A week passed as those in the castle got to know the returned brother of their lord. Many were still walking on eggshells and felt uncomfortable whenever the king and his brother interacted. Their king was a god amongst them and for him to be treated like any other person was astounding. Rumors of the behavior quickly spread from the castle and around the city, then the world. Everyone wanted a glimpse of this wild and carefree sibling.
"Inuyasha. Would you like to come with me?" Sesshomaru asked. He'd found the hanyou in the library, his hair was tied up with a ribbon, and he was lounging while reading a book given by his tutor.
"Where to?" Inuyasha peaked over his book. He'd gotten a bit used to his calm, less threatening older brother.
"The city. I have work to do there, and you've been confined to the palace for some time." Sesshomaru explained, watching him sit up.
"The city? The shiny buildings and even worse smells?" Inuyasha felt uncomfortable when he saw the small smile on his brother's face.
"That is accurate. Would you like to go?" He asked again.
"…Sure, not sure what I'd do while there but yeah, let's go." Inuyasha nodded.
He followed Sesshomaru to a black car and the door was opened for them. "This is a-."
"Car…they had them in Kagome's time." Inuyasha continued. He'd never ridden inside one, however. Climbing in, he got settled as they were driven to the city. Sesshomaru was looking through documents as they drove. Inuyasha was looking out the window at all the things under his domain. The trees, the plants, the random insects. It'd been so long since he was so close to them. When they first entered the city, Inuyasha was surprised to see the multitude of youkai and hanyou running around. The world looked so different than what was supposed to happen. Sesshomaru was really amazing in this sense.
When they arrived at their destination, Inuyasha couldn't help but whistle. He'd never understand how buildings could remain standing upright when they're so big. All eyes were on them as he followed his elder brother into it. Everyone bowed when they saw them coming but they also stared and whispered amongst each other. "Is that….our lord's brother?"
"Is he younger than the lord?"
"I wonder where he's been all this time."
"He's just as beautiful."
Inuyasha wanted to scowl. Were they unaware that they could hear them? He was brought to an elevator and became startled when it began to take them up, accidentally grabbing Sesshomaru in his sudden panic. The lord was only looking at him and he released him quickly, trying to maintain some dignity. When the doors opened, there were several human's, hanyou, and youkai bowing to them. The room was packed full of them. He followed Sesshomaru to the front of the room, as all people took a seat. "This is Inuyasha. My younger brother. He has been in seclusion for quite a while. I hope none are foolish enough to test one whom shares my blood. He is not bound by my word nor my laws. He is the only such being in this world. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru."
Inuyasha said nothing and just listened to his brother talk. It really seemed like he was the ultimate demon king. No one questioned him, and he could smell a healthy amount of fear in the room. "Your majesty, may I ask a question?" A woman voiced.
"Speak." Sesshomaru stated coldly, causing the woman to flinch.
Inuyasha looked between them, observing everyone and everything in the room. "I-I simply w-wished to a-ask w-w-what role, h-his majes-ty Inuyasha w-would be t-t-taking o-on."
Sesshomaru's gaze found Inuyasha. "Nothing at the moment. He does not wish to be involved in how things are run." He turned his gaze back to the crowd, "However, he is second in line and should be treated as such." Inuyasha watched eyes widen, the people here really treated Sesshomaru's mortal ass like a god. He'd only seen this behavior in the whipped lesser gods. "Inuyasha." The hanyou looked up and Sesshomaru handed him something folded and leather. "It is your wallet. It'll hold your small personal belongings and the black card inside is what you can use to make purchases. I will be here for a time yet, so if you wish to wander around the city and become familiar with things on your own, feel free to do so."
"Yeah, that sounds better than watching these fuckers piss themselves when you look at them. He's really not as scary as all of you are acting." Inuyasha took the wallet but paused, looking at the youkai in the room. "Hey Sesshomaru. I noticed that the youkai seem really dull. Like not as bright and colorful anymore."
"Youkai purity determines such things. None will have our eyes or hair who aren't of ancient blood." He explained. Inuyasha thought that was odd, because if youkai didn't disappear, then what did that really mean? Inuyasha shrugged and headed out.
When he was in front of the car that had brought them, a guard came up to him and asked if there was somewhere he wanted to go. He thought about it, looking at the car, then at the people around them who were staring. "What kind of shrines are around here?" The guard seemed a little put off by the question.
"There are many old shrines here and there."
"What about new ones?"
