AN: Merry Christmas!
Chapter 13: The Pieces Fall Into Place
Reiwa Era 3rd Year (May 2021)
Touga checked his appearance once last time in the car mirror. Contacts? Check. Makeup? Check. Prosthetic ears? Check. Tooth veneers? Check. Gloves? Check.
Izayoi placed a hand on his arm. "Darling, you've checked yourself three times already. Kagome already knows what you are."
"Yes, but her family doesn't," he said, wondering if some of the makeup on his cheekbones had smudged, hinting at the markings underneath, or if it was just the shadows of dusk. "You heard her grandfather at the yuino. His shed is brimming with pieces and parts of demons." Not that he was frightened of such petty talismans, but it was just the knowledge that the elderly Higurashi held negative views of their kind that concerned him.
"He didn't mean it with any malice," Izayoi responded.
Touga knew that. Kagome had said as much—with several apologies—after the meeting between their families a couple months ago. Touga found the old man's ravings more humorous than degrading, but he still didn't want there to be any strife between their families.
After seven-hundred years, Inuyasha was finally getting married. He could not let anything spoil this day—most of all, an accidental reveal.
The door yanked open, and Inuyasha glared down at him. "Would you quit checkin' yourself out already? You acting like a goddamn teenage girl, and I don't wanna be late for my own wedding."
Touga threw his son a salty look. "Just because you have it easy tonight doesn't mean we all do."
Indeed, Inuyasha hadn't left the car until the sun set and his tresses turned black. Real human ears—not the fake ones he wore on a headband daily—twitched in annoyance.
"I'm heading up," his son growled, stomping away up the stairs to the Higurashi shrine.
"Someone has the pre-wedding jitters," Izayoi chuckled. "I suppose that's to be expected. It's such a big step."
Touga could appreciate that. While he hadn't had them marrying Izayoi (likely a result of already being mated to her), he had had them before his wedding to Inukimi. In the days between their duel and ceremony, he couldn't quite believe that he was marrying the princess of his dreams—the very one he had sought to impress for so many centuries. He had been so afraid that something would go wrong or that she would change her mind. But Inukimi had been true to her word and wed him.
He had hoped that would be enough for him. Their partnership was the epitome of demonic marriages, after all.
But he had grown to crave more—more than she could give. Looking back on it, he knew he had been wrong to expect her to change. He had been the one acting out of line with demonic tradition.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts as he and Izayoi ascended the final step and onto the Higurashi shrine grounds. His skin tingled in the presence of such holiness, but it wasn't enough to hurt him.
Strings of red lanterns criss-crossed the courtyard of the shrine, emanating out from the branches of an enormous tree in the center of the courtyard.
His eyes widened as he beheld the Sacred Tree. He couldn't believe it still existed untouched after all these years. He had known many a sentient tree in his day, but several had fallen to human axes over the years. He had saved his friend Boukuseno by building the Sanctuary around him.
Yet to think that the Sacred Tree had been saved by the Higurashis' ancestors.
Kagome's mother greeted them as they approached. "Welcome, it's a pleasure to see you again. Kagome should be down in a few moments with her sister, Rin."
She introduced him and Izayoi to her son, Souta, and daughter-in-law, Moe. They engaged in some idle chit-chat as they waited. Touga heard the house's front door click open behind him, but Kagome's grandfather was in the middle of relating a story about a run-in with a cursed object, so he kept his attention on the old man, as was polite.
Kagome's whisper reached his ears. "Rin, is something wrong?"
"That shunga scroll caused me no end of grief," her grandfather lamented, unaware of his granddaughters' conversation. "But my wife and I got our son out of it, so I can't say I was displeased." Touga threw back his head and laughed as the others chuckled.
Just then, Inuyasha spoke up, blinking owlishly. "Kagome, is that you?"
"Who else would it be?" Kagome answered. The whole group turned around to watch as Kagome, dressed in a resplendent white kimono and traditional wig, detached from a petite, pregnant girl and went to Inuyasha's side. The demon photographer Touga had hired for Kagome's sake—disguised as a human, of course—stood quietly behind the group and snapped a photo of Inuyasha's gaping face. "I'd kiss you, but I don't want to smudge my makeup."
"Yeah, probably for the best," Inuyasha answered quietly, still lost in staring at her.
Touga smiled at the sight. I've never seen him so dumbstruck.
Just then, something niggled at Touga's senses, and he frowned in confusion.
Sesshoumaru?
Touga looked around. Had his eldest decided to come after all? Touga and Kagome had tried up until the last minute to convince Sesshoumaru to attend the wedding in a show of family solidarity, but his son had steadfastly refused. That engagement dinner had made his feelings about this marriage all too clear, but Touga had still held out hope that he might soften. His hopes were for naught.
Or so he had thought.
But he didn't see Sesshoumaru anywhere, and his aura was faint, as if it were just a phantom of his presence rather than the actual being.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Kagome said, breaking him out of his thoughts. She gestured back to the pregnant woman. "Touga, Izayoi, this is my little sister, Rin. Rin, these are Inuyasha's parents."
Rin smiled at the family and bowed as far as she could with her extended stomach. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"And it is so lovely to finally meet you," Izayoi said, returning her bow. "My goodness, dear, you are simply glowing. Kagome has told us how excited she is to become an aunt, but I can see motherhood has also invigorated you. You'll be well suited for it."
"Thank you so much, Nishikuni -san," Rin answered.
