A/N: This chapter isn't a part of the ongoing plot, but is a shard of the past, just like the chapter The Dog and his Wife was.
Thanks to Neutronstarchild and Fawn-Eyed-Girl for feedback and beta.
The Pups Meet
The castle walls loomed over him; the gate-like open cavern was dark and scary, because he didn't know what was waiting for him at the other side of the passage. There were guards on the top of the wall and at the gate, peering at him, mostly with indifference, sometimes with disgust. He was but a child not older than a dozen winters, but he was also a half-bred, he was used to being stared at.
His ears laid back, hiding in his wild mane of hair. He had been in this realm for some time now, wandering aimlessly, until he'd met Myouga. He was aware of how much hanyou like him were looked down on. He had had a few run-ins with low-level youkai who either tried to eat him or just kill him. He doubted the clearly higher status youkai of the castle would actually try to eat him, but killing could be an option. Or at least hurting him.
The old flea's words of assurance that he would not be harmed by the inhabitants of his father's lands were the only reason he came here.
After his mother died, he had nowhere to call home. This was probably the closest place to home he could have; after all, this was the dwelling of his last remaining relative. According to Myouga, he was supposed to live here and learn, so he could support his lord brother. It took a long time for Myouga to make Inuyasha go there, for the hanyou wasn't sure how a youkai lord could want to have a hanyou brother, but he decided to try. Winter was coming, and spending winter in the wilderness of this land wasn't easy.
"Get lost, brat," said one of the guards when Inuyasha approached the gate. He glanced between the two muscular men in identical clothing, both holding pikes.
"I..." he swallowed, took a deep breath and straightened his back a bit. "I want to go in."
"Go in? And for what end?" This time the guard sounded amused. The other guard scowled, hate shining in his dark eyes. Inuyasha didn't like the way that guard shifted in his stance, going from relaxed attention to ready to strike.
"To see... To see Lord Sesshomaru," Inuyasha blurted out. "He's my half-brother."
The nicer guard laughed out loud, but his companion bared his teeth at him.
"Don't sully our lord's name by speaking it, half-breed!" he growled and moved as if to strike him with his spear - not to stab, but just to hit him. Inuyasha had been wary of him already, so he was about to dodge out of the way, but was caught from behind by a clawed hand closing on the collar of his kimono.
Inuyasha yelped when he was yanked up and forced to dangle in the grasp of his captor, who had so silently approached him from behind and had concealed their youki so well from the boy, who was usually so careful not to get caught. He flailed his limbs and was about to scratch at that hand, but he caught a glimpse of the guards. The nicer one wasn't laughing anymore and the mean one was frozen, his face pale.
"This half-breed's life is not yours to take," spoke the smooth, cold voice of the one holding him. "Attempt again to take it, and yours will be forfeit. His life belongs to this one and this one shall dispatch of him whenever he sees fit."
Inuyasha turned his head and gulped when he saw the young man holding him and speaking so calmly about killing him.
Wide eyes searched the perfect face for a sign of emotion, but they found none. There was no spark of kindness or warmth in the golden eyes of the man, so similar to his own but cold. He had silver hair like Inuyasha, much longer and nicely brushed, his face was adorned with youkai markings, and his kimono and pelt thrown over his shoulder were solid white. He wore no armor and appeared like a ghost or a spirit of pristine snow. The man glanced at him for a moment, and for the briefest second, Inuyasha could see a shadow of emotion in the man's eye, before it was hidden behind a stoic mask again. The emotion was of the purest disgust and anger, tinted with a barely perceivable speck of sorrow.
One sniff told him that they were kin.
"Bro... Ah!" As soon as the two guards finished bowing, the grip on his robe was loosened and Inuyasha fell to the ground suddenly, landing on his butt.
"Take the half-breed to this one's office." The lord ignored his cry of surprise and pain and started to walk towards the gate.
.
