With no small amount of reservation, Sesshoumaru set out to find his younger brother.

A quick scan of his surroundings had revealed that he and Hikari were alone in Kagome’s castle. When Inuyasha had left, and in what state of mind, were at the forefront of Sesshoumaru’s thoughts. His younger sibling was volatile to say the least, and given his past relationship with Kagome—or what Sesshoumaru inferred of their relationship—the demon lord was wary of what Inuyasha’s sudden departure might mean.

As he flew over the sprawling, cloud-wreathed expanse of the Western palace, it was not long before he detected his brother’s simmering presence. Setting his jaw, Sesshoumaru headed toward Inuyasha’s aura, alighting nearby on one of the ruined battlements of the palace’s fortressed perimeter. Below in the courtyard was an assembly of elite warriors—Ryouken chief among them. Leaping down from the ancient tower, Sesshoumaru crossed the broken cobblestones as his cousin let out a resounding roar.

“HAN AGAIN! Ha ha—you luckless fools!” Fangs and chest bared, the burly, red-faced daiyoukai raked in gold coins by the fistful as he smirked around at his glowering companions. “Betting against the Great Fang of the West was your gravest mistake!”

“‘Great Fang of the West’,” a younger inuyoukai muttered aside. “…Since when has anyone called him that?”

“Since the moon rose before the sun,” another grumbled, his expression souring further as he weighed his deflated purse.

Lurching to his feet, Ryouken reached for his spear as he bellowed out a growl. “SHUT YOUR MOUTHS AND PLACE YOUR BETS, YOU INSOLENT CURS!” Leveling the scintillating point of his naginata at a shivering Jakken, who had been stripped down to his fundoshi in what was no doubt an act of drunken paranoia, the captain barreled on, “And you, imp! Ready the dice—this one will wager ‘Han’ again!”

A shared groan rose up among the assembled warriors, the dealer Jakken snatching up the rattling bamboo cup as he hastened to obey. Sesshoumaru’s glare sharpened as he approached. As drunk and belligerent as he had seen his elder cousin over the centuries, this was by far the drunkest and most belligerent yet. Forgetting for a moment his own disgraces, the demon lord stalked forward, wrenching the heavy spear from Ryouken’s white-knuckled grip. Stumbling from the sudden impact of the blow, the captain of the guard flinched, then paled.

“Milord…!” Jakken gasped, sagging in relief along with the rest of the company.

“C-cousin,” the captain stammered out, reaching for a hip flask of sake which had clearly long since been drained. “…Chou or han?”

Unamused, Sesshoumaru grit his fangs, the naginata sparking as he hurled it away across the stones. “What is the meaning of this idiocy?”

Swaying slightly, his cousin paled further, the mere sight of Sesshoumaru seeming to sober him considerably. “…A simple diversion, sire. Nothing—hic—more.”

“Collect yourself, Ryouken,” the Lord of the Western Lands bit out. “You are of my own blood.”

Abashed, the captain hung his head, seeming unduly ashamed by Sesshoumaru’s words. Realizing then the root cause of his cousin’s debauchery, the demon lord clenched his fists, turning his face slightly away.

“Where is my brother?” he demanded.

In truth, Sesshoumaru could locate Inuyasha in an instant, but inebriated as he was, Ryouken understood the demon lord’s true meaning. That he wished to gauge his brother’s sentiments beforehand.

“Up on the wall, m’lord,” the captain said, struggling to mask his slur as he straightened. “…Not one for dice, that ingrate. Like to have bit my ear off at the mere suggestion.”

Sesshoumaru nodded. So Inuyasha was clearly not in an amicable mood. Still, the fact that he had sought out their cousin’s company in the first place was encouraging. Sweeping his voluminous fur over his shoulder, the demon lord set off toward the far northern tower. As he ascended the steps, he could already sense the prickly currents of his brother’s youki chafing against him.

Back rigid, Inuyasha sat alone atop the worn battlements of their forefathers’ ancient stronghold. Perched a short distance away, a giant falcon preened her tawny feathers, seeming perfectly at ease despite the forbidding aura emanating from her companion’s form.

“Inuyasha.”

Hunching, the tense hanyou went stiffer still.

Inwardly, the demon lord sighed. Stepping forward, he paused behind his brother’s taciturn figure. “It is done.”

“Yeah,” Inuyasha grit out. “I know.”

“How is that?” Sesshoumaru could not help but ask.

At this, Inuyasha turned at last, his stiff ears sinking. “I heard you. When you—fuck, nevermind.” After a moment, the hanyou forced out a breath. “Anyway, everyone knows. Even that idiot,” he added, golden eyes cutting toward the courtyard where Ryouken was carrying on with slightly more restraint. “Your youki, it’s…different.”

Sesshoumaru’s brow furrowed, yet he knew his brother’s words to be true. Vast as his power was, it was inevitable that his spiritual character would be influenced by the mating—especially considering the nature of Kagome’s own. Yet he had not expected his aura to be altered to a such a detectable extent.

“And your—your tail,” Inuyasha spluttered out, eyes widening.

Sesshoumaru glanced down at this, at the long, now-forked train of his fur. A characteristic symbol of inuyoukai mating. But of course, Inuyasha would be ignorant of this transformation.

“It is typical,” he explained, seating himself alongside his brother on the crumbling stone rail. “Had you met Father—and my mother, before his death—you would have noticed a similar split in their fur.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” the hanyou muttered, crossing his arms in contemplation of his instincts. “So your mom’s…it just, rejoined, then—after Father died?”

Sesshoumaru inclined his head. “…Eventually.”

For a while Inuyasha was silent. “How is she?” he asked tersely at last. “…Kagome, I mean.”

As though he could be speaking of anyone else—though, fleetingly the thought of Hikari did cross Sesshoumaru’s mind. “She has begun to heal anew,” he answered.

A little of the tension bled from his half-brother, his eyes sliding briefly shut. “Good.”

As the sun rose in its full golden splendor, Sesshoumaru sat beside Inuyasha, wondering not for the first time at the depth of his brother’s feelings for the woman whose fate forever occupied their thoughts. That his half-brother cared for her deeply was without question. Despite their agreement and the necessity of the act, would Inuyasha come to resent him, Sesshoumaru wondered, for mating her? Burdened with guilt and the prospect of conflicts to come, it was a troubling idea to consider.

“So.”

Resignation deepening at the gravity in his brother’s tone, Sesshoumaru slanted his gaze to Inuyasha as he turned.

“If Kagome’s your mate now,” the hanyou continued after a moment, “that makes her kinda like my sister, doesn’t it?”

“Very much so,” the daiyoukai replied, guardedly.

“Well.” To Sesshoumaru’s profound astonishment, the hanyou calmly sighed. “As fucked up as all this is…that part at least feels right.”

After his moment of surprise faded, Sesshoumaru relaxed as well. In companionable silence, they turned their eyes eastward, following the rise of the sun.

---

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

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