Safe at Last

The familiar and comforting scent of his mother roused Sesshoumaru just before her tails came round both him and Inuyasha. He welcomed the warmth and safety, as he felt very like a small child at the moment. His father's discipline was still foremost in his mind and he knew he had been firmly put in his place; Inu no Taishou's displeasure was formidable and Sesshoumaru hated to be on the wrong side of Papa. His mother was soothing though and allowed him to rest in her arms while Inuyasha rested in his; she tightened her grip on her son and nuzzled the top of his head.

"You would be more comfortable in bed My Boys; it is very late and there is much to do tomorrow."

"Is Papa still angry with me Mama?"

"I'm sure you will find out in the morning My Son; but never doubt that he loves you Sesshoumaru, even when he needs to remind you of various salient points. You would be wise to remember who he is; the Lord of the West and General over many, he is not just your father and his power is immense. I would have thought that with your brains you would have known to not attempt a challenge yet."

"I didn't mean to..."

"We know that pup; you are still so silly sometimes, but now it is time for bed. Shall I take Inuyasha back to his?"

"I wants to stay with Shu please Aunty."

"Very well, but in you get right now. I will stay until you sleep." She tucked up both boys and sat on the edge of the large futon. Inuyasha went to sleep immediately, but Sesshoumaru was too disturbed to close his eyes. He had pushed his father too far this time, making him angry and show more of his power than Sesshoumaru had ever seen directed at him, and he had to admit he'd been frightened. Frightened enough not to resist his mother when she put her arms round him and rocked him very gently; leaning his head on her shoulder.

He was eventually lulled to sleep with her barely hummed pup song taking away the fear, and her claws raking through his hair in a soothing rhythm. But it was his father who took Sesshoumaru from his mother to lay his eldest down comfortably next to his little brother and who kissed his forehead with a sad smile. His Lady then took him by the hand and led him back to their bed where she proceeded to help him forget his problems for a while.

It had been a long time since Sesshoumaru had been put to bed by either parent, but subconsciously his youkai was comforted greatly and helped give the boy very restful sleep, much more than he would have expected after the upheaval of the day before. In fact he slept longer than usual and awoke to hear Inuyasha in his private bathroom splashing about; he could hear the pup giggling, with Susumu giving soft admonitions not to wake Lord Sesshoumaru. He also overheard Inuyasha speaking with a child's intense seriousness while he was being dried;

"Look after Shu for me please Susu; he was very sad last night."

"I will My Little Lord, and don't fret, he'll be alright."

"Why was he upset; why did Papa make him cry?"

"That's His Lordship's business little one; but take a hint from me and don't ask him this time, or you might make him unhappy again."

"O.K. I won't; but he'll be alright...you promise?"

"I promise; now are you dry all over...good, let's get some clothes on you and then it will be time to find out if breakfast is ready." Susumu soon had Inuyasha ready and told him to be quiet when he left the room; he knew that Sesshoumaru was awake, but if his lordling didn't want anyone else to know, it wasn't Susumu's place to give him away. However the small hanyou padded over to his brother and gazed at him for a while, then gently leaned forward to leave a barely there kiss on the crescent moon.

"Don't be sad for long Shu, 'member Papa loves you or he wouldn't have kissed you last night." Then he left, sliding the shoji door as quietly as he could. When he had gone, Sesshoumaru sniffed cautiously and could scent his father as well as Inuyasha, and it lightened his heart; although he was still very subdued. Sitting up he saw the quiet and efficient Susumu tidying the remnants of Inuyasha's presence away; the kitsune ignored the pup until Sesshoumaru came to him.

"You must have a very poor opinion of your Prince, Susumu."

"On the contrary Lord Sesshoumaru; I hold you in the highest regard."

"I must at least seem a spoiled brat to you; first by giving you the blame and now because of my..."

"You are not spoiled My Lord; your parents have made sure of that." Susumu broke in.

"You know why my Father was angry yesterday, and you were listening before Susumu...when I told Inuyasha..."