"Oh, please. Call me Izayoi. In just a few minutes, we will be family, after all."
"Izayoi," Rin echoed with a smile. She turned towards Touga.
But Touga just stared at her, not quite believing what his senses were telling him.
Sesshoumaru's aura was coming from her. And she was pregnant.
It can't be.
But he couldn't detect any demonic auras from her reported twins. Would Sesshoumaru have mated a woman who was already pregnant with another man's children? No, his son wasn't nearly so magnanimous. Sesshoumaru mating a human alone was enough of a shock to Touga's system; his son mating a human woman who had belonged to someone else was so far out there, he couldn't even imagine it. But then why—?
Of course. Tonight was the night of the new moon. If they were half-demons and they took after their uncle, they too would turn human on this night. He couldn't tell if that was a blessing or a curse at the moment. If it wasn't the new moon, he would have known instantly whether they were Sesshoumaru's.
Rin's face faltered with worry the longer they stared at each other. Egads, he was being rude. He mentally shook himself out of his stupor and offered her a smile. Still, he needed to figure this out and quickly. In a matter of hours, they would be in a reception hall of mixed human and demon company. The demons were bound to sense Sesshoumaru's aura on her, and they would have questions.
"A pleasure to meet you, Rin," he said. "I look forward to getting to know you better. I believe Kagome said you were due at the beginning of July. Is that right?"
The question sounded odd and hasty even to his ears, but he couldn't help it.
"It is. July 10th. Although given that there's two of them, they might just decide to come out earlier," Rin laughed, placing her hands on her belly.
"I see." Touga zoned out, going over the math in his head. Demon pregnancies lasted a full year, but Izayoi had been expecting Inuyasha to be born after nine months, as he recalled, though she had carried into the tenth month before that ill-fated night. So counting back from July was….
October. When Sesshoumaru disappeared.
Just then, Grandpa Higurashi came out in his finest priest robes. He stopped upon seeing Kagome, and his eyes welled up with tears. "Oh my, if only your dear father could see you now…." He turned around and sniffled, holding a sleeve to his face.
"Oh, Father," Kagome's mother said, coming around to put her hands on his shoulders.
The priest shook himself, and with a loud sniff, he turned back around like he was in the military. Despite his wet eyes, he mustered up a properly somber, religious look. "Right then. Inuyasha, Kagome, if you will come with me, we will briefly rehearse the ceremony, and then we'll get right down to it."
Grandpa led them off, leaving Touga and Izayoi with Kagome's mother, siblings, and sister-in-law.
"This is all so exciting, isn't it?" Izayoi asked with a smile. "I'm so glad we're able to celebrate such a wonderful occasion as family. My own parents didn't approve of my marriage to Touga, you see, so our own wedding was just a private affair."
Touga couldn't help the tiny smile that slipped onto his lips. No matter how often he heard that half-truth, it entertained him. "Not approving" and "eloping" were a euphemistic way of saying that he had kidnapped her—though she was a willing victim.
Higurashi-san smiled and looked back at the Sacred Tree. "I wish my own husband could be here today to witness this in person, but I know that he's watching nonetheless. It was right under this very tree that he proposed to me, so I'm positive he's still here with us."
Silence fell over the group, and suddenly Rin asked, "Is Inuyasha's brother not coming?"
Touga's eyes snapped over to her. Was she expecting to meet him here? Does Sesshoumaru know about the twins? Is he trying to avoid her? But…how could he possibly resist the mating pull? He did mate her…didn't he? That's the only way to explain why his aura is emanating from her…. With such thoughts swirling around in his head, he just smiled tightly—probably more like a grimace—and said, "He had not planned to. He had…a conflict."
"Oh, that's a shame," Kagome's sister-in-law, Moe, said. "I know Kagome was hoping something would change so he could come."
This would certainly constitute a big enough change….
"I don't suppose we'll meet him in the future?" Rin hedged.
"You…haven't met him already?" Touga asked carefully.
"Oh, no. I didn't even know Inuyasha had a brother until their engagement announcement on National Foundation Day," Rin answered.
What? "Are you positive?"
Rin screwed up her face in confusion. Even Izayoi was giving him an odd look. "…Yes, I'm positive."
Touga took a deep breath. He needed to take care of this—now. Before it snowballed into a catastrophe that ruined Inuyasha and Kagome's big day. And Moe had just given him the very idea he needed. "Actually, will you all please excuse me for a moment? I need to go make a call."
"Right now, dear?" Izayoi asked. "The ceremony's about to start."
"Yes, right now. Don't worry. I'll be right back." Touga took out his cellphone and walked away from the group, heading down the main steps of the shrine as he dialed.
The phone rang twice, and Touga swore that if he went to voicemail, he'd—
The call picked up. "Father?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Where the hell are you right now?" Touga snapped.
"At the resort. Why?"
"Do you even know what day it is?"
"Certainly. Which is why I'm here and not there. They are aware I'm not attending."
Touga took a deep breath. How could Sesshoumaru sound so calm in this situation? Touga felt like he was about to combust. "Look son, I don't care whether you approve of this marriage or not, but this is your brother's wedding, and you need to at least make an appearance and appear supportive."
"For what reason? Inuyasha will know it's all a show."
Touga pulled out the only reason he could think of off the tip of his tongue. After all, Sesshoumaru cared about how he was perceived. "Then put on the show for the Higurashis and the guests, if no one else. We don't need them to see our family as divided, do we? It will undermine our standing."
