Inuyasha was smiling gleefully as he listened to prayers. The thing about divinity is that he had to spend it to earn large amounts of it. He'd inherited what was in his soul, but he needed even more, and he was gaining a lot. Nothing had happened after Anabe's warning, but Inuyasha wasn't a fool. The gods were crafty and would use any means to take him down.
A loud knock was heard on the door to his office. He sighed, "What?"
A timid servant entered and bowed, "Lord Sesshomaru has asked that you see him."
Inuyasha scowled. This was the second time Sesshomaru called him like this so he wondered what the problem could be now. He took his time taking in the castle as he walked through. He opened the door without knocking to see his elder brother doing work with a corpse on the floor a few feet in front of him. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and stepped around it. "Who was that and what'd they do?"
"A bug you needn't worry about." He stated plainly.
The lord shifted some papers and handed a stack to him. "Couldn't you have had a servant deliver this to me? I thought it was something serious."
"There is something I wish to talk to you about in regards to your second favor." He narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"It is a disgustingly tall ask even for one such as myself." He began, "If I do as you ask it may have the opposite effect that you're looking for."
"Yeah? How so?"
"Resentment." Sesshomaru stated plainly. "You've seen how my power and imposition cause youkai to behave. They scheme and try to kill me. They don't follow me because they wish to, they do so because they have no choice. Cornered animals are mindless. I'm assuming you don't wish to be a feared god."
Inuyasha pursed his lips, "So do you have any suggestions about how I could achieve my goal then?"
"Instead of trying to sharply increase your own power. Why don't you plummet the others?" Sesshomaru suggested.
"How would I do that?" He questioned curiously.
"Similar to what you've been doing now with granting wishes, but it would probably cost a lot less of your divinity. You could also assist me with problems." Inuyasha nodded as Sesshomaru explained what he wanted him to do, by the end of his explanation, Inuyasha had a bright grin on his face.
"Wow you're not the demon lord, ruler of all, killer of peasants for no reason! I wouldn't have even thought of using my sun puppies."
"Well, they represent the shrine and, thus, represent you." Sesshomaru spoke as he continued to sign paperwork.
Inuyasha had asked Sesshomaru to make his ruling a theocratic one. However, Sesshomaru said he needed time to think about it and how it would work with how he'd been ruling. What the lord was suggesting was basic but would do a lot. Natural disasters around the world affected people regularly, from droughts to agricultural plagues. Inuyasha would send his sun puppies to those locations to pray for a miracle, he would grant it, and the pups would spread the word about the sun god.
He thought it was a good idea but was worried about the children since they were so young and naïve. He thought about the older boy, he would probably be the only one he could really count on currently.
With Sesshomaru's help he was able to put the plan in motion. The youkai had suggested sending them with guardians so he wouldn't have to worry about their ignorance. Sesshomaru sent out squads to protect them as they did their work. Many disasters were taken care of around the world and the effect was immediate.
The king was currently sitting at his desk working through paperwork while Inuyasha sat in a comfortable chair, watching the sun inu with a large grin on his face. "I can't wait to kill those fuckers."
Sesshomaru had to admit, his brother was behaving just like him. Doing what was necessary to step on his enemies. He watched his eyes glow for a while before he looked at him. "Aniue, I'll give you something good!" He laughed before he was suddenly holding a glowing blade. He came over quickly and the youkai stood. "As thanks for helping me."
"A sword?" He questioned, holding his hands out and feeling the warmth radiating from it.
"Not just any sword, it's the sword of sun. I know you don't need it but it's the only thing I could think to give you." Inuyasha explained.
Sesshomaru both was and wasn't satisfied with the gift. He wanted Inuyasha but thanked him, nonetheless. He examined the blade; it was clearly crafted by a master. Had he had such a sword in the past, his conquest would have gone much smoother. He never would've taken Inuyasha as the gift giving type.
They ended up having dinner together and talking about the sword before other things. Sesshomaru knew he was mingling with the nobility, even if it was just to stave off his own boredom. "I'll never understand what the hell those people even do for a job if it's not gossiping. Not to mention those smelly weirdos really think I give a shit about their smelly kids." Inuyasha complained as he tore into his steak.
