you knew one another before starting school, but you can make the most of your friendships and have common goals, make tight alliances. If you do this and stick together, you need never be afraid of what is to come no matter who or what you are. You are all at the beginning, standing on the threshold of life, it is an exciting place to be."

Neither boy fully understood the Western Lord's words, but his sincerity and feeling were tangible and they knew he had spoken profound words that pertained to his farsighted ideals of the schools that both his sons had attended. His next words however had Kouga's eyes wide open in surprise;

"You may go back to school now Prince Kouga and perhaps you will inform your tutor privately that I am keeping my son here for the afternoon; his brother wishes to speak with him." He dismissed the dumbfounded Kouga and turned his attention to Inuyasha who leapt into the inviting arms with glee. Kouga felt stupid, it was no wonder that Inuyasha didn't need his leadership, when he had the Western Lord and the Elder Prince as Alphas; he hadn't even realised that Inuyasha was a Prince too until now.

"There is no need to make this general knowledge in your class yet, Wolf Prince." Was the last thing he heard before he was ushered out and back to his class.

IYQ Community; November 2009, Week #4:

We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you.

-Donna Lewis, At The Beginning