He could almost hear the scoff in his son's voice. "Anyone invited to that wedding is already well aware of the internal workings of our family. They will not be surprised, so I see no need for me to attend, Father."
"You say that because you're not here to see what I see."
"And what is that?"
Touga chewed over whether or not to come out and say it. Dare he ask, Did you mate and impregnate a human woman named Rin? But he knew his son. The boy was a master of deflection, and Touga needed to watch his face when he had this revelation. "…Something you need to come and see for yourself. Then, perhaps, you can explain exactly what it is I'm seeing to me, because honestly, I can't quite wrap my mind around it."
"Unless you can give me a concrete reason to come, I will pass."
Touga gripped his phone so hard, he feared the flimsy glass and metal would snap. It was a response he should have expected, but he was so damn pissed right now. Because if his son had really been so boneheaded as to leave a woman he had mated alone and pregnant…. "Do not make me order you, Sesshoumaru. As your father or the head of our clan."
"Why can you not just tell me what is so serious that you feel the need to order me?"
"Because I realize I can no longer trust your words, Sesshoumaru, and I must see the truth on your face for myself. You are my son, so I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you are making it nigh impossible right now. And you had better believe that as soon as we reach the reception, no one else will be giving you the same benefit I am."
"Father, what are you talking about?"
"Your reputation is on the line, Sesshoumaru. The rumors will spread instantly." There. That was all he could say without giving more away. But hopefully it would serve as enough bait to get him here.
"My reputation will not suffer for missing my half-breed brother's wedding."
Again, Touga growled. "Half-breed. I never want to hear that derogatory term come out of your mouth again. Do you understand me, Sesshoumaru? Enough is enough. It's past time that you got rid of those antiquated prejudices." He sighed. "I swear, if it wasn't staring me right in the face, I would never believe…." That you fathered half-demon children yourself.
"Believe what, Father?" Sesshoumaru demanded.
He refused to answer, however. "You will come here and explain yourself, Sesshoumaru. If you do not, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands, and you will not like that at all, son."
Sesshoumaru took a deep breath of resignation, and inwardly, Touga rejoiced. "I will not make it in time for the ceremony."
"That's fine. Just be sure to show up at the reception. Do you know where it is?"
"Yes."
"Good. And Sesshoumaru?"
"What?"
"Leave. Now." Touga hung up without even saying goodbye and returned to the group, plastering on a smile to try to hide his frustration.
"So sorry about that," he announced, coming up the steps. Inuyasha, Kagome, and her grandfather had returned as well. "Let's not waste another moment, shall we? Time is precious, after all."
He knew that more than anybody. And he was going to teach his son that same lesson too.
Touga tried to focus on the ceremony, since, gods-willing, Inuyasha would never get married again, but his mind kept turning over every little encounter he had had with Sesshoumaru these last few months, analyzing his behavior. Everything was starting to make sense: his irritability, his questions about mating and love, and the way he lashed out at Kagome and Inuyasha like a wounded animal.
Dear gods, how did I not see it before? For whatever reason, Sesshoumaru has been separated from his mate, and he's hurting. No wonder he didn't want to come to this wedding.
He didn't know whether or not Sesshoumaru was the reason for this separation from Rin. Maybe Rin was. Maybe she had rejected him.
But the way Kagome spoke about it made it seem like Rin was left in the lurch. So maybe it was Sesshoumaru's fault. But why?
If it was hit fault, he had brought his pain upon himself. But as Sesshoumaru's father, he still sympathized with his son to a degree. He too knew the pain of being away from one's mate. Except for a few days here and there over the centuries, he had rarely left Izayoi's side until he enlisted in the imperial army for World War II. Izayoi had begged him not to sign up. Though she came from a samurai family herself, she had become so far removed from that life that she didn't want to risk upsetting what they had built for themselves.
It was Inukimi, actually, who convinced her to let him—and, consequently, Inuyasha—go. "He will have to serve regardless," the dog demoness had said. "All the men will. Better now than when they are conscripted later."
He had thought it was just Inukimi's political experience giving her profound insight at the time. He hadn't realized she had already seen how the war would end.
So he had gone with both of their blessings. While the battlefield had invigorated his demonic impulses once more, reawakening a bloodlust he had let hibernate for so long, those years away from Izayoi had been so much harder to bear than he thought they would be. Though he had missed Inukimi in his old days at war, he hadn't been overcome with the unscratchable itch he was this time around. For many a long night, his hand had been his best friend as he imagined his sweet mate at home, puttering about in worry over him. Those were the nights he almost gave into the desperate urge to fly home and ease the ache, but he resisted. She must have felt his anxiety through the bond, for she constantly sent him letters full of exquisite detail about her days, and even the most mundane details brought him a ridiculous amount of joy.
Suddenly, Grandpa Higurashi was in front of him, pouring ceremonial sake into his dish so that they could toast the new couple. The wedding ceremony was over.
Touga blinked, trying to remember what had happened during the ceremony, and then everyone announced, "Congratulations!" and drank to the two. No sooner had they set down their dishes than the photographer pulled everyone outside to take some formal portraits of both the bride and groom and a mixture of their families with them.
With the photos done, Touga and Izayoi declared they would head out to the reception hall to start greeting guests as they arrived. The two Higurashi men came with them, while the women stayed behind to supervise Kagome switching into her Western wedding dress.
Touga participated in the idle chit-chat as best he could as he drove, though he wished he could have had the car ride alone with his wife to discuss his worries. She still had no idea what they were walking into with this Sesshoumaru/Rin debacle.
