InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Thirty-Nine ( Chapter 39 )

The Lucky Ones

By Terri Botta

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I'm poor so don't sue.

Rating: R for later chapters.

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango

Summary: Sometimes Fate hands you a gift you never thought you'd ever get, and it's up to you to accept it for what it is.

Email feedback to: tci100@psu.edu

Webpage: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta

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Chapter Thirty-Nine

Yukio adjusted the small wire-rimmed glasses he sported on his face and smoothed his hair as he checked his concealment spell for the umpteenth time. Looking at his watch, he noted that it was almost time for his arranged meeting with Dr. Ishimoro and he did his best to hold in his excitement. He hadn't been this wound up about threatening someone with bodily harm in decades. It was true that he did not relish battle the way his father once had, and he had never thrown himself into conflict with wild abandon. However, it didn't mean that he didn't enjoy the rush of power or the thrill of letting out his untamed side on occasion. He just didn't do it often. He almost wished he had managed to convince Ryoukan to join him. His wolf-hanyou brother excelled at threats and took great pleasure in them. He'd had visions of telling the good doctor he would throw her to the wolves and then do just that. Unfortunately, Ryou declined to participate, although he did ask Yukio to put in a few good snarls for him. Now he stood, briefcase in hand, waiting for the doctor to arrive at the District Public Prosecutor's Office.

`And Uncle's lawyers once again show their remarkable efficiency and talent.'

He'd read the papers and been highly impressed. Suit and counter-suit, charge and counter-charge, and a settlement offer complete with airplane ticket good for a one-way trip anywhere in the world as long as it was out of Japan.

`I'll nail her with the papers, then I'll nail her to the wall if she refuses,' he thought, flexing his fingers eagerly.

He had only dim memories of her from the two times he had seen her as a child, but he knew her immediately the moment she turned the corner and started walking down the hall.

"Dr. Ishimoro?" he asked.

"Yes. You must be the prosecutor that called me this morning," the doctor replied, coming to stand before him.

He bowed just slightly for appearances' sake and shook his head. "I'm just a clerk. But I have been given authorization to discuss your case and there are some things that need to be cleared up."

`Well, it's not a complete lie…'

He motioned to the small interrogation room behind him. "If you'll just step in here, we can get started."

She gave him a brief nod and preceded him into the room as he held the door open for her.

`God woman, you are so naïve…'

They sat down across the table from each other and Yukio opened his briefcase, taking out a small stack of papers. Adjusting the glasses that he didn't need, he went through the motions of appearing to read what was in front of him.

"It says here that you've made several attempts to file charges against the Higurashis over a number of months."

"Yes, that's true. I've filed several reports with the police and none of them have ever been followed up on. I have been down to police headquarters four times and nothing has ever been done!" the woman complained.

`Possibly because the Chief of Police is an inu-hanyou who knows my family personally, and the Higurashi name has long been held as protected by us.'

"Hmmmmm. Damage to property. Harassment. Threats on your life… Have you any proof of these accusations?"

"I have photographs of the damage to my car. I did have proof of the threats but my recorder was destroyed. As for the harassment, numerous black marks have shown up on my credit report that I had nothing to do with. I was also denied partnership at the clinic where I work, and the Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology has put me up for review twice!"

"Hmmmm. Do you have proof that Higurashi Kagome and her mother are behind these `black marks' and responsible for your difficulties? Oh, I see that the accused is a minor…"

A set of photographs showing a mangled white car were tossed carelessly in front of him. He made another show of adjusting his glasses as he picked them up.

"Ah I see this is the alleged damage to your vehicle. Oh my, this looks quite… nasty." `Way to go Otou-san. You did a number on this little Honda.'

"Her thing did that."

"Excuse me?"

"The girl has a boyfriend who follows her around. He did that to my car after he threatened my life."

"Are you saying that a young man did this kind of damage to your vehicle? With what, may I ask?"

The doctor looked uncomfortable. "You won't believe me, but he did it with his hand."

"His hand?"

"Yes. He's…" She leaned close and whispered. "Not human."

He made a show of raising his eyebrows. "Not human, Dr. Ishimoro?"

"No. He's a mutant of some sort. He has claws and animal ears on his head."

`Mutant? What is this, the X-Files? Scully! Mulder! The aliens have landed and they're having babies with dog ears! Oh no, I get it. It's the X-Men revisited. Move over Wolverine, the real bad ass has shown up. Otou-san is gonna love this.'

He had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing.

"I see…"

"I know you don't believe me, but I swear, if you find the girl, you'll find her shadow and he's the one you want."

"Hmmmm."

"There's something else."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "There's more?"

"She has that thing's spawn with her. She's feeding it."

`Okay. Just about had enough here…'

"The minor has a child with her?"

"It's not hers. She's just feeding it. She induced lactation. The girl is mentally deranged I tell you. She needs professional help."

`That was me she was feeding, you arrogant bitch, and I'm just about out of patience.'

"I hired a private investigator to get photographs of the boyfriend, but I haven't heard from him in several weeks."

"Hmmm. That is very suspicious." He glanced at the papers and saw a note from one of the lawyers about a `disposal' that had been performed in the vicinity of Kagome's high school. `Well, they won't be finding him. Ever.'

"I'm worried that something may have happened to him," she admitted, a knowing look in her eyes.

"What leads you to believe that?" he asked innocently.

"Because I've seen what that thing can do. He mangled my car and crushed my recorder with his bare hands. An animal like that could kill a human with one swipe. I'm certain her beast did something to that man."

He gathered up the papers and straightened them out by tapping them on their ends.

"Well, it certainly sounds like you've gotten in over your head, Doctor. In fact, I know you have."

He slid the stack of papers over to her and waited for her to read them, his hands placed before his mouth with the ends of his fingers touching. He watched her brow wrinkle with confusion as she leafed through the documents.

"I don't understand..." she said.

He took off the glasses and folded them neatly on the table. "What's not to understand? You are being shown your choices. If you insist on continuing your suit against the Higurashi family, you will be counter-sued. You will also be charged with violations of the Patient Privacy Act. You will not only lose your position with your medical firm, but also your license to practice medicine in Japan. We've tried to be reasonable about this because we understand that this situation is hard for you to grasp, but you've been supremely hard-headed and refused to take the hint."

