InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silence the Fairytale ❯ A Change of Plans ( Chapter 46 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/n: ...I'm just going to stop projecting timelines for updates. Thank Inuyashaloverr for getting on me to update! And again, thank Knitting Knots for her brilliant and patient help in this twist in plotline.

"BUYO! PUT HIM DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

Kagome considered, given the size of the youkai, and the fact that he was larger than the feline's mouth, that the steel-like trap that was Buyo's mouth would have had a lessened effect.

She was, in fact, sorely mistaken.

As she attempted to pry apart the cat's jaw, the cat simultaneously attempted to swallow; little arms and legs were flailing about, trying to escape the literal jaws of death that had encompassed it.

"Pleaaase, Inuyasha-sama, forgive me for my prolonged absence! Please, have mercy on an old soul!”

“Inuyasha, do something!”

“Murrrgrrrrrr!”

Inuyasha exchanged a bland look with Kirara, whom turned her head and proceeded to groom her backside as if nothing of interest was occurring. He sighed, knowing he would not hear the end of it if his retainer was consumed by Kagome's beloved pet.

Taking a single finger, he dug the old youkai out of the cat's vacuum sealed mouth with an audible pop, as Buyo merely let out a mewl-like growl of discontent. She then proceeded to roll back over onto her back, with her legs propped in the air and fell promptly back asleep, nestled firmly against Kagome's thigh.

Myouga doubled over and wheezed, attempting to catch his breath. Falling flat on his face, Kagome fussed over the tiny being, with a long string of “Are you okay?!”s and “Inuyasha, what's wrong with you!”s and “Inuyasha, if you ever do that again, I'm going to never sleep with you again!”s and...blah, blah, blah.

Inuyasha lowered his cheek into his palm irritably, knowing he would not hear the end of it for days to come.

“Inuyasha, who is he, anyway?” Kagome turned the flea who was still blissfully dazed onto his side, fanning him and poking him to make sure he still was breathing.

“That's Myouga-jiji. He's resilient, he'll be fine. It was just a joke, anyway,” Inuyasha griped, unamused at this point, what with the thorough scolding he had already received because of his actions.

“Some joke! You could have killed him Inuyasha!” she waved a single finger in his face, and his ears lowered, displeased.

“C'mon Kagome, he's a youkai! He won't die that easy, and hell if I haven't killed him already anyway, he certainly won't die from this!” Inuyasha shot back agitatedly, narrowing his eyes down at the flea youkai that was currently the source of his problems.

“You poor thing!” Kagome floundered, picking up the youkai and snuggling Myouga close to her chest. “Are you okay?”

Inuyasha felt his eyebrow tick at the sight of the old man so close to her bosom.  

“Kagome, he's not a damn toy!” Inuyasha pointed accusingly at the other demon, his voice reaching a higher-key pitch in his furious shock.

“No, he's not a toy, but look at him he's--”

All conversation was cut loose by the sound of sucking, a squeal, and an echoing smack that rang throughout their love nest.

“KILL IT INUYASHA, IT'S A PERVERT!”

“Forgive me my Lady, but a creature such as yourself with such tasty blood, and a man such as I surely could not resist...”

“I told you Kagome, I told you, but when do you ever listen to me? Never, and see what happens every damn time...”

“That's not the point Inuyasha, he just molested me!”

“He didn't molest you, he made a meal out of you!”

“Either way, I have been violated!”

“Well, if you had just listened--”

“Excuse me, Inuyasha-sama, I have some important news for you regarding...” Myouga began, but as with most beings, he could not get a word through to the ever-bickering couple.

“I do listen to you, you jerk, why do you always make it my fault...?” the sounds of sniffles began, and Inuyasha's face turned a peculiar shade of red as he waved his hands quickly and backtracked as fast as  Myouga have ever seen the hanyou do.

“N-no, no! It's all my fault! I'm an insensitive jerk, I'm sorry Kagome!”

Tears leaked through dewy lashes as Myouga watched on in both abject horror and fascination as Inuyasha acted every part the man who didn't have his balls any longer.

“You are an insensitive jerk, baka!”

“I know, a horribly insensitive jerk, I'm sorry! Please don't cry?”

Somehow, that made the onna cry louder.

“Y-you're just saying that so I don't cry! You think I'm annoying, d-don't you?!” She hiccuped as she stuttered out a string of logic Myouga found he couldn't comprehend. He watched his Lord and Master, son of the Great Inu no Taisho, stammering back at her with an equal amount of illogical diatribe upon himself in an awkward response to the young lady's emotional outburst. Myouga found himself confounded as his sight ping-ponged back and forth between the couple.