"I don't think there have been any built in 100s of years." The youkai explained.
Inuyasha nodded. "I'm hungry, where can I get some food?"
"Ah, there is a restaurant that Lord Sesshomaru frequents. I can guide you." The guard opened the door to the car.
"Yeah sure." Inuyasha hoped in and stared out the window as the city passed by. "What's a restaurant?"
The guard paused for a moment, he was an elite and had been informed that the younger lord had been living in seclusion for 100s of years. "It is a place of business that serves food. They'll give you a list of options, make whatever you order from that list, then charge you for the service."
Inuyasha nodded, there were places like that in the past, but he'd never gone to anything like that. Kagome always preferred to cook their meals. He opened the wallet he was given and saw an image of himself on a card. The card was a platinum color with his name, age, and five large silver stars. He looked closely at the characters by his name, "Heaven's Sword?" What? "Why are the characters for heaven's sword next to my name?"
"Heaven's sword…is the surname of the demon king…" The guard and driver felt really confused by this. Wouldn't the younger lord know that?
"That's a dumb ass choice. Who the hell came up with that?" Inuyasha grumbled. His name didn't even match, Sesshomaru's sure, but dog demon heaven's sword? Inuyasha was cringing looking at the characters.
The guard and driver were even more confused, "Was that not your surname…in the past?"
"My father was youkai, youkai didn't use surnames back then. They had titles. Like lord of the west and shit. Inu no Taisho. Crap like that." Inuyasha huffed and continued to look at the items in the wallet. There was some of that paper money that Kagome's mother had shown him, though it looked different, the card Sesshomaru was talking about, and then two more cards after that. "Train. Medical." Inuyasha shrugged and put everything back. This world he now lived in was so odd.
They finally arrived at the restaurant. Everyone he was seeing was dressed fancily like Sesshomaru while he wore sweatpants and a hoodie because they were the most comfortable type of modern wear. Standing behind him, the guard followed him to the door. People were glaring at him, but he paid it no mind, he was used to those types of looks. When he entered the host looked at him, "I'm sorry but you need a reservation, and you're in violation of our dress code." There were many eyes on him.
"Your majesty, now would be the time to show your ID. The card with your image." Inuyasha looked at the guard confused. Not understanding how that would assist him but did as he said. The hosts eyes widened, and he began sputtering and falling over himself as he scrambled away. Soon a large, very nicely dressed man came hurrying out.
"Sir! Honored guest! Please do accept my apologies." The man stiffened when a weapon was pulled on him by the guard. Inuyasha was watching in surprise.
"Is that any way to speak to Lord Sesshomaru's young brother?" The guard growled out.
"L-l-l-lord S-s-Sesshomaru's..!?" It happened all at once. All eyes were on them, and the man and host dropped to their knees. "P-p-please forgive us! We m-meant n-no disrespect to your m-majesty! Come in, come in! The best VIP suite is available! Enjoy our best on us!"
The man was sputtering so much Inuyasha couldn't help the disgusted face he made, causing the man to panic even more, "Shut uuuup." Inuyasha groaned. "That's getting so fucking annoying. I'm not Sesshomaru, I'm not gonna cut your fucking head off for not knowing who I am, sheesh." Everyone was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. He looked at the quiet two who were still kneeling, then looked at his guard. "Hey you. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to them. You deal with it."
"Yes, your majesty. Show us to the suite. Quickly." As they walked Inuyasha sighed. People in this time were too jumpy for him. It made him uncomfortable.
"What's your name dude?" He asked the guard.
"Nagahara Shino your majesty." He answered quickly.
"Alright Shino. What so special about this card?" Inuyasha asked, holding it up.
"Every citizen has one, but those colors are for the highest-ranking people in the world. Kings and high government officials and the like. However, only the demon king has 5 stars in that rank." Shino explained.
"So why do I have 5 stars. I'm not the demon king."
"Well, I'm sure it's more for the demon king as well as his relatives." He continued. People often got the same rank as their parents, so it was reasonable.
"What does your card look like?" Inuyasha looked at him expectantly as he took his card out. It was red, with 4 stars. "What does it mean?"
"A regular citizen has a green card. I am a mid-ranking knight with a high position. There are many colors, and each has a max of 5 stars." Inuyasha nodded and thanked him for his explanation.
The room they were shown to looked good. There was a nice view of the city, and it looked like a very comfortable place. Inuyasha sat down and was given a menu. "Your majesty, could I start with some wine?"