She sputtered. "You... you're not with the District Public Prosecutor's Office!"

"Really? What gave it away? Was it my Versace suit? Do you honestly believe someone living on a Public Prosecutor's salary could afford a suit like this?"

"This! This is an outrage! This is harassment! How dare you bring me here under false pretenses! I'll have your job for this!" she screeched, standing up.

He held up one finger. "Ah. Ah. Ah. I never said I was with the Prosecutor's Office. You merely assumed that I was. At no time did I identify myself."

"You had me come here to the Prosecutor's Office for our meeting!"

He waved his hands at the room. "Merely a courtesy offered to us by our constituents."

"Listen you, I don't know what you're trying to pull but I refuse to be bullied."

He gave her a sweet smile. "My dear Dr. Ishimoro. I'm not trying to bully you. I'm offering you a third opportunity to make the right choice. You can drop the charges against the Higurashi family, take the settlement we are offering you which will more than cover the purchase of a new vehicle, and go forth to live happily ever after. Or you can continue with your suit and be crushed in the process. The choice is yours, but I know what decision I would make if I were you."

"If you think I'm going to be silenced by that little animal-loving whore and her demon beast, you've got another thing coming. I don't know where a shrine family like the Higurashis get the kind of money they'd need to take me on, but they'll be bankrupt and homeless by the time I get through with them. I have connections of my own that I can use to crush you!"

Yukio saw red and his nostrils flared. The woman was angry, but there was an underlying tang of fear there too.

`Fear? I'll give you something to be afraid of. You haven't a clue what monsters lurk in the night.'

Standing, he slammed his fist into the middle of the table and it cracked along the grain of the wood. With a loud snap, it split in two and crashed to the floor, sending papers flying everywhere.

"That was child's play for me, Doctor. I have more power in my pinky finger than you have in your whole damn body."

As she stared at the wreckage of the table, he flicked his finger and dropped his signet ring into his jacket pocket faster than human eyesight could register. He didn't want her to know that the ring was the key to his concealment spell. It also bore the symbol of his family crest. When she looked up and saw him in his true form, her eyes opened wide and she gasped. He took a deep breath and reveled in the renewed scent of fear that now rose up from her.

"You! You're one of them!" she accused.

He gave her a wolfish smile that showed his fangs, and effortlessly pushed aside the broken table to advance on her. She scrambled backwards, trying to get away but soon hit the wall behind her.

"You have no idea what you're getting into. There are thousands of us. We are everywhere. Nearly a third of the people in this building are my kind," he told her menacingly.

As he got closer, her fear-scent spiked and the demon in him shivered in ecstasy. It had been so long since he'd let that side of him out to play, decades since he'd allowed his youkai blood full reign, and the rage sent his blood boiling just under the surface.

"You're lucky my father just threatened you," he told her, stalking her like a predator would his prey. "There are many of us who don't give a shit about humans and would have killed you on the spot. If you'd run into any of them you would have been dead ten times over by now. We don't want to kill you. Your ignorance is not your fault, but your continued pursuit of my family is forcing our hand. If you do not cease and desist, you will be killed. We are a very protective race, and we do not react well to being threatened."

She was pressed up against the wall now and he was only inches away. He could feel her body heat radiating off of her, and smell the tang of her sweat and the delicious stench of fear. His whole body shuddered as he took another sniff, making no effort to hide his actions or his obvious pleasure.

"Take my advice, Doctor. Take the settlement, shut up, and go away. It is the only thing that will spare your life," he whispered, his voice raspy as he brought his face close to her throat, almost close enough to lick the pulse point of her skin.

She shivered and scrabbled at the wall, her heart racing with terror, and he took the claw of his pinky finger and ran it across her jugular just hard enough to scratch but not enough to break the skin.

"When push comes to shove, I could kill you with a flick of my wrist and you'd never know what hit you," he hissed, backing up his threat with a throaty growl.

He heard her make a choking sound and saw her close her eyes. The demon in him was in raptures, but his sudden realization of how much he was enjoying her fear splashed over him like a bucket of cold water.

`This is too easy. It's too easy to find pleasure in their terror, in seeing them cower like prey. But this power… it isn't real and… and it goes against everything I was ever taught.'

He stepped back, regaining control over his emotions and reining his rage back in. The doctor lost her footing and slid to the floor, her breath coming in short, panting gasps. She put a hand to her throat, feeling the skin. Her whole body was trembling.

Yukio took the opportunity to gather up the papers and drop them at her knees.

"Do me a favor, Doctor, and sign the papers. I don't make it a habit to slaughter humans. As a general rule I don't find your race much sport, and I haven't killed one of you in over eighty years. Don't make yourself my first victim in eight decades."

She looked up at him and he returned her gaze without blinking. In inu-youkai he was begging her to challenge him so he could rip out her throat, but she was oblivious to his silent signals. After a moment, she dropped her eyes and stared at the papers on the floor by her legs. With shaky hands, she reached for them and the blank airline ticket voucher.

He put his hand in his jacket pocket to retrieve a pen, slipping his signet ring back on in the process.

"Do you need a pen?" he asked her, offering the writing implement.

She did a double take when she saw him back in human form but accepted the pen from him.

"How do you do that? The other, the girl's demon, didn't hide what he was," she asked bravely.

"Some of us find assuming human form more convenient. It makes our lives easier."

"So you can hide like wolves in sheep's clothing," she said bitterly.

He shrugged. "The vast majority of us are law-abiding citizens with homes and families just like you, Doctor. For what it's worth, I'm sorry it had to come to this. I don't particularly like threatening humans. As I said, I don't find your race much sport."

"The lot of you should be exterminated like rats," she seethed.

He smirked at her bravado but noticed that she was signing the forms. "You'd be surprised at how many of us there are, and what positions of power we hold. I think you would find yourself in much deeper trouble than you already are if you tried to garner opposition against us. You'd earn the attention of creatures much more powerful, deadly and less forgiving than me."