Myouga then turned to look at the nekomata, Kirara, who merely looked on with a bored look and shrugged her shoulders at the flea as if to tell him it was a common occurrence.

The depth of the situation impacted the retainer with the force of a devastating tsunami.

“You mean, the rumors are true? This is your mate, Inuyasha-sama?”

Both pairs of heads turned at the same time and yelled, “YES!” with such force the flea feared for his life. Myouga, currently shrinking down to his previously normal size, decided it was the best course of action to take cover under Kirara's fur.

“You're not annoying Kagome...” the softly spoken words, so gentle, the fingers that caressed the onna's face so tenderly and compassionately...

This was his Lord?

“R-really?” stars lit up in the woman's eyes with just those simple words, pure adoration and caring present in every feature of her face to a point of the sickeningly sweet texture of red bean paste...

“Yes, really...” his Lord, leaning in, a kind look in that face so used to war and fighting and depravity, heading straight toward the mouth of the onna...

Myouga could not turn his eyes away from such a private moment, his face fire red in the full force of their loving passion.

“Oh, Inuyasha...” she was leaning it, ready to come together with her mate, her true love, and Myouga felt his blood boil.

...Until she sat up suddenly, blinking her eyes as if none of the previous events had occurred at all, hitting Inuyasha in the nose accidentally and unnoticed in the process. Inuyasha grabbed his nose in consternation, murmuring under his breath just low enough so only Myouga could hear his choice remarks in regards to the fast-working affects of Karma.

“I have to pee! Excuse me!” she announced so boldly, so thoughtlessly of the company they had received, Myouga could only retain the permanent blush he had as Inuyasha buried his face in his palms while he mate pranced off to some far-off corner of the cave shrouded in darkness.

“...Milord?”

Inuyasha talked into his facepalm as he address his retainer, “What d'you want JiJi?”

“...is your mate... ahem, always... this... lively?”

Inuyasha did not remove his face, but responded anyway, “Unfortunately.”

“Ah,” Myouga confirmed, though he knew not what he was confirming.

Awkward silence ensued for many moments.

“At least... life is not boring, yes?”

Inuyasha looked down at Myouga through Kirara's fur, uplifting his palms helplessly and his fingers twitching madly as if he carried the weight of a burden that many men had faced previously, and was helpless to know what to do to avert such crisis.

“Never. Ever.”

Myouga hopped up to his Lord's shoulder, patting his face reassuringly and nodding, “Good, good then. Well, I must be off... to do things of vast importance. Yes. Toodles.”

Inuyasha grabbed his retainer between his thumb and forefinger, giving him such a dark glare the flea's immediate reaction was to play dead.

“Oh. Oh no you don't. You're not leaving me at her mercy all alone again!”

Myouga hopped up to his Lord's shoulder, patting his face reassuringly and nodding, “Good, good then. Well, I must be off... to do things of vast, incredible importance... Yes. Toodles.”

Inuyasha grabbed his retainer between his thumb and forefinger, giving him such a dark glare the flea played dead.

“Oh. Oh no you don't. You're not leaving me at her mercy all alone again!”

“Have compassion, Inuyasha-sama!”

Inuyasha squeezed the tiny flea just the slightest, inflicting the barest amount of torture on him in punishment, “Like hell! Right when I need you the most, you wanna leave, you little rat...”

A light, airy voice pierced the conversation like a katana through a leaf. “Inuyasha, what do you need him for?”

Inuyasha chuckled madly, his eyes darting around for a way to avoid another weird fight.

“Ah...ha...ha... Nothing! Nothing at all! He just uh... he wanted to tell me something, right, JiJi?”

Myouga flailed a bit and nodded vigorously, “Why, yes, actually, come to think of it, I did have something to tell you.”

“Well, what is it?” Kagome asked sweetly, a serene look plastered on her features as she rubbed her now bulging stomach lovingly.

“Well, you see, Sesshomaru-sama has sent me to fetch the two of you to return to the castle of the west,” Myouga imparted solemnly, nodding his head sagely and crossing his tiny arms.

Silence reigned the air for another several awkward moments.

Inuyasha leaned in closer to Myouga and cleared his throat, whispering at a decibel he assumed Kagome could not hear.