"As long as they're below 4 stars you can kill them as you please, just warn me before you kill 4 star or higher." Sesshomaru spoke coldly.
"Damn you really don't give a shit about these people." Inuyasha noted.
"There are 8 billion people in this world. What would I care about some odd 40, even 40000 that you kill?"
Inuyasha nodded, "Yep, ice cold killer of all things still there." Sesshomaru wanted to roll his eyes, they continued their meal before going their separate ways.
The following day Inuyasha was boredly following Sesshomaru around again and asking questions. Many of the people that worked under him were curiously watching but too afraid to speak to the prince. Kouga was actually at this meeting too and was quickly becoming angry with Inuyasha's constant snickering and jabs. The wolf eventually just threw the clipboard in his hands which hit the hanyou in the face. "You wanna fucking go mutt!? Then let's fucking go you annoying bastard!"
Inuyasha stood but was still laughing, "Come on so I can fuck you up you fucking loser."
They were about to attack each other but both quickly found themselves in open air. Their conflict annoyed Sesshomaru enough that he'd thrown them both through the window. As they both fell, they were wondering what had happened. Inuyasha stopped midair but Kouga continued to fall, using his youki to slow his descent.
Inuyasha, suspended in the air with his divinity, was annoyed. He flew back up to see the meeting continuing without them while the workers were shaking. "You fucking bastard did you just throw me out of a fucking window!?"
"Are you capable of flight?" Sesshomaru deadpanned.
"No shit fucker!"
"Then you have your answer, don't you?" The youkai replied cooly.
Inuyasha growled, "What if I couldn't!?"
Sesshomaru's cold eyes found him, "I've seen you fall from higher. You would have been fine. Are you done acting like a child?"
Inuyasha was glaring at him before lunging at him. Sesshomaru avoided his attacks easily. His ego began screaming at him and he turned to it, "Shut up!" He roared at it, still annoyed with Sesshomaru.
"Go play with your wolf in the city Inuyasha. I do not have time for your antics."
Inuyasha felt his eye twitch, "Fuck you." He growled before taking off through the window, intent on cursing his ego out. He found himself on the tallest building in the city angrily cursing at it to the point it had begun to cry. He sighed angrily and sat down trying to calm down because of its sobbing. He didn't know why Sesshomaru doing that had upset him so much. It was frustrating, especially with everything going on. He left, manifesting in the pocket world. The sun puppies were happy to see him. He laid on the building and soaked in the artificial sun as he tried to sleep through the feelings and sounds of his ego's crying.
Sesshomaru was able to finish his work before returning to the castle. He didn't sense Inuyasha in the vicinity and assumed he was off with the wolf somewhere. His youkai hadn't been happy with him all day, could he have handled the situation better? Yes, but he didn't really care. They'd been annoying him all day.
However, he wasn't expecting to not see the hanyou for over a week. When he questioned the wolf, he informed him that he'd gone home when he landed and didn't know where Inuyasha was. This made the youkai's stomach tighten. He wasn't worried about the hanyou's safety, he was worried about whether he would return or not.
The next few weeks were hell as that worry turned to regret and then guilt. He'd never wanted to apologize to anyone the way he wanted to apologize to Inuyasha. He wasn't sure if the hanyou would ever return and it solidified the fact that he wanted his brother around. He felt like he was listlessly going through the motions again.
Then one day, he was staring at a blade being pointed at him. "So, this is the brother who conquered the world? Doesn't look like much."
"Just like that sun bastard." Another snickered.
Sesshomaru remained stone faced, "Inuyasha is not here. Leave."
"Mortals are quite bold nowadays. Don't let your perceived power fool you mortal. Now bow before me."
Sesshomaru would have laughed if he was the type as he stood. "Kouga, go sound the alarms for citizens to evacuate the city." The castle was very far away from the city, but he was expecting this to get messy as the wolf took off. "Do you wish to die?" He asked as he slowly stalked forward, looking forward to taking his anger out on the god. "I don't know who you are or what quarrel you have with my younger brother but I'm more than happy to deal with you." Alarms began to sound around the area.
"Arrogant just like that glorified fucking star. I see your connection now." The god growled.
"Lord Asturabi! Show the mortal true power!"