"I'm only doing this because I have a daughter to think of. I don't want your filth ruining her life."

He ignored her comment and smiled. "Call the number on the top sheet of your copy of the settlement and as many flight vouchers as you require will be provided for you. Also, if you inform us of your final destination, I am sure we can do something to ease your transition into your new home. A job and suitable living quarters, perhaps."

She sneered. "I don't want anything from your despicable kind, demon."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

As she finished signing the papers, he retrieved his briefcase and glasses, frowning at the broken lenses.

`Oh well, no big loss. They were just a pair of cheap reading glasses.'

She handed him the papers without looking at him and he balanced the briefcase on its end in one hand as he opened it and dropped them in.

"Pen?" he asked.

The item was thrown at him, and he snatched it out of the air effortlessly and calmly returned it to his pocket.

"Well then, Doctor, our business here is concluded. I would like to say it's been a pleasure, but I'm not in the habit of lying. I do hope that I will never see you again."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks. You're not my type. Besides, you couldn't dream of keeping up with me. Good day."

With that, he left the small room and closed the door behind him. Turning, he made his way down the hall to the Chief of Police's office and popped his head in.

"Amagawa-san," he called, catching the Chief of Police's attention.

The concealed inu-hanyou looked up, his eyes widening and immediately stood, bowing deeply.

"Fushikenwa-san!" he said, noticing the signet ring on Yukio's hand.

"Sit down," he soothed, coming into the office and closing the door behind him. "I just wanted to thank you for the use of one of your spare rooms."

"It was an honor to serve you, Fushikenwa-san. When the esteemed Nishitaishou family contacted me, I was pleased to be able to accommodate their requests," the male replied.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, fishing out several bills.

"Unfortunately, I broke the table in the room. I hope this covers the cost of replacement. If it doesn't, please contact my uncle and I'll settle the difference," he admitted, placing the bills on the desk.

The inu-hanyou eyed the money with wide eyes. "That amount will be more than enough, Fushikenwa-san."

Yukio shrugged. "Use what's leftover for the widows-fund or something. Anyway, I have to go. The good doctor should be dropping all charges and moving elsewhere very soon."

Amagawa bowed again. "A wise choice on her part."

"I thought so. You have a good day, and let my uncle know the next time you have a fund raiser. I'll make a donation."

"Thank you, Fushikenwa-san."

He bowed and the inu-hanyou bowed back, then he gave a careless little wave and opened the door.

"Be safe," he said, breezing out of the office.

"And you, Fushikenwa-san. Be safe."

The train ride back to Tokyo House was brief and uneventful, and Yukio found himself in good spirits. His body still tingled from the rush of power and the raging of his demon blood, and he knew he needed to relax and take it easy for the rest of the day just to make sure his youkai side settled down properly. Other than that, however, he was feeling rather pleased with himself and smiled smugly.

`I'm glad it all worked out, and I got to have a bit of fun with that nasty bitch while I was at it. Otou-san will be proud of me.'

He was doing a little two-step and humming the opening bars of James Brown's `I Feel Good' as he opened the door to the house, kicked off his shoes and made his way into the kitchen where he found his brother Miroku standing by the coffee maker.

"Hey, little brother," he greeted, dropping his suit jacket onto the back of a chair and rubbing the younger inu-hanyou on the head. "How are you doing today? You're home early from the university."

Miroku grumbled at him and poured a cup of coffee as Yukio hopped up and sat on the counter, legs swinging.

"Got a cup for me?" he asked sweetly.

"Get it yourself, and please stop putting your butt prints on the Corian. My housekeeper will have fits if she sees you up there. She just finished cleaning the kitchen before she went out," Miroku groused.

"Versace does not leave butt prints on anything," he replied, but hopped down. "What flea crawled up your butt today, otouto? It can't be Myouga-jiji. He's in Las Vegas with the showgirls."

"Don't call me that," Miroku snapped.

He grabbed a mug from the dishwasher and poured himself a cup of coffee, trying to ignore his brother's surly attitude. It would be no good for him to get into a fight right now, not with his youkai blood so close to the surface.

"Where's Okaa-san? It's almost two."

Miroku shrugged. "Still out with her mother shopping for the new baby."

"Hmmm, Otou-san will be pissed. Mama-baachan promised not to let Okaa-san wear herself out. I would have expected them back by now. Tomo's coming over at three."

"I have no clue what they're doing, but two delivery men have already showed up to bring a crib and a diaper changing table," Miroku told him, a scowl on his face.

`Okay, something is really wrong here…'

"Cool. Has Otou-san seen them?"

"He told them to put the furniture in the third bedroom."

"The one next to theirs? Good choice." `That's a small room, but it gets lots of sunlight, and the pup will be between my room and theirs so I'll hear the pup crying if he's in there by himself and needs care. Okaa will probably keep the pup with her most of the time though. She always has. I slept with them regularly until I was 4.'

"I offered them my room, but they said no."

"Why would you offer them your room? They wouldn't take your room. We're only going to be here a few months. Just until the pup's old enough to fly," he replied, taking a sip from his mug. `Mmmmm. Good coffee. Miroku might be a city-boy, but he makes a damn fine cup of coffee.'

"Why not? Only the best for the new heir and my room's the nicest," the younger inu-hanyou snapped back peevishly.

"New heir? Miroku what are you talking about?"

Miroku slammed his cup of coffee down on the counter hard enough to crack the mug.

`Whoa…'

"Haven't you gotten the memo? This baby is going to live," Miroku hissed.

He blinked. "Well, of course it's going to live. Isn't it wonderful? Okaa-san and Otou-san will finally have a pup of their own."

"Will you listen to what you are saying?!"

"Huh? Miroku, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been a real asshole lately."

Miroku threw up his hands. "God you are so dense! Our parents are having a child! A biological child!!"

"Yeah. So? You don't think it's as fantastic as I do?"

Miroku stared at him, dumbfounded. "Are you insane? Don't you know what this means for the rest of us?"

"We get a new brother or sister?" he offered.

"You stupid idiot! We're all adopted!"