“If you're going to make something up, at least make it believable, JiJi.”

Kagome tilted her head curiously, frowning in confusion at Inuyasha, “Why would he be making it up?”

Myouga waved his little arms best he could in Inuyasha's tyrannical clutches.

“I am not making it up, Inuyasha-sama! Why would you doubt my integrity so? You wound me with your accusations!”  

Inuyasha snorted, leaning back and gesturing with his free hand emphatically, “Well, I mean, considering... you know, Sesshomaru hates me and wishes I would die with an all consuming passion and believes me to be a stain on his bloodline and what not. Sooo I find it a bit hard to believe he'd suddenly want me around.”

Kagome's features took on a grim demeanor, discomfort apparent, though Myouga could merely only guess why-- though he was sure it was not good.

“Well, please inform him thank you, but no thank you... Inuyasha and I are not and will never be interested in staying near that... youkai,” Kagome was seething then, gathering up the edges of her kimono as if she was prepared to stand suddenly before Inuyasha grabbed her arms to prevent her from toppling over due to the way she shifted her weight so quickly.

“We won't, Kagome, we don't have to. Don't do that,” Inuyasha reassured her, and Kagome stared down at him in something akin to fear.

“He's an evil bastard, Inuyasha. I don't want to be near him, ever,” she kissed his forehead, yet drew herself gently out of his arms in such a manner Inuyasha wasn't sure if she was truly upset with him or not.

“Inuyasha-sama, Sesshomaru-sama was most insistent...” Myouga tried to make them understand the dire predicament they put him in by refusing Sesshomaru's request. Still, they ignored Myouga in favor of watching one another.

“Please, Inuyasha-sama! Reconsider, Sesshomaru-sama has a valid request of the both of you!”

Inuyasha turned to gaze at Myouga with intensely cooled amber eyes, swirling with rage and something  Myouga could not place.

“So enlighten me Myouga. Tell me what the hell my bastard brother could want that is so goddamn important? Or better yet, I don't care. Nothing he has done will convince me he has changed,” Inuyasha snarled at Myouga, pointing a finger toward the entrance of the den, “So you can go and tell that pompous asshole he can take Tenseiga and shove it up his ass for all I care. Now leave us the hell alone about Sesshomaru.”

Myouga threw himself to the ground in front of his Lord, pressing his face into the dirt of the cave floor, “Inuyasha-sama, it is untrue! I do have proof of him changing!”

Inuyasha reached down with a gesture that threatened to squish the small retainer, narrowing his eyes at Myouga in increasing impatience, “So spit it out, since you won't shut the fuck up.”

Myouga flinched, sweating quite a bit from fear of a looming squish, and lifted up his small arms in the universal sign for truce, “He has adopted a human child!”

Kagome released a shocked gasp, lifting a hand to her mouth as Inuyasha suddenly became extremely pissed, standing to tower over the small youkai, “Don't fucking lie, Jiji! That's not even fucking funny!”

“I-it is true, I have seen the child myself! No one knows where he acquired her! One day when he returned from his travels, he had come forth missing an arm and with her in tow! There is mystery to what had happened to his limb, but we all know it is associated with the girl somehow!” Myouga rushed out his quick explanation, shutting his eyes tightly lest he be flattened.

Yet odd quietness followed his monologue for several moments, leaving him perplexed. He opened his eyes warily to see the two mates staring at each other with strange expressions. The female Kagome had her hand still covering her mouth as Inuyasha looked upon her with a stern countenance. It appeared they were silently communicating to each other in ways only those who were close could, and Myouga wished he were privy to their conversation.

“...Why does the bastard want us there?” the two turned to look at him suddenly, and he felt the irregular gravity of the situation pulling at him. He had definitely expected his Lord's original rejection of the offer, but had not thought it would effect them so deeply when he explained the most recent change in Sesshomaru-sama within the last five months.

“Namely, the Shikon no Tama. Sesshomaru-sama told me you had it in your possession, Inuyasha-sama, and to tell you he wished it to be there. He feels it would be safer within the walls of his domain.”

Inuyasha felt his eyebrows lower in indignant anger, “He said what? What? It's been safe with us! And it's not in my possession, it's in Kagome's possession. I just protect her.”

Myouga turned his eyes to the young lady who still had a grave look upon her face, yet did not give any input into the situation.

She is the keeper of the sacred jewel?