Sesshomaru flexed his hand, his knuckles cracking as he prepared to let loose. And let loose he did. He wasted no time calling his sword. The powerful strikes between the two sending shockwaves of power. Sesshomaru wasn't as arrogant and cocky as he'd been when he was younger, he'd learned the value of patience, and it benefitted him greatly. This god was as Inuyasha described, so caught up in his own power that his skills were lackluster. "I'll have fun cutting your arms off and using you as a cocksleeve. At least that face of yours is good."
Sesshomaru didn't respond as he blocked his attacks. Then, the tide of the battle changed. Sesshomaru was slowly adding strength to his strikes. He'd been trying to gauge his power and had found where they were evenly matched, but he was much stronger than that. Inuyasha was right, he could definitely kill this god and that's what he planned to do.
It'd been a long time since he fought like this, and his muscles were on fire as they burned to life. He wouldn't even need his true form to deal with this pathetic god. It was already too late when he realized what was happening, his followers shaking in fear.
The only thing that stayed his blade what his brother's voice. "Haha! It's getting good, right wolf!?" Sesshomaru heard him laugh, his blade resting on the god's throat. The relief flooding his system was intoxicating.
"Bastard!" He snarled at Inuyasha.
"I warned you fuckers he'd learn to kill you." Inuyasha laughed more.
Sesshomaru wasted no time cutting his head off, but his body continued to move. "Annoying." He continued to cut pieces off the god, but he was still alive. "To dust then." He mumbled using one of his newer skills with his blade to annihilate his body.
He let out a sigh when he was finished, and his youkai filled eyes found the gods subordinates. They froze in fear and quickly disappeared. "That fucker's still probably alive. He'll probably piece himself together."
Sesshomaru growled deeply, "What is he the god of?"
"Wind."
"Destroy every temple related to the wind god and punish those who follow him. Any who worship him are to be executed."
Inuyasha's eyes widened, "Wow, hitting him where it hurts."
Sesshomaru felt his anger dissipate looking at his brother. "…where were you…?" He asked after a moment.
Inuyasha blinked a few times, "I was in the temple pocket dimension. Time really gets away from me when I can't see the real sun rise and set." He explained, the soft look in his brother's eyes unnerving him.
"I was worried that you'd returned to the realm of gods…" Sesshomaru spoke coming to the two of them.
The three returned to the castle that was in the process of being repaired. Inuyasha was enjoying the news popping up as he sat in a war room while Kouga and Sesshomaru spoke to generals. "What about his strength? Should we expect a grand attack on the people!?" One questioned.
"Nah you don't gotta worry about that from that bastard. He'll probably try to attack directly again. His lame followers are sneaky though, and like doing shit like destroying stuff."
"Prince Inuyasha, you know of this enemy!?"
"Yep. There's bad blood between us and he thought my brother would be a pushover for whatever reason. I almost wanna take you there and let you go on a rampage." Inuyasha laughed looking at him. "We could get lucky though and he'll give up and continue targeting me. You don't have to worry about him otherwise."
Sesshomaru ended the meeting since he trusted Inuyasha's words. The god would have to be an idiot to try and attack him directly again.
The situation was the talk of the planet as all of Atsurabi's shrines were shut down and a campaign of religious persecution began. Worshipping the god became the equivalent of treason. Sesshomaru was ruthless. Many even began praying to and dedicating their shrines to a different god entirely to avoid death. None were willing to anger the one who'd conquered the world.
Inuyasha was sitting in his brother's office once again. After he'd calmed down and apologized to his ego for flipping out on it, he realized why he'd been so upset. They'd been getting along so well that what he'd done was unexpected and his…feelings were hurt by it. He wouldn't say that gross shit out loud though.
Sesshomaru, however, had no problem bringing it up. "Were you truly so upset that I threw you both out of the window?"
Inuyasha tried not to glare at him, "You'd be pissed if I threw you out of a window. That glass fucking hurt."
"You were impaled by a sword and said you barely felt it, but a few insignificant cuts of glass hurt you?"
Inuyasha pursed his lips. It would be a cold day in hell before he told Sesshomaru he'd hurt his feelings. "Just drop it asshat." His ego glared at him. Sesshomaru could see him turning red and did as he said and dropped the conversation.
A tiny being was making its way through the castle quickly, leaving scorching footprints as it pattered along. Everywhere it touched would leave burns and fire, but it pressed on making it to its destination.