"I must always be alert to your needs and desires my lord, Susumu replied, tongue firmly in cheek...to that end I find it helpful to be able to know them in advance, and you trust me." There was a definite smirk once again in the fond way that Susumu spoke and surprisingly it lifted Sesshoumaru's spirits.

"I thought I was going to feel the belt for a second time yesterday."

"I must admit My Lord, so did I; I am however most happy that His Lordship decided against thrashing you."

"Thank you, but remembering again made me realise that in my own desire to bury the first incident for myself, I never once acknowledged your sacrifice, nor thanked you for taking my blame."

"May I interrupt you again My Lord...you are thinking erroneous thoughts...I did not take your blame on that day." Susumu was encouraged to carry on by the interested look on Sesshoumaru's face. "Your father strapped me for my own error, that of lying to him; he told me that I was lucky it wasn't a lot more, but he knew it was not a pre-planned lie. He came to me afterwards to make sure that I understood...he said for example, suppose you went off by yourself when you shouldn't have done and got into trouble. If I lied about knowing you had left, out of some misdirected sense of loyalty, help might arrive too late for you.

"Your father was most emphatic that if I wanted to stay as your personal servant, I had to recognise my loyalty was to him first; if I was asked for the truth about you, then it was imperative that I give it. There was therefore no need to say anything to me My Lord; you had nothing to do with my mistake and you paid for your own in the same way as I."

"Nevertheless, I do thank you for your loyalty and value it Susumu."

"I appreciate your kindness My Lord; I know you could have dismissed me from your service back then, but you did not and for that I am grateful."

"It didn't cross my mind, not that I would have done so; I remember too well all the times you were there to help me if my parents were unavailable. Your foxfire and illusions helped soothe me many times as a whelp at night, when shadows unnerved me."

"I believe that was Inu no Taishou's idea in asking me to attend you My Lord. I have always been pleased to serve you." Susumu smiled again and carried on with his work, never crossing the fine line between respectful friendliness and rude over familiarity; and by doing so, he made himself invaluable to his young Lord. Sesshoumaru however was suddenly struck by something Susumu had said and asked;

"Would you have betrayed me to my father at any time?"

"Oh yes My Lord, immediately in fact; the lesson was hard learned for me also and I had no wish to test him further, his warning of a harder belting notwithstanding. You are My Lord, but Inu no Taishou is My Lord's Father; I owe him my first allegiance, besides I agree with him, he knows what is wanted to keep you and the rest of his family safe." Susumu said firmly and with authority, Sesshoumaru noticed.

"I have also come to realise that I know very little about you, which I intend to rectify...I should know about someone who is so close to my person and who is also entrusted with my siblings. You don't speak like the other servants." Sesshoumaru was once again at his most imperious; pulling his dignity around him. It made Susumu smile inside; he knew that it meant that the lordling was feeling insecure. As if Inu no Taishou would have allowed just anyone so close to any of his pups. But he sighed sadly too, as he remembered;

"You are correct My Lord; I was not born to serve."

"Tell me... I mean please tell me."

"May I speak freely to you?"

"Of course; I have asked you a question Susumu."

"Allow me to defer the answer until you are at liberty again My Lord; now you are required at breakfast and you need to bathe. I will answer you in full the next time you ask."

"Now you are treating me as if I were a child, like Inuyasha."

"Perish the thought My Lord...I am only reminding you of your duty." Susumu nearly laughed, but that would be too much and in any case, Sesshoumaru had done as he was told. As usual Sesshoumaru turned up for breakfast pristine, but he didn't stroll in casually graceful as he normally did; this time he was mindful of his father's youkai and kept his head bowed before sinking into his seat. He did however greet them all good morning before starting to eat. The atmosphere was strained though and Inuyasha squirmed in his seat, feeling uncomfortable prickly with his father's youki swirling around them all. He couldn't take it for too long:

"Papa, tell Shu you love him please; I don't like him feeling sad."

"Of course I love Sesshoumaru; I will always love him, I am also very proud of my eldest son. If he is sad he knows what he must do Inuyasha."