Myouga was surprised, though he hid his true thoughts well. The young thing couldn't have been out of her teenage years, and was tiny with an odd air of what Myouga had originally perceived as fragility. In the short time he had come to meet her acquaintance, she had been airy and flighty, though it may have been due to her delicate condition. It was obvious she was due fairly soon, if the girth of her stomach had any bearing upon that reality.
And from the way she absorbed the conversation stoically, Myouga could tell she was more intelligent than she initially put off. She also had a large influence upon his Lord, that much was obvious. He was sure his Lord's turn around toward a more open stance had to do with her and her unspoken wishes.

“Sesshomaru-sama predicted you would say such a thing and he wished me to tell you that the youkai invasions are increasing at such volume some in the youkai courts are murmuring it to be on the scale of an all-out war over factions.”

Myouga watched carefully as Inuyasha lifted his brows and turned back toward his mate. Kagome continued to say nothing. Inuyasha turned back to Myouga and scratched his head reluctantly.

“He tried to kill me and Kagome last time we saw him.”

“He said to tell you that he wishes to call truce and that he will have a blood treaty drawn up for peace if it is what you wished.”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, “This maybe-could-be war has nothing to do with us.”

“He said to say that it is your responsibility as part of the Inu no Taisho's bloodline to take responsibility for threats against the western nation if you are called upon to heed such.”

“Like I give a damn--”

“And he said to say that if you did not care, that there are rebels gathering together to join forces and they will be combing the countryside for you and your mate.”

“But Kagome's in no condition to travel that far--”

“And that he would send his two headed dragon, Ah-Un to assist you and your mate in your travels.”

“...We don't have the rations to make the journey, and it's still cold even though spring is almost here...”

“He said he will send supplies with Ah-Un when you decide to make the journey.”

“I didn't say I'd make the journey, damnit.”

“He said you should.”

“Kagome and I haven't done a blood-bond yet, though.”

“He said to tell you to do that, already.”

“Goddamnit, did he have an answer to everything I'd say?!”

“He said you should know he is a masterful tactician and that he had come up with every possible scenario to avoid such measures and that nothing was as certain as a mutual alliance. And that is also why he knows what arguments you would make.”

“That asshole--”

“And that every complaint you have is not as important as keeping your mate safe, is it? If he could keep you as far away from him as he could, he would, and you know this so to stop your short-sighted bickering with him and to just do what must be done to assure the well being of all concerned.”

“...he really said all that?”

“In summary, yes.”

“I should kill you Myouga.”

“It's not kind to kill a loyal messenger, Inuyasha-sama.”

Inuyasha sat heavily on the futon that laid toward the middle of the cave and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders tense. Myouga turned his gaze to the young woman who was the center of all the upheaval and watched her process all the information she had received.

When she finally decided to partake in conversation, it was to ask, “I heard blood-bond mentioned before, what is that?”

Myouga watched as Inuyasha's shoulders became more rigid, but he did not remove his palms from his face, so Myouga took it upon himself to explain.

“A blood-bond, dear lady, is a solemn ritual done between youkai when vows of fidelity are spoken and their souls are intertwined permanently. While a mating ensures a melding of auras, a blood-bond ensures a strengthened connection between mates and increases the lifetime if one mate is of a differing species of another, though this is rare. It is a sacred ceremony that is officiated by the drinking of one another's blood...”

Myouga stopped mid sentence as Inuyasha stood suddenly, and walked over to his mate. Kagome looked at him puzzled, watching as he bit his wrist open and irritably asked her, “Yes or no?”

Kagome frowned, as dawning realization came over her, “Yes...? But why did you wait?”

Inuyasha sighed and shoved his wrist in her face, “Don't ask. I'm stupid. We accept this, let's move on.”

“Inuyasha-sama, it must be done according to thousands of years of tradition! This is heresy!” Myouga waved his tiny arms as the human woman pressed her lips to Inuyasha's wrist and drank deeply of him.

“I will be faithful forever, love you and stuff you already know, yadda yadda,” Inuyasha grumbled as he cut Kagome's wrist shallowly, and very carefully to avoid hurting her worse than necessary and drank of her as well. She looked at him with apparent aggravation as he did so.

“I didn't know you had it in you to be so romantic, Inuyasha,” Kagome stated dryly, watching him as he licked the wound on her wrist closed.

“Look, I didn't know if you wanted to live for as long as I did with the bullshit we go through, so do you blame me? On top of that we have company.”

“Couldn't you have waited until we were alone then?”