Many saw the tiny figure and their eyes widened in disbelief. When he made it to the door, he burned through it while guards watched in shock. Sesshomaru's eyes widened looking at it and Inuyasha spit out what he was drinking. "What the hell are you doing here!?" The tiny figure was quick to try and climb into his lap. Inuyasha picked it up and sat down, staring at it and communicating. "Ugh, little brat."
Sesshomaru was looking at it in surprise. It looked just as Inuyasha did as a small child, firerat and all. "Milord is that your child!?" One advisor exclaimed.
"No. All of you, get out." Inuyasha spoke. They left quickly leaving Sesshomaru and Kouga. "This is my ego. It came down to…play…" Inuyasha mumbled staring at it. He couldn't believe how big it'd gotten.
"Your ego….the.. sun?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Well yeah. I'm the sun. This is the embodiment of the sun. A manifestation of my divinity. This form will grow as my power increases and when and if I die, we'll be one and the same. Don't worry though. It's literally just me." Inuyasha and his ego stared at one another for a moment. "You wanna tell him what?" Inuyasha scrunched his face. "No. Hell no. Piss off."
It frowned deeply as its eyes began to water, when the tears fell, they turned into a stream as it sniffled. "This little boy, is you?" Kouga questioned.
"Yeah." Inuyasha confirmed.
"Can it speak?" Sesshomaru asked observing them.
"No. Just to me and other ego's, I think. I'm not too sure actually." His ego was about the size of a 4-year-old human. It folded his arms and glared at Inuyasha. "Listen little fuck, I don't give a damn." They were glaring at each other and Sesshomaru wanted to laugh a bit.
"When will it leave?" His ego turned at his voice this time and smiled before jumping down and hurrying to him. It didn't try to touch him, but it waved happily. "Hello…."
"…" He couldn't understand his ego, it was him, but it was strange. "Come back here." He ordered. His ego frowned but made its way back to him. It was holding onto him tightly as he held it. "I'm gonna send it back. It's too dangerous for it to be here in this form."
"How…is it connected to you..?" Sesshomaru asked approaching them both again.
Inuyasha sighed as he thought, "From what I understand we're the same thing just in two bodies. This is what I'll be when and if my material plane body dies. Otherwise, my divinity will compile in this form so I can use it without destroying my body."
"Though it acts separately?"
"No. It can't use my power. It's like a container and it manages and behaves in accordance with my divinity and the true nature of my will or whatever that witch said." Inuyasha explained. He didn't really like this thing. It made him uncomfortable at times. For this to be him was strange.
"So…it is your divine form?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Its size is determined by my divinity. When I first saw it, it was the size of a baby. It's grown a lot since I saw it last though." Inuyasha was ignoring what it was saying to him.
"It's hot as hell in here." The wolf groaned, leaning against the wall.
"YeAH!" Inuyasha then growled, "What the hell you little bastard!" His ego had bitten him suddenly. When he yelled at it it began to cry again. "Okay! Okay I'll tell him just stop crying!" He growled. The hanyou sighed and looked at Kouga. "Your…old man wanted to tell you he's proud of how you've cared for your tribe." He hated sappy shit like that. Kouga froze and felt his heart begin to ache. He wasn't expecting that. "So, what, the old man crossed into the realm of gods to get that message out?"
His ego stared and continued to explain about the man's journey in the underworld. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! WHAT!?" He stood up suddenly. "What the hell is happening!? They all should've been reincarnated several times over by now!"
His ego pat his face and continued to talk in his mind. "What the hell is happening there…" He whispered to himself. He…wasn't expecting this news. He thought it was cute that his ego wanted to tell him face to face though. "Thank you for letting me know. Now go back."
It shook its head and pointed at Sesshomaru. "No." It continued to point and stare at Inuyasha. "No." They watched Inuyasha continue to repeat no before his ego fought out of his grip and rushed to the lord. When he was grabbed, Sesshomaru was expecting burns, but he felt divinity protecting him. The ego looked up at him and then back at Inuyasha. "Why are you so adamant? I don't want to. He doesn't need to. Shits already pretty fucked here as it is." His ego started to seem exasperated. Before it began to blink sleepily. "Ugh." Inuyasha practically stomped over and picked it up. "Go to sleep." One thing Inuyasha learned was that since egos were who they truly were, many kept them hidden away. If you could see who a god was underneath all their pomp, then they'd be easier to manipulate and easier to target. It was why most gods used proxy's and avatars when they no longer had a body of the material plane. He had a hard time accepting that his ego was like this. Curious, kind, whiny.
