Chapter 17: Family Matters
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The first few days after their return had been like growing pains, if growing pains could cause you migraines, and tended to never let up.
"Shut up Woman!" Inuyasha growled, slamming the door to the fridge shut, he heard the rattling of protest from the contents inside the thing.
But right now, he could care less about what broke, all his concentration was on not losing whatever remanence of sanity he had left.
"No! You said you were going to talk to him, my exams start in two weeks! I haven't registered, or gotten my student I.D taken, and you're over here telling me that I might not even take the test!?"
"I told you already- I Don't care, your stupid human problems mean nothing to me."
He was about to ditch the idea of a peaceful meal in his own damn kitchen, a crazy notion it turned out to be, still the girl continued after him like a damn harpy.
When he turned towards his study, Inuyasha found himself looking down at the short-tempered human that had come to rue his life. Her hair was in a slouching bun, several strands coming loose to frame around her face, she never wore any kind of makeup but her cheeks always seemed to have a rosy shade that often spread across her nose.
Kagome never bothered with anything fancy, in fact he was learning rather quickly, that a modest skirt and a sweater were her go to dress ware. Today she chose a yellow skirt that flowed around her knees, a white button up shirt with short sleeves, and a pair of white fluffy socks to complete the outfit.
She stood there huffing and puffing, her face red, hands on each hip.
A stance he'd come to unfortunately know as her 'I'm nowhere near done' pose.
"You listen here Mister, a deal's a deal! You promised me you'd speak with , so- get on with it already!"
Inuyasha arched a single brow, not at all impressed with her fit. Bending down, he met her eye to eye.
"I'd get your facts straight girl, cause I didn't promise nothing to no one. That being said, Sesshomaru hasn't been answering his calls, otherwise I would've 'gotten on with it' as you say."
The fight left Kagome with an outstanding woosh, causing her to look both lost and remorseful at the same time "Oh..." she breathed, dropping her arms to her side, now feeling foolish, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, only humans could swing so wildly between bone-spitting mad and repent-filled shyness, or perhaps it was her. In half the time he'd known her, the girl did seem to wear her emotions on her sleeve, quick to anger but most importantly- quick to humility.
Sesshomaru had dropped out radar with no explanation, not that he ever gave any. Although Inuyasha had a hunch as to what was keeping him so preoccupied, he wasn't about to go chasing after him. Fact was; the longer Sesshomaru stayed away, the longer Kagome remained safe. Who knew how long she'd be able to stay that way.
He could see the guilt in her eyes as she dropped her arms, forgetting entirely that she had been furious with him just minutes prior, another apology working its way past her pink lips.
"Of course, you wouldn't know, I never told you." Inuyasha spoke softly, then in act that was purely reflex, he pressed his index finger to her forehead, smirking when she crossed her eyes to try and see where he was touching, "Idiot."
The laugh nearly spilled out when he gave a gentle push, and the human had to take several steps backward to regain her equilibrium.
Inuyasha smirked down at her stunned expression, leaving poor Kagome there until, with a shake of her head, she came back to and was right back on his heels.
"Okay, so just cause Mr. Takahashi-"
"Sesshomaru" Inuyasha corrected, making his way down the left corridor towards his office, aware that he was making Kagome take longer steps to keep up with him.
"Right. Sesshomaru, so just cause he's busy that means I'll have to miss the first round of tests? That's not exactly fair now, is it?
I'm more than willing to hear what he says, and abide by his rules or whatever, but if he doesn't make himself available then I'll just have no other choice but to take the test anyways; don't you think?"
Once more the girl made it out to be as if she were the one in charge, as if nothing bad could happen to her, and this was the way it ought to be- with her calling the shots.
Inuyasha stopped outside his study, hand on the handle, already bored with her constant attempts to renegotiate and his automatic response to her bargains.
"I told you already-"
Huffing in a fit, Kagome resided the same drone response he always gave her, synchronized perfectly to his beat.
"-Even if I talk to Sesshomaru and he agrees to a hearing, there is no guarantee he will say yes to anything- Hey, Stop that!"
"-Even if I talk to Sesshomaru and he agrees to a hearing, there is no guarantee he will say yes to anything- Hey, Stop that!
Throwing the door open, Inuyasha growled out "Enough! It is what it is and there ain't nothing I can do about it."
With that, Inuyasha turned sharply into his study. Swinging his door closed, he was alone in his office for all of two seconds, before he heard her enter his chambers.
Kagome, having stopped the door before it closed, strode with purpose up to him.
"Now that's a load and you know it."
Inuyasha stared at her, mouth a gap, his mind not comprehending how she just walked right into his room without a second thought.
"You have got to be kidding me, really, Bitch? In my room too? Can't I get peace anywhere in this damn house anymore?!"
"Hey, no worries at all pal" her tone was clip and cynical, the angry way in which she approached him had the half demon stepping back into his study with every step she took, "I'll just get going and let you have your man-cave back, Kami knows I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome."