"Yes, and now Okaa-san is finally pregnant and she's going to have Otou-san's pup after so many years of trying and so much trouble," he replied.

"Yes, so much trouble. So much money and danger and effort to have their own baby. Why? Why did they go through all of that?" Miroku pressed, his fists clenching.

"You know why. Okaa-san wanted another pup and there aren't any hanyou orphans anymore. And they couldn't get a human pup. Not with all of us and the lives we lead. They had no choice but to try for their own," he explained patiently. `Miroku, you know all of this. Okaa-san and Otou-san have told us dozens of times why they tried so hard for a pup.'

Miroku shook his head. "No. Why would they go through so much? Okaa-san's had four miscarriages and she's almost bled to death at least once. Why? It's because we're not good enough for them. That's why!"

`Not good enough? Oh otouto, is this what you've been carrying inside you all this time? Do you honestly think this pup will be more important than us?'

"No, Miroku, no. No, my brother. It's not like that at all," he assured him, approaching with arms outstretched.

Miroku slapped his hands away. "Don't touch me. You may not care about being replaced, but I do!"

"Is that what you think? That all of us will be replaced by this new pup? Do you honestly believe that our parents are that petty and shallow?" `This isn't about them. It's about his biological mother. Arrogant, vapid bitch that she is.'

"Why would they try so hard? Why would Okaa-san risk her life, risk both of their lives to have this baby if it wasn't more important than them staying alive for us? We're second best! They'll have this baby and flaunt their blood-child in our faces!"

Yukio stopped and looked at Miroku. His brother was wide-eyed and panting, his pupils dilated and his hands clenching and unclenching.

`This is a bad combination. He's going into full melt-down and I'm too riled up from earlier. I need my father to come in here and handle him before this gets out of hand. Miroku's always been hot-headed, but this is insane.'

"You need to listen to what you are saying, Miroku. You're not making any sense, otouto. Okaa-san and Otou-san would never reject us like that," he tried calmingly.

"You're a fool, Yukio. A naïve fool. This baby will change everything. And if god-forbid it's a boy, he'll be the prodigal son and you can kiss your status as Second good-bye!"

He was edging his way towards the kitchen door, hands up and spread in peace. `Otou is probably in the garage or in the drafting room.'

"I have more faith in Okaa-san and Otou-san than that. I know they would never do that to us. They love us very much and if you'd just calm down, you'd realize that you're talking nonsense."

Miroku was watching him with predatory eyes and he didn't like that look at all.

`Otouto, don't do this. Please don't do this. If you push me, you'll get more than you bargained for, I promise.'

"I'm the only one in this family who sees this for what it really is. The rest of you idiots are blind," the younger inu-hanyou seethed.

"I'm gonna go get Otou-san. And when Okaa-san gets back, we'll all sit down and talk this out, and I'm sure they will tell you the same things I'm telling you now. So why don't we just calm down and take a deep breath…"

Miroku's eyes flashed red and pale stripes appeared on the cheeks of his flushed face, rippling in and out of existence. Because the female was the youkai parent in his lineage, his demon blood was closer to the surface than Yukio's or his father's, and it sometimes showed in markings on his face and in his eyes when he was angry. It didn't mean that he would turn full youkai the way his father would at times when his life was threatened and he didn't have Tessaiga. Miroku's youkai blood was sealed by his sword, but sometimes it came dangerously close to being let loose.

`Shit and he doesn't have Jyu-ichi-Kenshuga on him… Come to think of it, I left Kenshuga in my room this morning.'

"I don't want to calm down. I want someone in this family to take me fucking seriously for once!"

"It'd be a lot easier to take you seriously of you weren't spewing bullshit like a blithering idiot!" he snapped, his own demon blood responding to the growing threat.

Later he would have to admit that the jibe was uncalled for and had only made things worse, but right then he'd just about run out of patience. Miroku responded by snarling and charging at him. Rather than turn to avoid the blow however, he met it head on and slammed the younger male to the floor.

:Submit, lesser-male,: he ordered in inu-youkai.

Miroku flashed his throat and Yukio let him up, thinking the fight was over, but the moment he turned his back, the younger inu-hanyou was on him, snarling and scratching. He howled as the claws bit into his flesh and he twisted, reaching back to grab his brother and rip him away to send him flying into the cappuccino/coffee maker. There was a loud smash as the machine crashed to the floor, the carafe full of coffee shattering and sending shards and hot liquid all over the kitchen. Miroku recovered, crouching low and they both growled warningly.

"Miroku, enough of this. If Okaa-san comes in and sees us fighting, she'll be upset," he cautioned, bristling and flexing his claws.

"You're nothing but a simpering Mama's boy, Yukio; a hopeless puppy yipping at his parents' heels like a pathetic loser. You've never lived more than five ri away from them whenever you had a choice. Even when you were mated to Miaka, you kept close so you could be near your mother. You're weak and hopeless. You don't deserve the title of Second," Miroku taunted.

Yukio growled and bared his teeth as they circled each other. "Are you challenging me for the position of beta-male?"

"The pack will need a strong male to challenge when the leader tries to usurp us with a newborn."

"You intend to go after Otou-san?"

"He's an old man who's grown soft. I've been training. I'm ready to better my status in this family," Miroku threatened.

"Training with who? Richard Simmons? Karate for Dummies? Otou-san is as strong and fast as he was four hundred years ago. You don't stand a chance against him. And you'd have to beat me first," he spat.

"Both of you are weak, sentimental fools. I'll defeat you, then Oyaji. Then Ofukuro will have to bend to my will as the new alpha-male."

The demon blood in him roiled at the unspoken threat and he arched his back, snarling.

"You think an untrained, insolent pup like you can beat me? Go ahead and try."

Growling, Miroku rushed him and he met the blow with his shoulder, striking the younger male in the solar plexus, then he rounded and slammed Miroku in the middle of his back with both of his fists. He kept his claws away from skin so as not to hurt his brother with them, but Miroku offered him no such courtesy. As the younger inu-hanyou rolled to his feet, he lashed out, slashing Yukio across the arm.