It slowly closed its eyes and Inuyasha sighed. "You should've stayed where I put you." Regardless of what his ego was, when he met it, it was the size of a newborn, he couldn't lock it up in some room and call it a day. He gave it a caretaker and put it in a pocket dimension that was connected to the god's realm and Earth. It was able to watch him using the suns of all dimensions and talk to him too.
He watched it's still face as he sat back down. Waving a hand over it, he kept the heat in check with divinity. "What has happened in the realm of gods?"
Inuyasha sighed heavily, "Atsurabi went to the underworld to get more servants because he killed the ones you saw before and many others apparently. He was raving and ranting…and some characters from the past heard about my godhood….and a bunch of them are gathering outside of my temple in the god realm. Fuck." He wanted to sleep too at this point.
"Why did it point to me?" Sesshomaru asked coming closer to get a better look at the sleeping creature.
Inuyasha pursed his lips. He didn't want to tell him. He was unsure about how Sesshomaru would react to what his ego wanted to say to him, what he apparently wanted. "Ignore it. It's just being a bother."
Sesshomaru was still curious about the small sleeping creature Inuyasha carried away. However, he was not curious enough to be alright with finding the creature in his bed as he slept for the first time in a long while. He'd felt something warm curled up at his side and looked under his blanket to see the slightly glowing child. He studied its features; it looked exactly as Inuyasha did.
Soon its eyes popped open, and it yawned cutely. It brightened when it saw him and happily climbed into his lap as he stared at it. It said nothing and happily hugged him. "Won't Inuyasha be upset with you for wandering away?" He asked. But, it only continued to hug him as if he hadn't spoken at all. When he tried to pry it from him it was much stronger than he assumed it would be. He was actually struggling with its strength. Since he was alone, he sighed and stood with the creature.
Pulling pants and a top on to the best of his ability he made his way to his brother's rooms. He was unsettled by the fact that the child didn't have a heartbeat. Even his youkai was extremely bothered. He knew weird rumors were going to escape because of this too. It was annoying.
He politely knocked on his sleeping chamber door but when Inuyasha didn't answer right away he simply opened it. The hanyou was sprawled out on his large bed. The tiny creature turned its head to look at him but remained silent. "You don't even breathe." Sesshomaru noted uncomfortably. Had he noticed when the child was sleeping, he would have thought it was dead. The creature looked at him and blinked a few times before mimicking his breathing. "You don't have to do that if you don't need to. Ignore my words." It stopped and blinked at him a few more times before resting its head on his shoulder as it had been. "Inuyasha. I've come across something you've lost."
He didn't respond so Sesshomaru shook him, "Wake up Inuyasha, remove this creature from me."
It took a moment, but Inuyasha peeked open his eyes before they widened as he finally woke up. He didn't even notice Sesshomaru holding his ego. He was startled that the youkai was able to get so close to him without him waking up. He bolted up right and tried to calm his heart as Sesshomaru watched him curiously. "…ugh…fuck…"
"Inuyasha. The creature."
The hanyou blinked a few times, finally noticing his ego. "You're the only person I know that could refer to such a childlike thing as a creature." He reached over and tried to pry it from him. "Let go!" He ended up yelling at it and it did but there was a lull, and it started wailing and reaching for Sesshomaru. The youkai could tell that even the hanyou was at a loss because of its behavior. "It's never cried like this before…not even when it was a baby…" Or when he ended up yelling at it. It was actually hiccuping and choking on it's sobs as it tried to get back to Sesshomaru. "Look brat. I told you I'd let you stay for a bit but if you're not going to behave, I'm going to call Jiha here to take you back."
Usually that threat worked with it, and it would stop crying so it didn't have to go back to its pocket dimension with its caregiver. It continued to sob and reach for him. "Inuyasha. Do you think its behavior has something to do with what you need from me?"