When they arrived at the reception hall, Touga pulled Izayoi aside into the bridal suite reserved for Kagome to give them a moment of privacy as Souta and his grandfather went to the hall to look things over.
"Touga dearest, what is it? Your emotions have been all over the place tonight," she said, placing a hand against her heart.
Naturally, he couldn't hide anything from his mate. "Darling, I need you to prepare yourself. Tonight is likely to get…tense."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"I think I know who the father of Rin's children is."
Izayoi's brows crushed together in confusion. Obviously, she hadn't expected that answer. "What? But how could you—?"
"It's Sesshoumaru. He's mated her. I can sense his mark."
Izayoi's mouth dropped open, and it would have been comical had the situation not been so dire. "Sesshoumaru?! Are you certain?"
"Trust me, I have been asking myself the same question all night, but there's no mistaking that aura."
"But…but how? I mean, I know how, but…I just don't understand. He, well…."
"He disdains humans. I know," Touga answered. "I'm not sure what happened yet or why they're not together, but I am determined to find out. But darling, the other demons are going to sense exactly what I did. Zero is going to sense it."
Izayoi gasped. "Oh no."
Touga nodded. "We need to be prepared, and we need to protect Rin—even once Sesshoumaru arrives."
"He's coming?"
"Yes."
"Does he know?"
"I didn't tell him. I need to see for myself what he does or doesn't know."
"Dearest, are you sure you shouldn't have warned him? If he doesn't know, he could be in for quite a shock."
"And if he does know, then I will know exactly what I need to about my son and just how far I must reprimand him."
Izayoi's gaze softened in sympathy, and she reached out to cup his cheek. "Dearest, do you really believe he left her on purpose? I know in the past he could be cruel, but…he's come a long way since then. I've seen it."
Touga grasped her hand in his, cradling her warmth against his skin. "I don't know what to believe. Part of me doesn't want to think him capable of being so coldhearted, yet part of me can still see it."
Izayoi squeezed his hand in return. "Dearest, I cannot believe that a son of yours could willfully discard his mate and children. Inukimi may not be the most affectionate of people, but even she loves her own son."
There was a time he had doubted it, but with years of clarity, he knew it without a doubt now. She did care. She just had trouble showing it.
Was Sesshoumaru simply suffering from the same restraints, or was there something more at play?
Izayoi continued, "And you've always told me mating was instinctual. He wouldn't have inflicted such a bond upon her to hurt her."
Touga nodded. He knew that. And as it stood, the bond would be hurting Sesshoumaru more so than Rin. Then again, if his son was hurting as much as Touga feared, then Rin would have felt those emotions all this time without knowing why, so she still would be in pain.
His body thrummed with tension as it did before he executed a battle strategy. The worst part was knowing the bomb would explode but just waiting for it to happen.
Waiting for something else to go wrong.
His ears perked then as he heard the rise of voices in the hallway. "We'd better get going. It seems we have guests to greet."
He, Izayoi, and Grandpa Higurashi greeted guests as they waited for Inuyasha and Kagome to arrive. They were just finishing the line when Kagome's mother popped in and gave them the signal that the bride and groom were on their way, so they ushered in the rest of the guests and took their seats at the family table, positioned about halfway back from the front of the hall, where a raised platform with the bride and groom's seating was on display in front of a golden screen.
Not long after, Higurashi-san, Moe, and Rin entered the room.
Touga didn't even have to be watching the door to know it. The entire demon side of the room went quiet, their heads swiveling towards the poor girl who waddled in without a clue. If she noticed the stares, she didn't make it obvious, smiling and waving to family friends on her sister's side of the room. She occasionally glanced at Inuyasha's side and even waved at Shippou when he turned around to look at her, but the fox demon's face went stricken, and he just waved awkwardly back.
How does she know Shippou? Ah, right, she must have met him at that friends dinner Kagome and Inuyasha had to announce their engagement.
When they reached the family table, Rin started towards the side where Souta and Moe sat, but Touga quickly stood up and pulled a chair out between him and her grandfather. He offered her a beaming smile. "Rin, please sit here. My wife and I would love to get to know you better."
I hope that didn't come on too strongly.
She smiled politely and sat down next to him. Her mother sat across from Izayoi, who immediately engaged the woman in conversation, bless her. Touga was about to start speaking with the girl when her grandfather launched into a longwinded story that would have been a lot funnier had Touga the attention span and patience for it that night. He could feel the stares of demons on their backs, and he shot glares at them over his shoulder, essentially telling them to back off and keep quiet.
When the newlywed couple entered a few moments later, the guests greeted them with a round of applause. Inuyasha had changed into a tux to match the look of Kagome's modern wedding dress. They took their seats at their special takasago table, and waiters went around filling glasses of champagne as someone handed a microphone to Kagome.
She welcomed the guests, touching on how she and Inuyasha had met and thanking their friends, Miroku and Sango, for the party that brought them together. After a toast to the couple, she added, "There's also someone else I'd like to acknowledge. Inuyasha and I come from very different families, so we had some differences to work out." Touga smirked at the euphemistic way she put it. "Six months ago, those differences brought us to what seemed like the ultimate breaking point. I'm ashamed to say I was the coward in that situation, and I didn't have the strength to try to move past it on my own. So, I want to take this opportunity to thank the person who gave me the courage to keep going down the hard road and not give up. She's one of the bravest people I know. She always goes after what she wants or what she thinks is right, and it doesn't matter how difficult the path ahead is—and that's my little sister, Rin."