Yukio yowled in pain and the scent of his own blood fed his growing rage. He abandoned all pretense of holding back and returned the swipe with one of his own. His strike hit its mark and ripped Miroku's shirt across his shoulder blade, drawing blood. Miroku reached behind him to touch the wound and licked the blood off of his fingers. His eyes were completely unfocused and manic, and Yukio was struggling to hold on to his own senses rather than surrender them to his youkai side, but his demon blood was rejoicing and reveled in the unbridled violence.

`He's got the taste of blood now. There'll be no reasoning with him unless I take him down,' he thought dimly, knowing how crazed an inu-youkai in a blood-rage could get.

:Challenge beta-male,: Yukio growled. :Lesser-male submit.:

:Lesser-male challenge beta-male. Defeat beta-male.:

"I don't think so," he answered aloud.

They both leaped at the same time, their bodies colliding in mid-air. Miroku took a swing, but his move was too predictable. Yukio easily avoided it and kicked with one leg, kneeing Miroku in the stomach and sending him smashing into the kitchen table.

The table cracked and fell to the floor in pieces.

`Hmm, not my day for tables,' he mused.

The blow didn't stop the younger male however, and he leaped to his feet, snarling and baring his teeth. They circled again, each looking for an opportunity to get the better of his opponent.

"You can't beat me. You've never had to fight in a real fight in your entire life. You say I'm weak and soft? Have you looked in the mirror lately?" he growled.

"You don't know anything about what I've had to fight for. You haven't got a clue," Miroku snapped back.

"Yeah. Things like which car should you buy with Otou-san's money or whether or not you should get that second Rolex."

"Buying a car is better than asking to sleep with my mommy and daddy when I'm over 400 years old!" Miroku sneered, moving in and trying for a belly blow. He missed, but Yukio didn't and the younger hanyou went crashing to the floor.

"When you've buried your mate of 230 years, you can come to me and sit in judgment of my choices."

Knowing that he couldn't believe a word Miroku said while he was like this didn't ease the sting of his hateful words any, and Yukio was fast beginning to not care about the consequences of beating his brother to a pulp.

"Oh yeah, and what a prize she was. Chose to die rather than stay with your pathetic ass," Miroku taunted, crouching on all fours and ready to spring.

"You leave Miaka out of this," he growled. `You're really pushing it, otouto. Blood-rage or no blood-rage, you're really starting to piss me off.'

"What? Don't like to be reminded of how you ran home to Mom and Dad and bawled like a baby for twenty years?"

`That's it. Fuck you. You're going down.'

"Shut up and fight, asshole."

Miroku smiled eagerly. "With pleasure."

No more words were spoken as they came at each other, slashing and snarling. Both landed blows and both bled freely, but it was obvious that Yukio was the more skilled and powerful of the two of them. Even in the heat of the battle, one small part of Yukio's brain remained detached and fed him little cautions and calls for reason. This alone kept him from doing his younger brother serious harm as they rent and tore at each other until their clothes were in tatters.

Yukio knew Miroku was tiring and decided to pour on the pressure. If he could get the younger male down, he could catch him by the throat and end the fight. It looked like Miroku was going to feint to the left and he was preparing for it when his mother's scream split the room.

`Okaa-san!' he thought, realizing that she must have just come in to find her two inu-hanyou sons ripping each other to pieces.

He turned his head to see her standing in the doorway and his momentary distraction gave Miroku an opening. His brother surged forward, claws extended and went right for his throat. His mother screamed again, a warning and a plea, and he saw the movement from the corner of his eye. He rotated his head and body at the last moment, and Miroku's claws slashed down the side of his face and neck, but missed the jugular.

The blow made him spin from his own momentum and he fell to his knees. He braced for the impact of Miroku continuing his assault, but a snarling blur of black and silver came tearing into the room before it could come. He heard a resounding crash and knew that his father had heard his mother's screams and had run to her side.

"Yukio! Yukio, baby!" his mother cried, her hands on his shoulders.

"Insolent pup! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" his father roared at his younger brother, and he looked up to see that Inuyasha had pinned Miroku to the far wall by his throat.

`Oh good. Otou-san is here. He'll take care of Miroku,' he thought with relief, stamping down the frustrated yowling of his demon blood.

His relief was short-lived however, when Miroku refused to submit to his father, kicked up with both legs and bit into Inuyasha's wrist.

"Inuyasha! Miroku!" Kagome gasped in horror, even as Inuyasha growled and threw his youngest inu-hanyou son to the ground.

When Miroku rose to his feet, his eyes were red and the stripes were back on his face. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed and he braced for a fight.

"Otou-san, he's gone mad!" Yukio informed him. "He's convinced the new pup will replace us all and he wants to overthrow you so Okaa-san will have to obey him."

He saw Inuyasha's jaw clench and the imperceptible nod he gave that showed he had grasped the situation.

"Get her out of here," his father ordered.

"No!" Kagome protested. "No! Miroku stop this! Please!"

Miroku turned red eyes to his mother and snarled. Kagome gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief, and Inuyasha slammed himself into the younger hanyou, breaking his eye contact with Kagome and sending him reeling across the kitchen floor, scattering the glass and spilled coffee.

"Don't look away from me, pup. I'm your opponent!" Inuyasha warned. "Yukio, get your mother out of here. Take her to the shrine!"

"No!" she refused again, even as he was getting to his feet and taking hold of her arm.

"Do it!" :Obey leader-male!: "NOW!!!"

He didn't give his mother any more time to resist. Instead he picked her up and carried her bridal-style out of the house. He'd gone without his signet ring, but he didn't care if someone saw his blurry form as he leaped forward and raced for the shrine.

"No, no, no, no! No! Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. "Take me back! Yukio, take me back to your father!"

"I can't, Okaa-san. I can't disobey a direct order from the alpha-male," he replied as he jumped across the street and hit the shrine stairs at a dead run.

"But Miroku! He's going to hurt Miroku!" she sobbed, then looked more closely at him. "Oh! Oh my god! Oh my god! Look what he did to you!"

He put her down on the shrine grounds and knelt with her because she didn't seem capable of standing.

"I'm fine. They're just scratches."