"No." Inuyasha answered curtly as he looked at the menu. There were all types of dishes that he had never heard of. He looked at the guard standing at the door. "Aren't you gonna sit and eat too?"
"No, my lord. It's considered very inappropriate and should Lord Sesshomaru or the Prime Minister hear of it, I may lose my ranking." Inuyasha scowled.
"Fuck them. Sit down." Inuyasha ordered. He'd feel odd just eating while he stood there. Everyone looked like they'd swallowed needles. Their eyes were wide, and their hands were shaking. "I can talk about him however I want. What's he gonna do? Kill me? As if. So, sit down. If he causes a problem, I'll deal with it."
"Y-yes your majesty." The guard stuttered and took a seat. Inuyasha had no clue what to order so he ordered everything on the menu.
He was very pleased with the delicious smelling food. It came out quickly and was piping hot. He and Shino began to tear into the food. The seafood was amazing and there were a variety of youkai dishes that he'd never tried. "Ugh, I needed that." Inuyasha stretched and sighed. "How do I pay?"
"Oh! No, no, no, my lord! After our blatant disrespect we wouldn't dare charge you! We only hope you'll continue to grace us with your presence next time." Inuyasha looked at the man, then looked at Shino.
"Alright then." Inuyasha said as they headed for the door. A crowd had gathered outside the restaurant and Inuyasha could hear just how big it was.
"It seems that someone has spread the word that you're here." Shino noted.
"Why are people acting like that?" Inuyasha questioned, listening to the chaos happening outside.
"People are eager to learn more about Lord Sesshomaru. We know next to nothing about him." Shino explained.
"Y'all ever thought to ask him?" Inuyasha knew they were too frighted of his brother to even dream of asking him a personal question. "They have camera things. Are they going to take pictures of me?"
"You can see through the wall?" Shino asked curiously, finding the younger lord much easier to talk to that he initially thought he'd be.
"No, I can hear all of them. I can hear several kilometers away actually. Pretty sure Sesshomaru can hear further than that." Inuyasha explained.
"It's probably the news reporters. You've been the talk of the town, and everyone is dying to see you."
"That's so weird and creepy. All because I'm his brother?" Inuyasha found this world to be so strange. He opened the door himself, before putting his hands in his pockets. Everyone was silent as they stared at him. "Kneel." He spoke, and everyone dropped to their knees. Inuyasha whistled, "Wow." He wanted to know what Sesshomaru had done to make them all act this way, because he knew without a shred of doubt, that this was his brother's influence. "Don't look at me." Eyes and heads looked towards the ground immediately. Inuyasha sat on the stairs quietly and watched them for a moment. "Why the hell are y'all clambering to see me? I'm just his younger brother. Nothing special. This is creepy." The people in the crowd began to shake and cry. He would have loved to have this type of power back in the day, but now he saw no use in people behaving like this around him. "You, green hair, blue shirt, white pants. Why are you here?"
"T-to report o-on the r-r-rumors y-y-your m-majesty…" She stuttered. She was shaking like a leaf.
"What do you know about Sesshomaru?" A ripple seemed to run through the crowd as no one in their right mind would dare address Sesshomaru without a proper title. He was the demon king after all. The one true maou. "Shino, you're the only one who doesn't stutter like a fool, answer my question."
"Yes, my lord. Not much is known about the demon king. He has been around for millennia and has ruled the world with nothing less than an iron fist. He is exalted as the savior of youkai who were rapidly disappearing from the world."
"Is that it?" Shino nodded. "Really? That's all you people know about that bastard?" The guard nodded again. "Wow, he really managed to shed the old man's shadow then. I'm impressed."
"Your father milord?" Shino asked.
Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, Lord Touga the Inu no Taisho. One of the most powerful daiyouki to ever exist." He had a thought then, "Y'all don't even know that much? What about his mom? Have you ever seen her?"
"No…"
Inuyasha nodded, wondering if the woman was still alive. "So were y'all planning on asking me questions or what?"
"W-w-we wouldn't d-dare!" Many exclaimed.
"Inuyasha." A cool voice interrupted. The temperature in the area dropped and many of those kneeling began to cry if they weren't already. Inuyasha looked up at the voice. "You've been gone 4 hours and you've already made a mess." Guards began to swarm and move the people out of his path.
"I was just curious about why no one knows anything about you. So, I was asking." Inuyasha explained, watching how the people reacted to his presence as he approached.