Rin's hand flew to her mouth in shock, and tears clouded her eyes. Touga looked at her with a proud, fatherly smile. To think that this darling girl was part of the reason his youngest son was happy again.
He could only hope she brought his eldest son even more joy.
"Without her," Kagome continued, "it's likely none of us would be here tonight celebrating this wedding. So, this toast is to Rin, for inspiring me to fight for the love of my life. I'll be forever grateful to you."
Rin blushed, hiding her face in her hands as everyone drank to her.
Kagome then handed the microphone to Inuyasha, who scratched the back of his head. "Now, Kagome's gonna be reading you some mushy letter to her parents at the end of the night—" The mic caught the brief, "Hey," Kagome hissed when he said that, and several of the guests chuckled. "—but I'd like to take this opportunity to say something to mine. Though, as most of you know, I'm not one for long speeches, so don't expect much. Anyway, Mom, Dad, it probably comes as no surprise that you guys are the best role models I have for what a long-lasting, loving marriage can be."
Touga gazed at his wife, and she gazed back, looking at him with the same expression of adoration that she had given him since they wed. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to find such a loving woman or that she was still on this earth with him, despite being born a mortal. As if they were of one mind, they leaned in to peck each other on the lips.
Inuyasha smiled upon seeing them. "So I just want to say, thanks for being who you are, and you can bet Kagome and I will be coming to you for advice in the future, because I hope to share as many years with her as you two have together. Cheers," he said, raising his glass.
May you have all our years and more, my son.
Despite his bravado in front of Inukimi that awful dinner night, he knew Inuyasha was anxious about being able to perform a legitimate mating bond on Kagome. While Touga had often tried to rein in Inuyasha's harsher demonic instincts when they ran rampant in battle, in this instance, he had told the boy to give in as best he could without hurting his wife. The bond was born of demonic energy, so Inuyasha was going to have to tap into that side of himself.
After they had finished toasting, Inuyasha added, "So, let's get right to eating and do all the other speeches and shit afterwards, yeah? 'Cause to be honest, I'm starving. Getting married takes more energy than I thought." Izayoi put a hand to her forehead and shook her head as the guests laughed at Inuyasha's no-nonsense attitude.
So, as Inuyasha wished (or rather, as was planned), dinner was served with all the traditional foods that wished a couple a happy and long life together.
Finally, Touga had the opportunity to talk with Rin and fish some information out of her.
He turned and asked," So what do you do for a living, Rin?" just as she brought a sushi cake draped in smoked salmon to her lips.
She eyed him but answered, "I'm a perinatal nurse," before sneaking in a bite of food.
So she's smart and hardworking. "Here in Tokyo?"
"No. In a little town about an hour and a half southeast of here," she answered around a mouthful, picking at some kazunoko now.
I suppose it makes sense then why we wouldn't have run into her. Granted, Tokyo was large enough that he might never have been able to sniff her out even if she had still lived here, but he felt in his gut that if she had been in the city, they would have met sooner.
He knew he was being nosy with this next question, but he couldn't hold it in any longer.
"And is there anyone…special in your life?"
Rin grimaced, and Touga's heart panged. He both regretted the question and didn't. "No, not anymore."
Touga nodded. He expected as much, but it was reassuring to hear that there was no one else after Sesshoumaru. And the way she said it indicated that there had been feelings there. He hoped they still lingered in her heart. Well, I'm already nosing around, so I might as well go in for the kill. "May I ask why?"
Rin's face set like a stone. "He left. I didn't have a chance to ask the reason."
Touga frowned. As much as he'd wanted to give Sesshoumaru the benefit of the doubt, it was as he had feared. "Did he know you were…expecting?"
Rin shook her head. "It was too early for that. Neither of us knew. But he didn't leave me his contact info, so I never got to tell him."
Well, there's that at least. And her explanation is quite plausible. But that begs the question: why did he leave her in the first place? Was he…ashamed?
He wouldn't have put it past Sesshoumaru to try to hide his mate out of embarrassment. He had made no secret of his hatred for humans, so mating one would have been the ultimate humiliation for him.
Touga's mouth twisted in consternation, and he was about to ask another question, but Rin cut him off. "Sorry, maybe you could, uh…tell me something about your family for a bit? I'm just really hungry, and—"
"Oh, of course!" he answered with a grin. "Please, go ahead. I should know better than to keep an expectant mother from her meal." Touga, what are you doing denying food to the woman carrying your grandchildren?
He did regale her a little bit with information about their family, including Nishikuni Corp., what it did (on the surface, at least—he wasn't sure how much Rin knew about them or even if they were demons), and Inuyasha's rising position within the company. He made no mention of Sesshoumaru though, since it seemed that despite knowing him, she had no idea about his connection to their family. And he wanted to keep it that way until Sesshoumaru was there to explain his side of the story.
She inhaled her food, and soon she was staring forlornly at the dishes as if wondering where all of it had gone. It was too cute. Izayoi had been so hungry during her pregnancy but also so sick that she had struggled to eat enough for most of it. Rin at least appeared to be doing well, under the circumstances.
"Is something wrong, Rin?" Touga asked.
She smiled sheepishly. "I guess it wasn't as much food as I thought. I suppose I'll just have to wait for dessert."
"Nonsense. You're eating for three. I noticed you liked those sushi cakes. Here, have one of mine to tide you over," he said, putting his purposely uneaten sushi cake on her plate before she could protest. He didn't need it, and he'd had a feeling she would, so he had saved it for her.