"Your father used to have belly wounds that went right through him and claimed they were just scratches!"

She started crying as she touched the gashes on his cheek and neck, wounds that were still bleeding freely and staining what was left of his white shirt.

"Oh. Oh my god. Oh my god…"

He tried to get her to stand. "C'mon, Okaa-san, let's go to see Mama-baachan."

"He hurt you, my baby. Oh my God, he hurt you. You're bleeding everywhere!" she choked, gasping for breath.

"Okaa-san, breathe! Please breathe!"

His mother was starting to hyperventilate, and he gave up trying to get her to stand and just let her crumple back down to the concrete.

"Breathe, Okaa. Breathe," he soothed, rubbing her shoulders.

She drew great heaving breaths and held onto his thigh with one hand.

"I... I... What happened??" she demanded.

"I don't know. I got back from the Public Prosecutor's Office and he was in a pissy mood. He started ranting about how this pup would be a biological child and replace all of us adopted pups."

"But that's insane! I know he's been upset since Inuyasha and I started trying to have a pup, but we've tried to make sure he knew it wasn't because we valued our own pup over any of you."

He shook his head, cradling her in his arms as she continued to gasp and shiver.

`She's in shock. I have to get her inside...'

"I know, and that's what I told him, but he wouldn't listen. Then he challenged me for position of beta-male and attacked me."

"And now he's going after Inuyasha..." she sobbed.

He nodded, his face grave.

"But he doesn't stand a chance! Inuyasha will tear him to pieces!"

"Otou-san won't hurt him. You know he won't."

"He may have no choice! Yukio, take me back! Please take me back. I may be the only one who can reach him!"

He refused. "I can't. The alpha-male gave me a direct order to bring you here. It's not safe there. Trust Otou-san. He'll do everything he can to make sure Miroku comes out okay."

"But he's going berserk! Look what he did to you! He could have... he could have... oh my God, he could have..." She started hyperventilating again.

"Okaa-san, please! Calm down. I'm alright. Please calm down. Miroku will be fine. Otou-san will take care of him."

"I can't lose another pup like this!!"

She weakly tried to pull out of his grasp and he was afraid to hold onto her because he didn't want to hurt her, but at the same time, he didn't want to let her go.

"Okaa-san, please..." he begged. `She's flashing back to Hiro, and the day Otou-san had to kill him...'

"Who is there? What is going on?" Jii-chan's voice asked as he came out of one of the smaller shrine outbuildings.

"Jii-chan! Jii-chan, get Mama-baachan!" he cried.

"Yukio? Kagome? Kami-sama, you're bleeding! Ieeeeee! Mama!!" his great-grandfather yelled and dashed for the house.

"I have to get back to them," Kagome said brokenly, trying to get to her feet, but having to settle for merely rising to her knees. Then suddenly she jerked and cried out, collapsing once again to the pavement.

"Okaa-san?"

"The baby!" she replied. "The baby is…" She jerked again, gasping in pain and grabbed her abdomen.

"Okaa-san??" he asked again, a feeling of panic starting to take hold.

"Kagome!" Mama-baachan cried as she came running out of the house. "What happened? You just dropped me off a few minutes ago? Oh Kami-sama! Yukio what happened?"

"Miroku and I got into a fight. I'm fine, but he went after Otou-san. Otou-san had me bring Okaa-san here."

"Oh dear God. You're covered in blood."

"I said I'm fine, but Okaa-san…"

Another spasm shook his mother and she let out an anguished cry.

"Kagome!" Mama-baachan called.

"Okaa-san!"

"Mama! Mama, the baby!"

Mama-baachan put her hand on his mother's lower abdomen and felt the spasms as Kagome doubled over and moaned in pain.

"Mama-baachan," he asked worriedly.

"The spasms are close together. It's possible the upset has triggered labor."

"Labor? No! It's too soon! The pup still has almost two months to go!"

"We have to get her to the hospital now. I'll call an ambulance."

She moved to rise to her feet, but Yukio stopped her. "No. She has to go to Hirata."

"Hirata? That's just a clinic!"

He shook his head. "You only think it's a clinic. It's actually a youkai hospital. Okaa-san has to go there because her pup is a hanyou."

"But Hirata is way across town. The University of Tokyo Hospital is much closer," she argued.

His mother shuddered and groaned as another contraction hit her.

`Hold on, Okaa-san! Hold on!'

He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the cell phone that had miraculously survived the fight. Flipping it open, he hit #2 on the one-touch speed-dial.

"Nishitaisho," came Uncle's voice across the line.

"Uncle! It's Yukio. We have an emergency! We need a helicopter at the shrine. Okaa-san's gone into premature labor!"

There was a ten second delay, then his uncle's voice replied, "It is done."

"Thank you!"

He hung up the phone and tossed it away as he grabbed his mother's shoulders and pulled her back to him.

"Did you hear that, Okaa? Uncle is sending a helicopter. It will be here very soon. You just need to hold on until then."

Another contraction wracked her body and he felt it this time, and smelled the scent of her fear and pain.

"No. No this can't be happening..." she sobbed.

"Kagome... Kagome, listen to me. You have to calm down. Your continued upset is only making this worse," Mama-baachan implored.

"Mama, it hurts!"

"I know, baby. I know," his grandmother soothed, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping his mother's brow.

Another contraction made her gasp and curl into herself. "Oh God... No... No..."

"Kagome, even if this baby is born now, it will still live. Premature infants survive all the time. Even ones born earlier than this. Your baby will be okay," Mama-baachan assured her.

"Kagome..." Jii-chan cried, joining them.

"She's going into labor. Yukio called for help. They're sending a helicopter," Mama-baachan explained. "I'm going to go with her. You need to stay here and wait for Souta to get back from school. When he does, bring him to Hirata Medical Center."

"But that's just a clinic!"

She cast a glance up at him and he nodded. "Apparently not. Yukio says it's a youkai hospital."

"Ah," Jii-chan replied.

"I need Inuyasha. Where is Inuyasha?" Kagome pleaded, sweating hard and clenching her fists.