"No one ever asks me any questions. That is why they do not know." Sesshomaru explained, looking at the kneeling crowd.
"Yeah, and you just have a nice warm and inviting personality that they're just missing out on." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "This seems like a lot though. They're actually pissing themselves just because you showed up. Maybe you should be nicer to the people under you, so your people feel comfortable enough to ask you shit."
"And what, otouto, makes you believe I want them speaking to me?" Sesshomaru questioned as he approached.
"I don't know. Maybe you want some friends for once in your life. That aren't ass kissing toads." Inuyasha shrugged and stood. "Why is there a ranking system for people?" Inuyasha thought it was a messed-up system and thought only the gods used it.
"Keeps everyone…" Sesshomaru looked down at the ones kneeling, "…in their place."
"Hmm. Looks like you became the super tyrant I always knew you could be. Damn." Inuyasha raised his eyebrows, wondering if he should have just let youkai die out. "I'm surprised you put me in the same rank as you."
"That is how the system works. Your family's rank is your own." Sesshomaru explained, looking down at him. It was still hard to believe that his brother was alive and well.
"So, since it's the tippy top rank, what can I do with that?" Inuyasha asked, looking at the card again and deciding he hated how he looked in the picture.
"Anything you want. The world belongs to our family, we have no restrictions." Sesshomaru explained.
Inuyasha nodded, "Sounds just like something an unhinged tyrant would say. You haven't gone insane or something right? I don't have to put you out of your misery like a rabid stray dog, right?"
"Are you going to continue to insult me? Or can we leave?" Sesshomaru clipped.
"I think someone has to pick up the slack. Not like these fuckers would ever dream of calling you a tyrannical, bastard, son of a bitch." Inuyasha could hear the squeaks of incredulousness from even Shino. "Damn, come on, no one can tell me y'all haven't wanted to insult him. It's funny."
"Inuyasha. Enough." Sesshomaru stared at him coldly.
Inuyasha scowled, "Fuck you. I'm not one of these idiots." He locked his hands behind his head and walked past him. Sesshomaru had to remind himself that this was who Inuyasha was. He smiled a bit behind his back, realizing embarrassingly, he missed being challenged.
Since the incident, word had spread about the only person in the current world who would openly challenge the demon king. His younger brother, who wasn't worried nor afraid of the cold lord. Inuyasha was once again in the library reading before standing decidedly. He made his way to where Sesshomaru was with intent. He'd been reading about the old gods, and it was no wonder the power of youkai had dwindled. However, he hated those old gods and wouldn't be helping them in the slightest. He wouldn't destroy their shrines, but he would expand his own domain while he was here.
Opening the door to the meeting room Sesshomaru was in, all eyes were on him. "Inuyasha, did you need something?"
"Yeah, I need you to do something for me. It's important." Inuyasha grinned at the lord deviously.
The lord waited for a moment before dismissing those in the room. "I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt my meetings Inuyasha. Now what is it?"
"I need you to build me a shrine." Inuyasha looked at him expectantly.
"A shrine?"
"Yes. I think I can kill two birds with one stone, fixing some of the strength of youkai, and fucking with those old gods." Inuyasha seemed utterly delighted by his new idea.
"How big must it be, and where would you like it?" Sesshomaru asked, taking out paper to order the construction.
"Big. Somewhere sunny, with a lot of people." Inuyasha figured, he could start granting wishes and that'd grow his influence.
"Inuyasha. How will this assist youkai?" Sesshomaru asked, staring at him.
Inuyasha took a seat at the table. "It's hard to explain. I guess, I'm trying to pull some youkai under my domain. Youkai…are creatures of many gods. Like the wolves for instance, they're a moon goddess sorta thing. Um, think about…" Inuyasha trailed off, looking at the moon on his brother's face. "Shiroinu too. They're also under the moon partially. A lot of old gods have died and haven't been reborn, so that's why they're probably a lot weaker now too."
"Our kind has strong ties with the moon goddess. Have you ever met her?" Sesshomaru was very curious.
"No, apparently, she's also been dead for a long time. Even longer than I've been alive. I'm not really sure. She just hasn't been reborn yet." Inuyasha explained. Sesshomaru nodded, it made sense considering how their numbers dwindled.
"How do gods die?"
"A lot of ways. I think it's different for everyone." Inuyasha explained.