"Go on Shu, go and say sorry to Papa. When Mama spanked me and I was sad, Uncle Makoto said I'd feel much better if I said I was sorry and I did, feel better I mean; so go and say sorry Shu." Inuyasha ignored the flash of indignant eyes from his brother and smiled ingenuously at him; eventually he got a small grin back. Then in front of his family, Sesshoumaru went over to his father and pulling his hair over one shoulder he voluntarily bared his neck to Inu no Taishou's fangs and solemnly apologised in a clear but low voice.

It was enough; his father grazed his neck with his fangs bringing a smear of blood to the surface and then hugged Sesshoumaru tightly. The swell of youki immediately abated and the younger youkai sighed, relieved to be back where he should be and restoring the pack harmony which was under strain all the time until Sesshoumaru showed his Alpha, he was submitted again. Inu no Taishou nuzzled his pup on the neck and growled once more, but this time Sesshoumaru smiled as he was forgiven in his natural instinctive language.

"It is time Inuyasha, for you to come with me for a moment; have you finished your breakfast?"

"Yes Papa; is Shu coming too?"

"If he would like to help me, he may come certainly."

"Can I come too Papa?" Michiko called out, but her Mama said no, she was to do her lessons with her nurse.

"Where we goin' Papa; is I in trouble?" Inuyasha suddenly started to worry.

"No, you are not in trouble; but I need you to do something for me, I have something to give you."

"O.K... Is it something to do with what Shu did Papa? 'Cos I don't want it if its gonna make him unhappy again."

"It's alright Inuyasha; I want what makes you happy, not what makes me happy." Sesshoumaru said softly.

"Why can't it make both of us happy, Shu?" Inuyasha wailed.

"Sometimes it just isn't possible My Inuyasha, now stop worrying about Shu; in the long run, this will make him very happy. So now are you coming with us?" It was not really an option as Inu no Taishou had picked up Inuyasha and carted him off towards the study, where on the table were a selection of Inuyasha's favourite sweets and on a side table were some of Sesshoumaru's.

"Oh thank you Papa; but see Shu, there are some of yours too, so you can be happy as well." In the pup's naive mind, the sweets were the gift and his unease was lessened, his beloved Shu had not been left out. Then after playing some strenuous sparring games, Inuyasha was caught up to his father's lap once more and told to release his youkai. When the little youkai was evident, Inu no Taishou explained to him what was going to happen and why; he was told he wouldn't be imprisoned, but his strength would be subdued, at least until Inuyasha was much older and more in control with his youkai well trained.

The youkai was not happy, but that was from a fear that he would be destroyed mainly. His father's reassurance that he would be completely safe was not fully successful; but the youkai did already know that it must obey its chosen Alpha, especially when Sesshoumaru added his weight to his father's words. When hanyou Inuyasha was back, he didn't consciously remember what had been said to his youkai, but he was now allowed to eat what he wanted. Like all children he was unrestrained and the strong hidden herbs that induced sleep, soon got to work and Inuyasha was nodding off in his brother's arms before long.

The Lady of the West came in after he was asleep and released a controlled dose of Dokkasou under the boy's nose. This knocked him unconscious, enabling Inu no Taishou to swiftly insert the black pearl into Inuyasha's right eye, without the pup moving or knowing. Hopefully it would cause minimal pain too, considering that the herbal concoction put in the sweets should be powerful enough to last the rest of the morning while the eye healed.

Inu no Taishou was happy now; his younger son was as safe as he could be and was in his brother's lap sleeping, Sesshoumaru was not giving off a dissatisfied aura and seemed content and he could start to relax himself for the first time in many months. The last thing to do before they could be sure of success was to talk once more to Inuyasha's youkai. When the boy awoke and this was done, the youkai could also stop being afraid, as it could tell that although muted, it was still alive.

That afternoon after lunch, the whole family went into the gardens for games and a picnic; the pups all rushed around, including Sesshoumaru, who loved to chase the smaller ones, until they were exhausted. Then as the fireflies came out and the frogs started to sing in the ponds, it was time to go in and go to bed; a long tiring episode had hopefully come to a close.

IYQ Community; August 2010

Week #2:

I want what makes you happy, not what makes me happy.

–Fry, Futurama: Bender's Big Score