Yukio started to remind her that his father was dealing with Miroku, but a quick look into her dilated, panicked eyes made him think better of it.

"Okaa, just breathe and calm down. Please. Otou-san will be here just as soon as he can, but you have to relax. Help is on the way."

Another wave went through her and he saw her face contort with pain.

`Okaa-san, please hold on.'

"Inu... Inuyasha. It hurts!"

"Shhh, baby. I know. I know. I want you to hold onto my hand and squeeze as hard as you can every time you feel pain, okay?" Mama-baachan offered.

"Oh... okay..."

His mother took Mama-baachan's hand, and he raised his eyes to meet his grandmother's frightened ones. He had no doubt that the same fear was mirrored in his own eyes and he tried very hard to quell his growing concern. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose, using a relaxation technique that Miroku's namesake had taught him centuries ago. With his eyes closed, he could focus on his other senses and he listened carefully. If he tried hard, he could hear the pup's heartbeat thundering under his mother's. It was still strong and steady, if a bit too fast.

`It's alive. I can hear the heartbeat. Keep beating little one. Stay with us.'

His mother's breath was hot against his cheek, coming in little puffs that increased every time she had a contraction, but he willed himself to be quiet and still as if his calm would telegraph into her and keep her safe. He was never so glad to hear the tell-tale whirr and beat of a helicopter as it appeared in the airspace over the shrine just a short ten minutes later.

"Help is here, Okaa-san," he told her, opening his eyes to see the black Eurocopter hovering over them.

"Does it have room to land?" Mama-baachan asked, covering her head as the wind kicked up from the blades whipped around them.

He nodded. "Yeah. It'll land in the middle of the shrine grounds. When it does, I'll grab Okaa-san and take her over there. You follow right behind me. Remember to keep your head down."

She nodded that she understood, and they waited anxiously as the helicopter set down in the middle of the shrine.
Yukio was up and moving the moment it was on the ground, his mother in his arms. He heard the slap of his grandmother's footfalls following shortly behind and he knew she was close at his heels.

"She has to go to Hirata!" he told the pilot, who nodded, his purple eyes revealing his youkai blood.

Mama-baachan slipped into the rear seat as he strapped his mother into the front passenger seat. A streak of white zipped by him and he looked to see Kirara in her kitten form seated in the back next to his grandmother. She mewed plaintively and he just shook his head. If the firecat wanted to go along, he wasn't about to stop her.

"Yukio..." Kagome sobbed, her eyes terrified and it broke his heart.

He kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand. "You're being taken to the hospital. I'll get Otou-san and we'll be there as soon as we can. Mama-baachan is going with you. Kirara too. Don't be afraid. Everything's going to be alright now."

She gave him a frightened nod and he ducked his head and backed off, closing the helicopter door firmly. Then he ran to the sidelines and waited as the Eurocopter took off and sped away in the direction of the hospital.

"I'm going to go get my father," he told Jii-chan, not waiting for the old man to answer him.

He snatched up his cell phone and leaped off the shrine steps, bounding over cars and people to get to Tokyo House. When he arrived, it was obvious that the fight between father and son had escalated. The kitchen was a wreck and he followed the trail of smashed furniture and blood down the hallway to the sunroom where a huge blood-stained hole in the glass wall suggested that someone had been thrown through it.

He found Inuyasha and Miroku facing off in the back yard. Both were bloody messes but he could tell that all the wounds were superficial. His father appeared to have more injuries, but Miroku was the one looking worse for wear.

`The blood lust is still on him. He's like Otou-san when he turns full youkai. Stupid idiot. He'll keep fighting until he can't fight anymore, and he's too young and untrained to keep it locked down...'

He was about to call out when Miroku lunged and made a wild swing, and he watched as his father moved into the blow, letting it graze across his arm and draw blood.

`What the? He's letting Miroku hit him? What the fuck?'

"You're getting slow, old man!" Miroku taunted.

Inuyasha just laughed. "You only think so, pup. You still think you can beat me?"

"Looks like you're bleeding more than I am, jiji."

`Jiji? You asshole! How dare you call Otou-san that!'

"Heh. You think that means anything? If you wanna be pack-leader, pup, you gotta learn to take a little pain!"

Inuyasha struck, proving that he'd lost none of his strength and speed, and landed a punch right to Miroku's ribcage, sending the younger inu-hanyou crashing to the ground, but rather than follow it up with a crushing blow, he danced backwards, easing up.

`He's toying with him... he knows Miroku hasn't got a prayer. That pup's never been in a real fight in his life, and he's barely swung his sword out of practice. I think he's killed two youkai with it, if that.'

Miroku was still down so Yukio took the opportunity to call out to his father.

"Otou-san! Otou-san! Okaa-san! The pup!" he yelled, backing it up with inu-youkai. :Leader-male! Mother-female! Pup! Danger!:

Inuyasha turned to face him and he saw the emotions morph across his father's face: rage, fear, surprise, then cold-tempered anger. Behind him, Miroku was getting to his feet, and Yukio began to shout a warning to his father, but suddenly Inuyasha whirled and slammed Miroku right in the chin with a powerful right hook.

"I don't have time to play with you anymore," he said as the younger hanyou went flying backwards and smashed into the side of the garage, cracking the siding with his head.

They waited to see if Miroku would get up, but he didn't.

`Probably out cold. He's going to have a bitch of a headache when he wakes up. Serves him right.'

He ran to his father's side, noting the dilated pupils and heaving breath.

"Where is Kagome?" Inuyasha growled.

"She went into labor. Uncle sent a helicopter and she's been taken to Hirata. Mama-baachan went with her," he blurted breathlessly.

"Let's go."

They were turning to leave when Tomo appeared around the front hedges.

"Kami-sama, what happened here?" his brother exclaimed.

Yukio took a brief glance at his watch. It was 3 o'clock on the dot. Funny how the whole world went to hell in less than an hour. One look at his father proved that Inuyasha was in no condition to have a conversation, so he took over.

"Tomo. Miroku attacked me and Otou-san..."

"What?" the bat-hanyou gasped, shocked.