"How would you die?" Sesshomaru asked. He wasn't expecting the hostile look Inuyasha was giving him, so he continued, "You said you are the replacement for the sun god. How did the sun god die?"
Inuyasha blinked slowly, and the hostility left his eyes. "I'm not sure. They said he just died one day. It's not like gods are gonna share that type of secret with the other ones. It's a dog-eat-dog world up there. A lot like how it was back then."
"So, this shrine you want to build. It will be dedicated to you?"
Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek, "I can't build it. You have to. Or someone else. It has to be someone who has faith in me."
"I do not worship you." Sesshomaru scowled.
"I didn't say worship. I said has faith. You can worship someone and not have faith in them. You believe me to be the sun god. Knowing, acknowledging, and believing leads to faith." Inuyasha explained. The air between them felt weird. He'd never had such a long conversation with him before.
"So as someone with faith in you, you need me to build a shrine. Can you not use the old sun god's shrines?" Sesshomaru questioned as he continued to write the order, with specific details.
Inuyasha thought, "I can but no one has faith. They worship and pray but they don't truly believe I can help them. But these people worship your ass like a god. If you build a temple for the sun god, they'll have faith in me."
"An interesting plan. What do I get out of assisting you? Is this what you need from me?" Sesshomaru questioned.
Inuyasha's face scrunched up, "You could just do your younger brother a favor. I'm being as power hungry as you for once so the least you could do is help me step on my enemies." The hanyou's eyes widened as rich laughter filled the room. Sesshomaru had stopped writing and turned away from him as he laughed. "You can laugh like a normal person? I don't know if I'm uncomfortable or intrigued."
Sesshomaru held his hand up as he composed himself. "I will build your shrine, however." Inuyasha being to glare at him, "I wish to know more about what you've been doing all this time. Is that acceptable?"
"Fine. There's some shit I can't tell you though mortal." Inuyasha huffed.
"It will be done in a few weeks. Is that all?" Sesshomaru asked, watching Inuyasha sulk.
The hanyou thought for a moment, "Yeah, but let's go back to that restaurant. I wanna eat there again."
"As you wish." Sesshomaru continued writing the order before adding it to his pile of orders with urgency.
He would be building it in the middle of the largest park in the city, replacing the one that had been destroyed.. That's one of the things he done especially well, preserving nature. All populations were concentrated in cities, and none were allowed to truly purchase and build without his explicit permission. All of them were greedy, human, hanyou, and youkai alike, but he was far greedier. The world would look like how he wanted until he was done with it. People bowed to them as they made their way to the area where a car would take them to the city. Inuyasha had noticed the differences in his elder brother on multiple occasions. It seemed like the lord was a lot colder than before, but the laughter had thrown his assessment clean out the window. "Are you doing it on purpose?" He asked before he could stop his words.
"Doing what Inuyasha?" The lord asked as they walked.
"Making this image of yourself. Making yourself this untouchable monster." Inuyasha elaborated, looking at him. Even the people who'd known the lord in the past seemed more frightened of him than before. He needed to meet up with Shippo soon, because he wasn't sure if Sesshomaru or Kouga would tell him everything. Inuyasha hadn't noticed the way those working and moving in the halls stopped and began to pay attention to them.
"The image one is associated with is not often decided by them." Sesshomaru began.
"Not often…so you did it on purpose?" Inuyasha questioned.
"I have done nothing but exist as I am Inuyasha. Nothing about me has changed. I have continued to live as I did in the past." Sesshomaru explained.
Inuyasha nodded, "Right, right. A ruthless, homicidal maniac that would slay people who didn't move out of your path quick enough. I guess if you're like that for as long as you've been your reputation would become something serious." Looking back at his elder brother, who held his gaze, he couldn't help but wonder who his brother actually was. They were never close so he wouldn't have been privy to Sesshomaru fully expressing himself without holding back. The most emotion he'd ever seen out of the man was anger.
"Is there a reason you are staring at me? Do you have another question?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Just wondering what you're like under all that." Inuyasha gestured to Sesshomaru as a whole. "Surely you have a personality outside of supreme overlord demon king of the world, right?" Inuyasha watched Sesshomaru's mouth twitch, before he covered his mouth and snorted a bit of laughter. The surrounding beings looked on in shock. The demon king had just laughed. The demon king, the ruthless slaughterer, had just laughed. "So, you do have a personality!" Inuyasha exclaimed with a chuckle.