“I didn't want a repeat of when you found out we were mates. I'm sick of getting in trouble for considering your well being and wishes.”

“How would you know what my wishes are if you don't ask or tell me?!”

“It's weird, okay? Some of this shit just kind of happened!”

Myouga felt as if he may faint, “You becoming mates 'just happened'?! Inuyasha, this is a grave offense to your bloodline and youkai culture!”

“Shut up, Myouga! You're not making this easier!” Inuyasha snapped peevishly at his retainer, hoping and praying Myouga wouldn't dig him a deeper grave.

“Would it hurt if we could have done this right, Inuyasha?”

“Well, it ain't like me, okay?”

“Why are you being such an ass? Is it just because Myouga is here?”

Myouga cleared his throat, “Generally, my Lady, the blood-bond must be done in the presence of an elder.”

It was Kagome's turn to yell, “Shut up, Myouga! You're not making this any better!”

Myouga blithely shut his trap.

“So what, Inuyasha, you only did it just now because we had the witness we needed?”

“Well, I guess...”

“What, you wouldn't have done it if I hadn't asked what it was? When were you going to tell me?”

“...I dunno, at some point?”

“What, like you waited a year for someone else to tell me I was your wife? And now you waited for someone else to tell me I could be with you for as long as you lived?!”

“Hey, don't get your kimono in a twist, you found out eventually, didn't you?”

“There's no telling if I would have ever found out if we left it up to you, huh?!”

“Why are you so mad?”

“Why are you so damn stubborn?”

“Why are you fighting with me so much?!”

“Why are you fighting with me over something you should have done a year and a half ago?!”

“Gah!”

“Argh!”
< br> Myouga watched as the pair simultaneously stomped one foot and crossed their arms. It was an odd synchronicity and a bit scary to watch, and Myouga was left feeling distinctly uncomfortable. He figured it was about time to exit, cave left.

“Well, Inuyasha-sama if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave now... I'll be back tomorrow to find out your decision.”

Neither of the two acknowledged the flea as he shook his head wearily and left the tense couple to stew in their unresolved argument. He wondered at the fate of the western nation when the two could not even come to terms with their own mating. Sighing, he jumped up the rock face toward the snow and looked down upon them with prayers that they would make the right choice.

Exhaling swiftly, Inuyasha turned to Kagome and went to her, “Kagome, look at me.”

She ignored his entreaty and instead gazed silently at the cave walls.

“Please?”

“Inuyasha, I'm not even sure I want to be around you right now, forget looking at you...” Kagome's words were quiet, symbolizing the depth of her upset. It bothered him on a deeper level than he cared to admit that she wasn't yelling the words, telling him how true they were.

“Please, Kagome, I just wasn't sure if all this...” he waved a single hand outward emphatically, an all-encompassing movement, “was truly what you wanted. I wasn't sure if you'd always want me.”

A soft sighed signaled the defeat of her resistance and she turned her eyes to him quietly, showing him she was listening.

“So... I was nervous to tell you, all right? The choice to be my mate was taken from you, and I didn't want you to hate me for it...”

Disappointment was stark in her features, and it struck Inuyasha hard.

“With all we've been through, how could you think that? My birthday is coming up soon, and this will be the fifth one I've had the pleasure of sharing with you. In all that time, and all the times you've given me the option of leaving, I've never once taken it up. What do I have to do to convince you I'm going to stay?”

A marked frustration struck a cord deep within Inuyasha, old wounds that hadn't fully healed yet boiling to the surface, “For fifty years before I met you Kagome, I had lived with the knowledge that I didn't think I'd ever find love again. And for almost two hundred before that I spent my life being reviled and hated for just being born. In my mind I know how you feel, but in my heart sometimes I can't reconcile it. How did I come to get a woman as beautiful, talented, and amazing as you are? In the beginning I thought you were just some starry eyed kid with a hero complex, and that when you grew you'd get over it. And as the years passed, I saw these men, suitable men vying for you and I was jealous and hated myself for that jealousy. Who was I to taint you?”

“But--” Kagome began to protest, but he cut her off.

“Don't. Or else I won't be able to say it, 'kay? The only person who ever truly loved me was my mother and she died when I was eight. Most hanyou are drowned at birth, or eaten by other youkai, or their mothers killed while they carry their child still in womb. But I lived, somehow. I always fought to survive. But with you? Loving you was the easy part, but the fight was with myself. It still is. I could hardly stand putting you through the suffering you go through just to be with me right now, but I thought maybe, if it was only for so long, I could forgive myself. To have you for an eternity? That would be so much more than I could ask,  so I never said anything. And the day I realized what the hell I had done and taken a woman barely more than a child and made her mine, it nearly broke me. To do it when I was nothing more than an animal. Some part of me is an animal. Do you see?”