If he hadn't been certain before that she was carrying Sesshoumaru's children before, it was obvious to him now. Demon fetuses needed vast amounts of protein to grow, and their mothers' usual diets of raw flesh and blood gave them that. But humans had a mindboggling tendency to cook their food, and as the years went on, he heard about more and more dietary restrictions for pregnant women. Rin must not have been able to resist the craving for raw fish if she was going against the normal practices of abstaining.
Then he flagged down a passing waiter. "Could you make sure this young woman gets another helping?"
"Of course, sir," the waiter replied, going back to the kitchen.
"You didn't have to do that," Rin protested with a blush.
"Certainly, I did. Your wellbeing is important."
She tucked into it with just as much gusto as the first. When she had finished, she sat back with a sigh. "Now I feel like I need to walk around to work all that food off."
"Why don't you go say hello to everyone then, dear? We have to make our rounds ourselves," her mother spoke up.
Right. Touga had forgotten that he still had a job to do. He and Izayoi as well as Kagome's mother and grandfather had to visit all the guests' tables and pour beer for them to offer cheers to the new couple.
He would much rather stay and continue talking to Rin, so he joked, "How many of the guests do you reckon don't even need any more alcohol tonight?" Higurashi-san giggled, and Izayoi hit his shoulder with a tsk as they stood up.
The four separated, each person going to a different table on his or her family's respective side of the room. Touga braced himself as he approached the first demonic table with his bottle of beer.
He smiled as if he hadn't a care in the world. "May I pour you all a drink?" he asked. At their words of assent, he started filling the special glasses reserved for the beer shots. He kept glancing up, keeping an eye on Rin as she moved about the room. She made a beeline for their side of the hall, and internally, he panicked. Why is she coming here?
One of the guests at the table, a bull-demon colleague of theirs, gave him a knowing look. "Is there something you want to tell us, Touga?"
Touga directed his smile to him. "On behalf of Inuyasha, Kagome, and our entire family, thank you for coming and celebrating with us tonight. We hope you enjoy the rest of the evening."
The bull snorted. "That's not what I meant."
Touga knew that, but he ignored him and went to the next table, which was actually full of human business colleagues this time. A glance at Rin showed that she was talking with Shippou. He relaxed a bit. That made sense. Still, he would much rather she return to the human side of the room.
Moving onto the next demonic table, he found a much friendlier face there. "Is everything alright?" Tsukuyomaru, the head of the bat demon tribe, asked. "We noticed Sesshoumaru isn't here, although…it feels like it."
Bless him for asking a question without saying what everyone is undoubtedly thinking. As much as he would have liked to speak candidly with his friend, he was conscious of the other ears listening around them. "Sesshoumaru was detained. He will be arriving shortly." He'd better be. He's already incredibly late.
Tsukuyomaru nodded. "That's good. I know, ah…Kirinmaru is anxious to speak with him."
If Kirinmaru was the only one Sesshoumaru had to worry about, Touga would be thankful. Unfortunately—
"You're not only the slut who's going to ruin me, but apparently, you're responsible for getting this whooooole mess of an engagement even started, because you just had to bring those two back together and put ideas into Inukimi's head." Zero's voice rang out, and Touga's attention snapped over to find the demon jabbing her finger into Rin's shoulder. When had she gotten there? He watched in mortification as an obviously drunk Zero continued to lay into Rin. Did her tirade just sound ear-shattering because he was a demon? The human side didn't seem to notice much. Then again, there was music playing in the background, and human ears were notoriously bad at sorting out multiple sounds. "I suppose you thought you'd all be just one, big, happy family, is that it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but—"
"Ma'am, I think you have the wrong person," Rin interrupted.
"It's you, missy, who has the wrong person. He isn't supposed to be yours. He is supposed to be mine."
Rin frowned. "Who are you talking about?"
Touga set down the bottle of beer, preparing to step in and save Rin.
Zero sneered. "My shitty fiancé, who couldn't even bother to show up and accompany me—who else? The man who also apparently shoved his noble prick into some lowbred cun—"
Kirinmaru reached his sister before Touga could and slapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish the sentence.
"My apologies, miss. My sister here has had far too much to drink, and it appears she has lost control of her tongue." Touga hesitated, wondering if he should intervene, though Kirinmaru would be better able to control his sister than he could. "She has a right to be angry, of course, but that's no excuse for vulgarity in this civilized setting, and such things are best discussed in private, are they not, sister?" he asked in a low voice, glaring at Zero. She wrenched his hand away from her mouth, and they had a silent staring contest.
"Sir, I apologize, but I think your sister is confused," Rin said. "I'm sorry for whatever pain she is going through—it certainly sounds agonizing—but I have no idea what she is talking about. Ma'am, I can assure you, I would never sleep with a taken man, engaged or otherwise."
Touga's heart swelled. His other new daughter-in-law—for she was most assuredly so—was not only polite but noble as well. Of course, if the timing is what I think it is, Rin is the true victim here. She had him first…and we pushed Zero onto Sesshoumaru.
Dear gods, now his guilt doubled. But why didn't he say something?! He had every opportunity during the matchmaking process! Inukimi promised me she would give him a chance to come clean.
But he hadn't been there during that discussion, so he could only trust her word. I shouldn't have let her do that alone. I should have been there with them. Dammit, Touga!