"How dare you wear red?" were the first words his older brother spoke when Inuyasha was led into his office. It was a pretty big room, with a low table and a lot of shelves lining the walls, scrolls and papers neatly put away. Nothing seemed to be misplaced and the whole room had a look of a cold, controlled efficiency to it. The boy felt even more inadequate than usual.
His brother knelt behind the desk, a perfect statue of white marble. Inuyasha wasn't sure if he was free to kneel on the mats that were covering the floor, so he just stood where the guard had left him in the space between the door and the desk. He blinked, uncertain what he was supposed to say to this.
"The Inu no Taisho has been dead for less than five decades," the youkai informed him, as if Inuyasha wasn't aware that his dad was long dead. "As you are, unfortunately, his pup, you should be mourning him. Well, this one supposes it's too much to ask a half-breed and his human mother to observe the decent customs."
"Hey, don't insult my mom! And that's all the clothing I have!" Inuyasha exclaimed. He was used to being insulted, both by humans and youkai, but he couldn't stand people talking badly about his mom.
It hurt, it really hurt, to finally meet his big brother and see how cold he was, to hear his cruel words. Now, as he saw his brother's eyes flash with barely controlled anger, he understood his mistake. There would be no kindness, no bond between them. His brother would not protect him. His brother hated him, just like everyone else.
"You and your foul mother are the reason that the Inu no Taisho is dead. You caused the fall of the greatest of us, and you will not be warned again to cease your insolent talking."
These words were like cold iron slashing across his heart. His dad had died to save Inuyasha and his mother; he had sacrificed his life to save theirs. Hearing his brother so bitterly saying that it was his fault that their father was gone made his tummy fill with cold rocks and his heart ache. He had hoped against all odds that he could find a place at his brother's side, that he wouldn't be alone anymore, that even he could belong. But there was no hope now, when these words echoed in his ears, laid back against his skull. Tears welled in Inuyasha's eyes and he wiped them with the sleeve of his kimono, just to see the look of disdain on his brother's face. How could Myouga think that Sesshomaru would accept him? His parents had loved him and they both were dead now. The closest thing to affection he'd experienced since the day his mother had passed was the distant kindness of the Higurashi shrine keeper and the foolish, but well-meaning, flea.
He bit his tongue to keep from crying. If there was something his life had taught him, it was to be defiant, to forge forward against the spiteful, hateful people. If he didn't do that - what else was there to do? Let a lesser youkai eat him or some humans beat him to death?
"Don't call my mom names, you meanie!" he cried out, and Sesshomaru retaliated as soon as the words left his mouth. A flash of green light was all Inuyasha saw before a whip of light hit him across the chest, knocking him off of his feet. He yelped in pain and surprise and stood up as fast as he could, ready to fight or flee, following the instincts that served him well in this world so far. It still took him a while to pick himself up from the floor.
"You are a pathetic thing, half-breed, but this one may have a use for you." The daiyoukai glared at him, but it seemed he was controlling himself still. "Serve this one well and as a reward this one shall permit you to live in a far corner of the West until the time of your death comes."
These words gave Inuyasha a pause. He saw it clearly, that his brother hated him, but it seemed he was willing to at least leave him in peace if he did something for him. For a second, he wondered if he could win him over over time, if they could actually grow to be real brothers, but one glance at the stone face of Sesshomaru told him it was a foolish notion.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked slowly.
.
"Foolish, useless half-breed," his big brother hissed as he stood in the room where Inuyasha had been kept when he wasn't trying to pull the old, rusty sword out of a stone in the room next to this one. "This one is losing his patience with you. Do what you are here to do and stop wasting this one's time."
The past few weeks Inuyasha had tried many times a day to release the sword from the stone. He pleaded with it, pulled it, kicked it even; he had cursed it and done whatever he could, but the blade was stuck. And the blade was what his older brother wanted - the Tessaiga was rumored to be a powerful sword, one of his father's weapons. His brother wanted it, but he couldn't release it from the stone either;, the barrier around it kept him from even touching it.