His growl rose at her tone, and to his surprise she gave a low weak growl in return; always so disrespectful, always so ready for a match. Damn her.
Inuyasha wanted to yell at her puckered-defiant face but knew it would do no good as she already proved herself more than willing to match his yells. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, actively trying to cool his over eager blood.
After a pause, with his control in check, he glowered at her form. Still in the arm crossed pose, that meant she wasn't going anywhere, not unless he moved her himself.
"Kagome-" he tried another way, but nothing could hide the exasperation in his voice, "What exactly do you want me to do?
Call up Sesshomaru, interrupt him from whatever has been keeping his ass preoccupied all this time, just so you can ask him about your stupid final exams?"
Kagome looked thoughtful and for a moment, and Inuyasha thought he had gotten through to her, but then her eyes shinned brightly with her determination.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do."
He paused to assess her, her jaw set in that way of hers, and for a moment he was highly amused by the thought of this. Why not call up his brother, interrupt his building of an empire, to ask if a human girl could take her finals?
The idea was suddenly amusing to him, and unbeknownst to the demon, he smirked a wicket smile her way.
"Keh!"
Kagome watched as he turned towards the desk that sat against the wall, when he reached for his phone, she eagerly made her way to him.
"Put it on speaker."
She told him, earning herself another smirk, his eyes twinkling with barely restrained mischief.
He dialed a four-digit number before setting the phone on speaker, hanging the phone down as the room filled with the soft rings.
"He's not going to answer" Inuyasha tried to explain, not that it mattered, with the way Kagome was staring at the phone it was almost as if she was willing it to patch them through. "Okay, that's eno-"
"...What" The horse voice on the other end of the receiver answered, in an instant Inuyasha forgot this was supposed to be a funny call, one where he got to remind Sesshomaru of his slipping duties.
Instead, he was instantly on alert, "Sesshomaru. What's happened?"
There was a long pause, long enough to where Inuyasha considered telling Kagome to leave, but then after a minute he heard a long-drawn-out sigh.
"Why have you called little brother?"
Kagome's eyes shot towards him, but he didn't meet her gaze, his attention solely on the voice that was barely above a whisper.
"Doesn't matter why. Tell me what's happened, Sesshomaru."
"Happened?... Nothing's happened that won't eventually come to pass."
Growling down at the device, Inuyasha picked up the phone, taking the thing off speaker and snarling down the headpiece.
"Cut the bullshit Sesshomaru, did sh-" his eyes landed on her for a split second "-Did the prisoner escape?"
He heard something shattering on the other end, what, he wasn't sure. When his brother finally answered his voice was lower than before.
"No, this Sesshomaru would never allow for that."
"Okay" Inuyasha sighed with relief, aware that he had a pair of blue eyes that continued to watch him. "So what's up your ass then?"
Another suspenseful pause fallowed, "There were... casualties."
"Damn it all... Who did we- no, you know what, doesn't matter! Do you need help with the families?"
"Yura is dealing with it, she's very good at it at this point."
"Feh! Well at least we get some use outta her, overpaid hairball, but listen- you sure you're alright?"
Again, another long pause and Inuyasha was just about to make some snide comment about age and replying, when the even lower reply came.
So low, if he hadn't had his ears, he would've never caught it.
"...I couldn't stop myself, Inuyasha..."
"Stay right there!" He shouted into the mouthpiece, hanging the phone with a slam, Inuyasha glanced nervously at her form.
He had to go, now.
But last time he left she ran, not that she could again, his security was now doubled, and no one was allowed anywhere near his floor. Yet, anytime he left, there was always someone guarding the floor. Ensuring her safe keep, while keeping her put when he was busy.
Tonight, there would be no guard.
Whether she read his expression, or guessed as to what was eating at him, Kagome gave a weak smile.
"Go." She urged him on, in return he gave her a tight nod, but just before he disappeared out the doors-
Inuyasha turned to her and very strictly said, "Stay here" and in a flash of color he was gone.
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His growl was a steady rumble inside the too-large elevator, his foot joining the parade as it tapped impatiently on the marble floor. Inuyasha waited as the elevator took him down, then just as he reached the bottom floor, he felt the cord that separated the two fronts as the elevator took him where he knew Sessomaru to be.
When the doors finally opened, Inuyasha had shot himself out with a speed only known to his kind, his ears picked up the light clinking of glass.
Turning into his brother's home, an overdone Victorian style home, filled to the brim with white silk drapes and portraits, expensive works of art on every wall, and priceless antiques. He shot pass the French style couches that littered in a circle, pass the entrance arch into a gathering space that would never be used; his brother's home had an untouchable aura, a house meant for the books but not one he could call lived in.
Inuyasha didn't spare the model house a second glance, heading straight into Sesshomaru's bedroom.
There he found his brother. Not in his four-poster bed, but sitting on a wingback chair, by the large window that took up half his wall from floor to ceiling.
His brother had let his concealment fall under the confides of his own home, sitting there, shrouded in the light filtering in. Sesshomaru sat slouched in his seat, his long silver mane fell around him, his usual passive façade long lost in the day's events.