"Inuyasha enough." Sesshomaru would laugh freely if they were alone, but he didn't want weird rumors to spread.
"Twice in one day." Inuyasha whistled his surprise. "I guess if Naraku could have a personality, you ought to."
"Please do not compare me to that." Sesshomaru practically huffed.
"You even have please in your vocabulary now? Wow, I missed out on so much of your growth!" Inuyasha exclaimed, causing the lord to laugh once again. He'd forgotten how utterly ridiculous his younger brother was, and how amusing he found him. It didn't help that he hadn't found anything funny in centuries, so his body was dying to let something out. Inuyasha began laughing as well. It felt odd to be laughing with his cold older brother, but it was nice. It was nice to be getting along with his only living relative, even if his subjects were horrified.
()()()()()()()()()()()
Inuyasha was flipping through channels on a TV in a nice sitting room. Since he didn't have any duties, he spent most of his time lounging around, waiting for the completion of his shrine. He looked over at Shino, his regular guard. "How old are you?"
Shino stiffened before answering, "I'm 233 my lord."
"So young." Shino stiffened, in comparison to Inuyasha he knew he was quite young. However, after guarding him for the past few weeks he realized the younger lord seemed to be around his age as well. He didn't act like the older youkai at all. He knew he was hanyou, but it was weird because he was so much stronger than most of today's youkai, so it was hard to consider him that way. Inuyasha stood up and approached him, he began looking him up and down, studying him. "What kind of youkai are you even?"
"Oh…I'm a modern youkai and a bit mixed up…so I don't fall into strict type of youkai…like you do." Shino explained.
"Oh, that's why you smell like that." Inuyasha assessed.
"S-smell..?" Shino questioned, wondering if he had an odor.
"Yeah, mixed blood smells really off. Yours isn't as bad. That's probably why Sesshomaru doesn't like associating with any of you. A lot of you smell really bad, yours is okay, that's probably why you were assigned to me even though you have a lower rank."
"Is this…bad?"
"No, not really. Just means you're not as strong as you could be. You should try to become affiliated with a god. You could get stronger like that." Inuyasha continued, before looking directly into his eyes.
Shino blushed at his proximity. "A god? Gods are…real?"
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Do people truly not believe in the gods anymore?" That would explain even more.
"I'm sure some do, but aren't those just fables?" Shino questioned, still stiff because of the proximity. Inuyasha's eyes widened, so instead of youkai becoming fables, gods did.
"Nope. You might unlock some things so you should give it a try." With that Inuyasha headed out the door and stretched, "M'gonna go take a bath."
Shino nodded and followed along with a deep blush. He'd be lying if he said he didn't find the younger lord attractive. His personality was just his type as well. His clear eyes spoke of a strong youkai, and he was like a breath of fresh air. He would never understand how he was the younger brother of the demon king.
Inuyasha entered the large bath with a scowl, sensing who was inside. He stopped, seeing the lord turn to look at him. "Did you need something?"
"Nope." Inuyasha began to undress and Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "Just wanted to take a bath." He cleaned before settling into the perfectly boiling water. "Muuuuchhh better."
Sesshomaru had never seen his brother naked. He held no scars like he assumed he would. He was built and that slight glow he saw from time to time seemed to be coming from under his skin. Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the bath. "Have you made any strides in figuring out what it is that you need from me?"
"No. And fate is a bitch that wouldn't give me shit aside from the stupid fucking riddle." Inuyasha huffed.
"What is the riddle?" Sesshomaru asked, thinking he could help.
"To reach the power you seek, the strength to succeed, with your brother, what you need." Inuyasha recited. "It's not even a good riddle, it's just bullshit."
"I agree." It simply said Sesshomaru had what he needed to move on. The hanyou peeked his eyes open to look at his brother. "You don't suppose it's telling you to kill me? That you need my soul or something similar."
"That's a good point." Inuyasha began moving and Sesshomaru became guarded. "Calm the fuck down, I'm not gonna take your fucking soul idiot. I just want to look at it." Sesshomaru only relaxed slightly as Inuyasha came closer than they'd ever been without fighting. All it would take for their lips to touch was for one to lean forward. Inuyasha was looking deeply into Sesshomaru's eyes.
"Inuya-!"
"Be quiet. I need to focus." Inuyasha snipped as he continued staring.
Sesshomaru could only stare back into Inuyasha's eyes and watch as they began to glow. He felt something tug inside of him and his eyes widened in shock before it stopped and Inuyasha backed away. "That's not it." He sighed. "And you know, for a ruthless murderer, your soul's not that damaged. Looks like it's healing too."