A youkai by the name of Totosai, who sometimes came by, told Inuyasha once that Tessaiga was his heirloom, not Sesshomaru's, that his older brother had another sword - Tenseiga - as a gift from their father. Telling all that to Sesshomaru had resulted in Inuyasha getting a lot of bruises all over his body.
Totosai was annoying, because he often forgot things, even as he spoke to Inuyasha, but he also forgot the food he was often carrying himself. This was a blessing, because - be it by his brother's order or by malice of his servants - Inuyasha was not given any food most of the days.
Inuyasha looked up at his older brother, who glared down at him with a mixture of disgust and anger, but seemed controlled enough not to hit him this time. He sometimes lashed out, especially when Inuyasha tried to say or do anything he didn't approve of. At least Sesshomaru needed a reason to hurt Inuyasha, even if it was a flawed reason. The servant tasked with taking care of Inuyasha often lashed out at him so suddenly the poor boy had little time to try and dodge his blows.
"I'm trying, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha assured his brother. All he wanted these days was to get the sword free of the stone, so his brother would let him leave. He feared staying in the castle for much longer - the new moon was approaching and Inuyasha could not imagine the terrible things that youkai would do to him as a human. He was sure of one thing - Sesshomaru wouldn't help him; he would probably kill him himself.
This wasn't home: Inuyasha was painfully aware of that now. Believing Myouga had been a mistake, a mistake that cost him lots of pain and tears. He tried to cry when he was alone, for tears and other signs of weakness only angered his brother more.
"You're not doing enough. You're not enough. You will try again tomorrow after this one returns," Sesshomaru growled and turned to leave him in the dark, cold room. Inuyasha didn't try to stop him anymore; he covered his mouth with his hands to muffle the whine that threatened to leave his mouth when he saw the door slide shut and he heard the lock being bolted.
He had to escape. He had to run, soon. He was not welcome in the castle, nor in this land. He curled up in a ball trying to figure out how to flee this place and what to do next. He was sure that his brother would easily hunt him down, should he stay in the hidden realm. Humans of the apparent world were as prejudiced as youkai, but at least they were easier to avoid and run from. He remembered the village where he'd lived with his mother. That was a nice place, with not many humans, with almost no youkai. A place where he could hide. He remembered the miko, who had often helped his mother and had not shown hate for him. She had been nice to him, so maybe she wouldn't chase him off of the mountain?
He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the faint sound of the door being unlocked. His ears perked up and he held his breath, awaiting... whatever bad stuff was going to happen. But no one entered his prison, he heard steps shuffling away from the door until they faded away in the distance.
Was this someone giving him an opportunity to flee? Or was it but a ploy to make him run, so Sesshomaru would get even angrier with him? Should he ignore this chance to get out of this hateful place?
He sat up and sniffed the air. There was no new scent, only the smell of him, his brother, the old Totosai, the other servant... The castle was quiet and calm, he could hear guards calling out to each other along the walls.
Inuyasha leaped to his feet and went for the door. There was no time to hesitate, there could be no other chance to get out of this place. The new moon was tomorrow and he had to try and get away.
He slid the door open and started to move towards the entrance of the big chamber where the sword was held. His gaze moved to the sword when he sensed a pulse of youki coming from the blade. As if pulled by an unknown will, Inuyasha approached the sword once more and his tiny hands wrapped around the worn hilt.
The sword pulsed with youki, which felt so warm, so strong, so... loving. Whenever he touched it, he was surprised anew at the feeling of its aura. His tiny fingers wrapped around the hilt as much as they could, as he tried to soak in the warmth of this energy before leaving.
"I wish I could take you, since dad left you for me," he whispered to the sword. "I could use you to do some good, protect myself or whatever..."
He wondered if the Higurashi miko would be more lenient to let him stay at the mountain if he promised to protect the pilgrims or something.
The sword slid out of the rock and almost clattered to the floor, but he barely managed to keep it from making noise.
A smile spread over the bruised face of the boy broadening when he spotted the sword's sheath leaning against the wall next to the door. Soon, tiny feet carried him out of the castle and into the darkness of the night.