He reached for Kagome's hands then, hands that gripped his own so tightly, rubbing them against her face lovingly. He felt the tears burning behind his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He didn't want her to see how badly it affected him.

“I do, I see now. But please know this is what I want. I don't think you're an animal, Inuyasha. I really don't. I see you, and that may be a part of you but I know you won't hurt me, ever.”

“I know, but it doesn't make sense to me some days. But I do get it. And I don't know that I'll never hurt you, but that's something I have to live with and accept that you've accepted that part of me, though hells if I know how you do.”

She smiled so sweetly at him as he drew her to the futon and sat with her, her hands still in his as he toyed with them hesitantly. He felt awkward after having revealed the dark thoughts he carried with him from time to time. He was shocked he had said it all, but unsurprised she took it so well. Still, he stared at their hands, unsure what to do with himself then.

Thankfully, she took the reins from him and directed the conversation to something less personal than his emotional scars.

“What are we going to do about...well, Sesshomaru?”

He snorted, switching to something he was familiar with to cover up his vulnerability.

Anger.

“What is there to do? He's nothing. We've been fine, why the fuck do we need him?”

Kagome sighed and squeezed his palms.

“There was a valid point in there, if it has come down to war.”

“Why the hell are you taking his side?”

“Please... don't start another fight. Please? I'm just asking you to look at all angles, not to just agree with him without a second thought.”

Inuyasha went still, his anger reducing drastically at her reasonable approach. Still continuing to fiddle with her hands uncomfortably, he turned to look at the floor.

“You think I can't protect you?”

“You know I think you can better than anyone.”

“...then why are we even considering it?”

“... because groups of intelligent, powerful youkai are very different than the weak garbage we've been fighting.”

“Keh, I'm stronger than them all.”

Kagome smile gently and lifted a single hand to brush across his cheek, “It's true, you are, but we're outnumbered and there's one thing you're missing.”

Inuyasha lifted a single brow and waited for her to reveal her point.

Kagome's smile widened patiently and she placed her hand on her stomach in emphasis.

“I'm vulnerable. I'm going to be giving birth in less than two months. We're going to have a small, helpless child. Where will our child be safer...? Isn't that something to think about? That's all I'm really concerned with. I know you can protect us under normal conditions, but this is far from normal. Nations? Armies? Isn't this a bit bigger than just us?”

Inuyasha growled and lowered his head to her stomach, listening to their pup intently as it moved. He was unhappy with it, yes, but there wasn't much he could do about it. If Kagome hadn't been carrying, he wouldn't have even thought twice about their position. Yet fathering a child had begun to change him, made him more aware and thoughtful and he wasn't sure how to process the changes he was going through as a man.

“Fine. Fine, I'll think about it.”

“Thank you.”

“What about Shinsei-baba? Didn't you want her to birth our pup?”

Kagome lowered her eyes to him, running her fingers through his hair.

“...yes, I did. Only her.”

Inuyasha nodded, “Fine, we'll maybe go after you birth the pup and it's strong enough to travel. Maybe.”

Kagome chuckled and ruffled his hair, “Maybe?”

Inuyasha snorted and nuzzled her stomach, “Maybe.”

“You're certain that's his position?” Sesshomaru turned to glare at the tiny being quivering in abject terror upon his desk.

“Y-yes, Sesshomaru-sama,” Myouga stammered out in fear of reprisal of Sesshomaru's very obvious displeasure.

“You do realize I find this unacceptable?”

“Y-y-yes, Sesshomaru-sama.”

Sesshomaru turned to look out the window of his war room, a breeze blowing the empty sleeve that once contained his arm. Looking down at the reminder in disdain, he sniffed irritably and turned back to Inuyasha's retainer once more.

“I will visit him myself then, and you will show me where he resides lest you wish to displease me further. I do not have the time for his childish games, the half-breed must know he cannot defy me in this matter.”

Myouga lowered his head, wondering just what his Lord would make of his half-brother visiting him and his pregnant mate uninvited.

He could only assume it would not be received well, and he was dreading the outcome.

A/n: Dundundunnnnnnnnnnnn~~~~cliffy!