Zero rolled her eyes with a dismissive click of her tongue, but her brother calmly assessed Rin. "Indeed. I will have to take your word for it."
"Then if you'll excuse me," Rin said, ducking her head and scurrying away as quickly as she could. Touga watched as she headed towards the doors leading into the hallway. Sango—the Higurashis' demon slayer friend—grabbed hold of her and tagged along. Touga let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding when Rin left the room. Hopefully outside, she would facer fewer judgements than in here.
"Touga," Kirinmaru growled, stalking towards him while practically dragging Zero along. "We need to talk."
"Kirinmaru, I assure you I only know as much as you do, but Sesshoumaru is on his way," Touga answered, picking his bottle of beer back up. He still had hosting duties to play, after all. He couldn't afford to let one son's wedding devolve into a disaster just because his other son's love life imploded there.
"The girl's innocence I can believe, but yours? You're Sesshoumaru's father—surely you knew something," Kirinmaru bit back.
Touga gritted his teeth. I did know something. I just couldn't fit all the pieces together. And as someone who prided himself on his strategizing and being able to see the whole picture, he was disappointed in himself. If he had just tried to get Sesshoumaru to open up a little more…. If he had tried a little harder to be his father….
Suddenly, Zero threw herself at him, clinging to his arm. She looked up at him from smudged violet eyeshadow and pouty purple lips. "Touga, you won't let me down, will you? We agreed. Sesshoumaru is my fiancé. I won't lose another man to another tart. You have to punish that girl for taking what's mine."
What other man?
"Sister, please—you're embarrassing yourself," Kirinmaru hissed, trying to pry her off Touga's arm.
Touga gritted his teeth, restraining himself from yanking his limb away from her. "Zero, I promise I will get to the bottom of this, but that is all that I will promise at this point. For now, we must wait for Sesshoumaru. So, I suggest you—" He was about to advise she get some air, but knowing that Rin was outside, he changed his mind. They didn't need another run-in. "You should drink some water. Come, let me pour you a glass, since I cannot in good conscience offer you some beer." He led the siblings back to their table, pouring Zero a hefty glass of water first before offering beer to the other guests. They all murmured their congratulations as they half-heartedly toasted the couple and drank, all the while shooting nervous glances at the fuming siblings.
Touga sped through the rest of his tables, keeping an eye out for Rin's reentry. Eventually, she returned to the room alone and then headed for the platform where Inuyasha and Kagome sat. Her sister was currently taking silly photos with her friends while Inuyasha watched. Rin joined him and started conversing.
Good. I can trust Inuyasha to keep her occupied and safe, even if he doesn't know what's going on.
Just then, the doors to the hall opened, and Sesshoumaru finally graced them with his damned presence. He was disguised as a human, of course—wearing all the same accessories Touga did—and he had dressed in a white suit like the rest of the groom's family. Touga sped to his side and greeted him with the words, "You're incredibly late."
Sesshoumaru turned to him and frowned. "I came as quickly as possible."
"Then let's not tarry. I need you to confirm something for me."
"What is it?"
"Have you ever met Kagome's sister?"
Sesshoumaru frowned. "I have not." His look of disdain suggested his patience was wearing thin. But Touga didn't care.
"Are you certain?"
Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "Why would I bother to meet her sister? I do not care about meeting her family. Did you honestly ask me all the way out here just to do so?"
"Yes, I did."
"If that is all, I'm leaving," Sesshoumaru said, turning to go.
Touga grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Sesshoumaru, you are not. This concerns the future of our clan, dammit!"
Sesshoumaru frowned. "What do you mean?"
Touga jerked on his arm, practically hauling him across the room. Several pairs of demon eyes flitted over to them, and they started whispering.
"He's here."
"Do you think it's true then?"
"It must be. Touga looks furious."
"Father, what is going on?" Sesshoumaru asked, no doubt hearing the whispers.
Touga was so concentrated on Rin and Inuyasha—who had been joined by Kouga in the meantime—that he failed to detect the unwelcome presence that sidled up from the right.
"So now you fiiiiinally show up," Zero announced in a slurred voice. Her brother walked behind her, and Kirinmaru's face was a thundercloud as he glared at Sesshoumaru. Touga guessed Zero hadn't drunk any of the water her gave her, because her pale countenance was flushed burgundy and she had somehow managed to acquire another full glass of wine. She practically stumbled forward and clutched onto Sesshoumaru's arm, ripping it from Touga's grasp. Who knew Zero was such a clingy drunk? The wine sloshed dangerously in her glass, and Sesshoumaru took it from her before it ended up on his suit.
"What is the matter with you?" he hissed.
Zero frowned. "I'm staking my claim."
"What claim? We're engaged, aren't we? Everyone here knows it."
Kirinmaru laughed darkly. "They do, which is why my poor sister has borne the brunt of interrogation all night in the face of these rumors."
"What rumors?" Sesshoumaru asked.
Kirinmaru frowned and turned to Touga. "He doesn't know?"
"What. Rumors?" Sesshoumaru repeated.
"Kirinmaru, please, let me handle this," Touga answered. This situation was about to blow up, and he needed to defuse it before it did. He should have had Sesshoumaru wait in the lobby and brought Rin to him. Why hadn't he thought of that? Dear gods, the tension of this night had addled his brain.
Zero grabbed onto Sesshoumaru's lapel, trying to pull him down to her level, but he didn't budge. In a low voice, she hissed, "You had best pray that this is one giant misunderstanding, Sesshoumaru, or you and that trollop will never know the end of my wrath."