"What did you do? It felt odd." Sesshomaru brought a hand to his chest. It had felt like hot water entered him with the tugging sensation.
"I touched it." Inuyasha looked away from him.
"Touched it how." Sesshomaru growled.
Inuyasha gave a cheeky smile, "I may or may not have…grabbed it…and let it go."
"So, you were going to steal my soul?" Sesshomaru snarled at him angrily.
"Not steal, borrow. I was going to borrow your soul." Inuyasha began to move and quickly darted from the bathroom naked with the lord on his tail. They sped through the halls quicker than eyes could follow. "Sesshomaru calm down! You wouldn't have died! Plus, you said you'd help me in any way you could. So, why are you mad!?"
Sesshomaru knocked Inuyasha's feet from under him and sent the naked hanyou crashing into a wall. "Perhaps because I do not like being lied to Inuyasha. You said you would look at it, not grab it." A servant bowed and offered them towels. Sesshomaru took one and wrapped it around his waist, before noticing where they ended up. It was a training ground. He wanted to face palm; he knew weird rumors were going to spread after realizing how it sounded without context. Inuyasha was picking himself up from the collapsed wall and he was currently being impaled by an old sword that was in the armory.
"C-call for a doctor!" Someone shouted. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, looking at the wound.
"Unnecessary." He spoke coldly.
Inuyasha laughed, "I haven't seen my own blood in such a long time." The soldiers and servants watched in horror as he pulled the sword from his torso and stood as if the wound didn't bother him. "It really went all the way through." His blood dripped down as he wrapped himself with a towel. "Hey, give me that water." A soldier shakingly handed him a water bottle and by the time he cleaned the area, the wound was gone.
"I see your healing has improved." Sesshomaru noted. Before, he was sure it would take him at least a day to heal such a wound.
"Yeah, didn't really hurt either to be honest, but damn, did you really have to trip me?" Inuyasha stepped from the hole and walked to him. "You're acting like I ripped it in half."
"Do not lie to me Inuyasha. I hate liars." Sesshomaru growled.
"Yeah, yeah, supreme overlord demon king, hater of liars." Inuyasha waved off. "I need to take another bath, thanks."
Sesshomaru wanted to sigh as he followed Inuyasha back to the bath and waited for him to be finished. "It felt like hot water."
"Yeah, that's my divinity." Inuyasha nodded.
"You can feel someone's divinity if they touch your soul?" Sesshomaru questioned.
"Yes, and no. I used my divinity so it wouldn't hurt because I wanted to touch it. Divinity feels great. It's like an aphrodisiac for mortals though so I can't use a lot of it on them. They can become addicted and go crazy. I made sure to only use a little bit. You're not feeling crazier than usual, are you?"
Sesshomaru gave him a look, and Inuyasha laughed. "Can you share your divinity with other gods?"
"Yeah, but there's only one-way gods are willing to share their divinity with another god." Inuyasha explained as he rinsed himself.
"How?"
"They fuck." Inuyasha said bluntly. In the realm of the gods, they were weak to carnal pleasure. Many of them fucked any and everyone they could get their hands on. When he'd first arrived, he found it disgusting, and base. However, as he refined his divinity he could understand why. That's why he was excited for the moon goddess to be reborn. They were meant to be a pair, and it'd be more intense with her, he wanted to try it with her.
"So that is how you spent your time in the realm of gods then?" Sesshomaru was fascinated by the weird fact he was given. He would have thought gods left mortal pleasure behind, he assumed they were above it.
Inuyasha turned red immediately, "Hell no. They wanted to pass me around and I'm not anyone's sex slave."
"You haven't tried it?"
"I have. Just not in that fucking orgy they call a welcoming party." Inuyasha huffed. "It's like…during sex it makes you feel like you're flying. Like, you're having sex with your entire being, soul, and all. That's why mortals that are touched by too much divinity lose their sanity. Because they get addicted, and the god won't visit them again and they get desperate."
"A feeling that only mortals can become addicted to? Sounds fascinating and would explain many religious fanatics. I'm curious about the feeling." Sesshomaru was thinking hard about what he'd learned from Inuyasha this time.
"You want to try it?" Inuyasha asked casually, not really thinking about what he said. His eyes widened when he realized, and he looked at Sesshomaru who was also looking at him surprised.