"Fuck. Probably. Here, hold him so he stops crying so I can think." As soon as he was in Sesshomaru's arms he quieted completely. It was resting its head on his shoulder and staring off into space. "Wow. He's just fucking ignoring me right now. So fucking irritating."
"I will not hold your creature all day Inuyasha. What must I do with it?" Sesshomaru asked.
Inuyasha sighed, this was starting to stress him out. Especially, with everything that had happened in the span of a week.
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were walking to his office looking exhausted. However, his ego was happily walking in between them while holding each of their hands. It had completely stopped talking to him and he was beginning to think something was wrong with it. Inuyasha sat in a chair and his ego was happily seated on Sesshomaru's lap, resting in his chest with its eyes closed and a small smile.
Sesshomaru's staff was curious, but he coldly told them to ignore it. It remained still and unmoving the entire time. Inuyasha was watching it and trying to get it to speak back to him and the longer it took the more anxious he was becoming. "Fuck." All movement in the room ceased with his utterance. Inuyasha stood and came around the desk. He began to poke and prod his ego. "Hey. Little brat what are you clinging to him so much for? If you don't tell me, I'll send you back home immediately."
The small being sleepily opened its eyes. Inuyasha's eyes widened. "What the hell do you even mean by that? Like here in this realm or ?" His ego slowly closed its eyes. "Oh, fucking me, if I could kill him I would."
Sesshomaru ordered the staff from his office. "Did it respond to you finally?"
"Yeah, but it decided to speak in riddles today."
"What did it say?"
"He said he's supposed to be here. That this is how it has to be." Inuyasha could feel frustration welling up inside his chest. "It's always some fucking riddle with this god shit, fuck!" Sesshomaru looked down at the being. According to Inuyasha, this was his divinity. Condensed and concentrated to this form. If he and Inuyasha were to mate he wanted their children to look like him. The creature opened its eyes and stared up at him before smiling happily and beginning to fade away. "Motherfucker! You just said you're supposed to be here!? Why the hell did you go back you annoying little bastard!"
Sesshomaru felt unsettled by its sudden disappearance. "Before. Yesterday. Why did it point at me Inuyasha. It could be connected."
Inuyasha bit his lip, "Couldn't be…shit doesn't make sense if it was." Sesshomaru waited for Inuyasha to continue. The hanyou let out a frustrated stream of air before simply staring at him. "How…." He rubbed his hair roughly, "….fuck….fuck fuck fucking fuck!"
Sesshomaru scowled, "Is it such a hard thing to say?"
"Yes actually, because it has implications…" Inuyasha sighed uncomfortably. "…how long can you be gone for before problems arise….?"
Sesshomaru could only scowl, the silence in the room was heavy. "….why…..?"
"….because…..I think I….need you to come back with me…..at least to figure out what the little shit wanted…" Inuyasha couldn't believe those words had just left his mouth, especially towards his brother. Sesshomaru watched his face begin to burn red in clear embarrassment.
"….what makes this such an embarrassing thing to ask…?"
Inuyasha was silently staring at him and trying to muster the courage he once had to say anything without heed or care…. "….two…implications… unwillingly would brand you a slave…willingly would make you….a…..mate…sort of…"
"….why do those implications exist….?"
"Because of the higher gods…if we interfere with the way the world moves, we could throw the balance of that realm. Bringing an army of worshippers could topple any established rules, especially for humans. You're…not a worshipper of mines so…a slave unwillingly…a mate otherwise…."
"A family member can't simply visit?"
"No." Inuyasha was a little worried about telling him the rest of what his ego initially said.
"How will you conceal the truth of our relationship?"
Inuyasha shrugged, "Just lie. What are they gonna do? Watch us fuck?" The hanyou hated his mouth sometimes.
"According to you they just might." He chuckled before standing. "I understand Inuyasha." He approached the sitting man slowly. He was grinning as he leaned down, so they were face to face. "I did say I would do what was in my power to assist you, and I'm no liar after all." Before Inuyasha had a chance to respond he took his first liberty with him and leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was like before rough, and deep. When he pulled away Inuyasha was looking at him in shock. He laughed, "I'll go do what I must to prepare…mate." Inuyasha turned tomato red and Sesshomaru laughed his way out of the door. It seemed as though fate was on his side.