Zero then whipped out a hand and pointed straight at Rin's back without even looking. "Now explain yourself, dear. Were you always planning to make a fool of me?"
Sesshoumaru followed the direction of Zero's finger, and Touga knew then by the slight widening of his eyes and barest parting of his lips that he did know Rin and he didn't hate her.
Because at that moment, Rin turned around, and her eyes found his unerringly, as if the two were magnetized.
Then Sesshoumaru's gaze fell to Rin's rounded stomach, and he dropped Zero's glass of wine. It shattered all over his shoes, and the conversations around them silenced like extinguished candlewicks as everyone turned to stare.
In a voice so quiet that only the demons closest to Touga could hear, he asked, "Do you know that woman, Sesshoumaru?" He could tell his son did, but he needed Sesshoumaru to say it for the benefit of Kirinmaru, Zero, and all those listening in.
But Sesshoumaru didn't answer. He just stared at Rin like a man beholding an oasis in the desert, hoping the water was real but hesitant to believe it wasn't just a mirage.
And then Rin bolted like a spooked deer, snapping everyone out of their daze.
"Rin, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, getting up to follow her.
Sesshoumaru moved as well, but Zero kept a tight hold on his arm, pulling him back. "Where do you think you're going?" she growled. "Answer the question, Sesshoumaru."
Sesshoumaru whipped his head around and glared at her, tearing his arm away. "Yes, I know her. She is my mate. So back. Off," he snarled.
Several of the demon guests gasped. Even Touga's eyes widened at how quickly and boldly Sesshoumaru claimed Rin in public. If he wasn't afraid to say it, why did he wait so long? Why go through this farce of an engagement with Zero?
Rin burst through the doors into the hallway, and Sesshoumaru stormed forward, cutting off Kagome as she headed after her sister.
"Wha—Sesshoumaru? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Kagome, please wait," Touga called out, grasping her arm.
"What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha barked behind them all. "Flea bag, you'd better explain," he said to Kouga.
I need to bring everyone's attention elsewhere. Touga glanced around the room, and his eyes landed on the microphone on stage. Of course!
Touga raced up to the platform and grabbed hold of the mic. "Ladies and gentleman, if you would all take your seats, we'd like to invite Inuyasha and Kagome's friends and family to come up and say a few words…." The banging of the doors as Sesshoumaru left through them punctuated his words, but he continued as if they hadn't. "I'll start us off." He smiled at Kagome, who glanced back at the doors Rin had left through before heading back to her seat. Touga then pulled out the index cards Izayoi had forced him to write. He had scoffed at first, telling her he had given thousands of speeches in his lifetime and had no fear of audiences or improvising. But she got her way, as she usually did, and he would make it up to her with a good pussy-licking later, because the way this night had gone, he had forgotten almost all of what he'd planned to say.
Luckily, a quick glance at his cards brought it back, though his heart still pounded with an unfamiliar sense of anxiety—due entirely to the drama no doubt unfolding outside and not at all because of stage fright.
"Inuyasha, it touched me and your mother greatly earlier when you called us a model for your marriage. Of course, there are the parts of marriage your children see and the parts of marriage you try to hide from them—and I'd like to offer you some advice on the latter. And no, this is not bedroom advice," he added, pulling laughs from the audience. He knew that was a risqué joke to pull in a room with children, but at least it pulled the last bits of attention lingering on gossip back to him. That was all he wanted. Keep the attention on stage and off Rin and Sesshoumaru.
"First, marriage is about compromise. Like you and Kagome, your mother and I came from very different circumstances as well, and who I was before I met her is not the same man I am today. Though I liked to think of myself as giving, I realize now that I had a selfish streak. To be with her, I had to give up parts of my life that I thought defined me."
He couldn't talk about those specifics—i.e. being a demon general—in this mixed audience, but those in the know would rightly assume that was what he meant. As for those who weren't in the know, he didn't really care. This message was for Inuyasha and Kagome, after all—not for them.
"And you know what? I realized that what I liked to do didn't necessarily define who I am. Yes, I became someone different for your mother. She also became someone different for me."
Izayoi had started off their marriage trying to act as she had been taught wives were supposed to. Deferential. Modest. Selfless. And it wasn't that she lacked any of those qualities, but he showed her that she could disagree with him on topics. She didn't always have to put down her abilities. She could want something for herself instead of for him. She could be herself, and he would always love her, no matter what.
"And yet, despite our changes, we remained the same people at our cores—the ones we had grown to love in the first place. As such, Inuyasha and Kagome, it pleases me more than I can express that you have fallen in love with your truest selves. Even in the short time you've been together, I can see that for myself. So, my son and daughter, as you navigate your life together and figure out what you must sacrifice, do not despair. You can miss what once was, but at the same time, embrace the new person you are becoming. For you are becoming not just a new version of yourselves but taking on a new identity—a marriage of two into one. And with that second set of shoulders as a support, you will be able to weather any changes that come your way."
The audience applauded as he finished his speech. Inuyasha came up to shake his hand and give him the classic one-armed man hug while Kagome embraced him in full.
Touga then ceded the stage to the next person, Miroku, who started out telling a humorous—though not very flattering—story about him and Inuyasha. Touga met Izayoi's eyes and nodded to the doors, indicating that he was leaving. She nodded back. He could trust her to take care of whatever else was needed as far as hosting duties went. For the moment, his greatest responsibilities to his youngest son were done.
Now, he had to go and tend to his eldest.