Sesshomaru glanced up, his hard gold eyes and dark plum markings on either side of his face, attested to his internal battle. His long-draped tail, a white puffed monstrosity, lay deflated at his feet.
Even the black dress pants, and white button up shirt, looked worn and wrinkled. As if he had just sat down, and never gotten back up. His brother sat battered and defeated, slouching in his chair, seemingly unaware he had entered his space.
Inuyasha felt the growl rising before he could stop it, stomping over, his eyes landed on a broken pile of shards on the table- no doubt the first cup Sesshomaru had been nursing.
"And I'm supposed to call you our fearless leader? Feh, what a load that is."
Plopping down on the chair opposite his, he grabbed another one of his brothers' crystal cups. Inuyasha helped himself to the half empty bottle of brandy perching on the table between them.
"How bad is the damage?"
Sesshomaru bared a mirthless smile, "All that stood in my rein of fire fell underneath the flames."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Right, but in terms of numbers, I mean-"
"They were at fault, stood in my wake, drew their weapons against... against..."
He watched as once more Sesshomaru was lost in his cup, swinging hard before pouring himself another, and then another.
"You should know by now, this shit won't do anything to you, you're just wetting your tongue."
"Then allow it to quench this Sesshomaru's thirst..."
Inuyasha took a swing, downing the cup fast, before pouring another.
"That girl's been nothing but a nuisance, badgering me about letting her go, she goes on and on about this damn test- as if I care. Still, I don't see the point in keeping the girl for much longer, or any harm in allowing her to do this one thing. Do you?"
Sesshomaru didn't reply and in turn, Inuyasha finished his second glass silently, pouring himself a third as if to prove they could both sit here and do this all day. Neither would get anywhere, anytime soon.
"The big bird is back too, went off script again, I don't suppose you'll be getting off your entitled pompous ass and do something about it? People are fast to talk, and if nothing is said soon about all these work-related 'incidents', then they'll make up their minds about their good 'Ol leader."
Once more Sesshomaru did not answer, his eyes far away, Inuyasha was left to wonder if he was hearing anything that was being said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you found yourself under a few challenges, would you even be up for it? What's the matter Sesshomaru, is your age is starting to show in your limitations?"
Sesshomaru smirked a hallow smile, keeping his eyes on the glass in his own hands, watching as his sharp talon circled the brim rhythmicity.
"Well?" Inuyasha quipped, "I raced down here, you gonna tell me how it really is, or did you just want to make me run my laps?"
Slowly the smile faded, in its place a mixture of regret and self-loathing marked his face, taking his eyes with them as they emptied in front of his brother.
Then, Sesshomaru leaned forward, bracing himself on his forearms as he hid his haunted expressions behind a line of silver.
"I had no choice... not stopping... not listening anymore... "
Inuyasha strained his ears forward, trying his damnest to catch the bits of tortured whispers that left his brother.
Once it was clear Sesshomaru wasn't going to speak to him properly, Inuyasha slowly rose out of his chair. Walking around the small table towards his brother, Inuyasha lifted his hand, and with one good, measured hit, slapped him on the back of the head.
When Sesshomaru didn't bother to react to even that, Inuyasha knew what he had to do.
Scoffing, he turned his back on Sesshomaru. Sneering over his shoulder, Inuyasha hissed out, "Disgraceful, the West deserves a better fit Lord than the likes of you."
With that, he left, walking out of his room without a backwards glance.
Inuyasha worried when he made it halfway across Sesshomaru's home, and still no reaction from the stoic man. Not to mention he was walking at a slow pace, giving him enough time to make his move, but still nothing. Before he thought of turning around, seeing how his brother fared, Inuyasha found himself quickly on his back.
Sesshomaru had crossed the space between them in a matter of seconds, grabbing a hold of Inuyasha's shoulder. With an Iron grip, Sesshomaru pulled him back, and then down, driving Inuyasha straight into the ground with a satisfying crack from his mosaic floor.
He bared his elongating fangs down, one set of poisonous talons wrapped around his throat. Sesshomaru snarled down at his immobile form, driving his point across with his deep feral growl.
"You believe yourself fit for the job? Huh, little brother? Do you think you can be the Lord our people deserve? How about the one they need?
Tell me! Can you be ruthless? Slaughter hundreds for the sake of the West? Or would you cower in your corner, weakened by our already thin blood? What say you, half-breed?"
It was hard for Inuyasha to growl from his prone position, but he still managed to do it, knowing this was the result he sought after didn't soften the blows from his enraged brother. But at least now, he wasn't dealing with the broken man that greeted him just moments ago, knowing how far he needed to take it, Inuyasha went on with it.
He pulled a fist back and delivered it straight up into Sesshomaru's jaw, at the same time he used his right leg to hook around Sesshomaru's torso, with one swift move Inuyasha managed to turn them over.
Sneering down at Sesshomaru, Inuyasha need only say one word before the fury of the ice lord was released.
"Weak"