Yukio shook his head. "I need you to listen, because we have to go. Miroku thinks the new pup will replace us all because it will be a biological child so he challenged for alpha-male."

"That's insane!"

"I know. But Okaa-san saw us fighting and she's gone into premature labor."

"NO!"

He put up a hand, ignoring his father's growing growls. "She's at Hirata now. We're going there..."

"Well, let's go..."

"I need you to stay here and be here when Miroku wakes up. Give Jyu-ichi-Kenshuga to him when he does, and bring him with you to Hirata. He'll know the way. Also, bring some of Okaa-san's clothes and toiletries. She'll probably need them."

Inuyasha snarled. "We go NOW!"

"Go. Go quickly. I'll stay here and bring him when he wakes up," Tomo agreed.

He took his brother's hand briefly. "Thank you. Come as soon as you can."

"We will."

Inuyasha, tired of waiting, was already headed off and Yukio rushed to catch up. Neither of them had their concealment spells, but they didn't need them as they leaped from building to building and car to car, traveling faster than human eyes could track.

His father hit the doors of the hospital so hard they almost shattered before they could slide open for him, and he went tearing into the lobby, past the human-looking receptionist, to the triage intake. The only thing that stopped him was the Wall of Uncle, who reached out one hand and grabbed hold of his half-brother, halting him in his tracks.

"Sesshoumaru! You asshole! Let me go! Kagome's in there!!" his father screamed.

"She is within. The doctor is with her. You should stay out here and out of the way," Uncle informed him calmly.

He came careening to a stop next to his Aunt Rin, his own breath coming in panting gasps. Mama-baachan was there with Kirara too, huddled in a chair, her hands clenched over her heart as the firecat sat in her lap. None of them bothered with a concealment spell because a permanent Spell of Normalcy was cast over the entire building, as well as numerous lesser illusion spells meant to mask the building's true purpose.

"They just brought her in ten minutes ago," his aunt told him, her face a picture of calm serenity.

`I suppose after being mated to Uncle for four centuries, she's seen and done just about everything,' he thought, and her peaceful demeanor bled over into him. He wished the same could be said of his father, but it looked like Uncle had him well in hand, cursing notwithstanding.

"We haven't heard anything yet, but they were ready for her when she got here. We called ahead."

"Thank you."

"All we can do now is wait," his aunt finished and he had to agree. "You look terrible. What happened?"
"Miroku challenged me for beta-male, then challenged Otou-san for alpha."

"Miroku? The inu-hanyou?" Aunt Rin repeated, surprised. "Isn't he..." She stopped and looked at her mate who nodded gravely. "Oh. Oh I see..."

"Yeah. Her son." He wouldn't say the inu-youkai bitch's name since she refused to say his brother's.

"No, not her son. He is Kagome and Inuyasha's son. She was merely the vessel that carried him," his aunt corrected gently.

"Well, he's got issues with that," he replied and went on to tell her and Uncle all about Miroku's words and the reasons for the fight.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I know that any one of her three full inu-youkai pups would trade her for Inuyasha and Kagome as parents in a heartbeat. There is no love lost between mother and pups in that family," Rin said when he was finished.

"That's what I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen."

"Hot-headed and impetuous like his father," Uncle commented.

"Oi!" Inuyasha growled.

The conversation would have continued and most likely have degenerated into a pissing match, but a youkai in a doctor's coat interrupted them.

"Fushikenwa-san?"

Inuyasha was in his face in a heartbeat. "That's me. What is happening to my mate?"

The doctor gave him a placating smile. "Your mate is fine. I'm Doctor Sawamatsu. I've been treating her."

"And the pup?"

"The pup is fine too. It was a false alarm."

"False alarm?" they repeated.

"Yes. Braxton-Hicks contractions can closely imitate labor, especially when the mother is under stress."

Yukio saw the wheels turning behind his father's eyes. "So... the pup's not coming early."

The doctor shook his head. "No, the little one is right where he's supposed to be, inside his mother for another six weeks."

Inuyasha's legs abruptly gave out and he sat down on the floor, his eyes dazed. "I'm glad."

Yukio approached. "Doctor, you said my mother is alright?"

"Yes. Her blood pressure is a little higher than we'd like it to be, but that's understandable under the circumstances. I was going to ask you what triggered this episode, but looking at the state the two of you are in, I can guess that myself. Do either of you need medical attention?"

"Bah! These are just scratches," Inuyasha insisted, recovering from his shock and rising to his feet. "I'm fine. I want to see my mate."

"We've given her a sedative and she's resting right now, but..."

He was gone before the doctor could finish his sentence, the ward doors swinging behind him.

"Don't worry, he'll find her by scent," Yukio assured him.

"Ah, yes, inu-youkai noses."

Yukio tapped his nose. "They're the best."

"When can my daughter come home, Doctor?" Mama-baachan asked as she joined them, Kirara still in her arms.

"We're going to keep her overnight for observation, but if everything seems fine in the morning, I have no problems with releasing her."

Mama-baachan sighed with relief. "That is good to hear. Thank you, Doctor."

"I'll want to her to rest and take it easy for the remainder of her pregnancy. So that means no more rough-housing and fighting," the doctor admonished.

Yukio lowered his ears and nodded. "We understand. Thank you, for everything. We'll give my father a few minutes then go to see her. Don't worry, we'll drag him out of here so you won't have to deal with him all night."

The doctor chuckled. "He can't be any worse than some of the bull-youkais we get in here sometimes. Unless you have any questions, I have other patients that need my attention."

"No, that's fine. Thank you, doctor," Aunt Rin replied.

The doctor bowed and they bowed back, then he retreated back behind the ward doors. Yukio took a deep breath and allowed all the tension he had been feeling to leave his body as he slumped into a chair.

"Well good news all around. I'm very relieved," Rin admitted.

"Me too," he added.

"I should have thought about false labor," Mama-baachan said.

"You did the right thing. If it hadn't been a false alarm, the pup would have been in real danger. It was better to be safe than sorry," Aunt Rin comforted.

"Yes, Mama-baachan. You did exactly the right thing saying Okaa-san needed to come to the hospital," he concurred.

Even Kirara added her own mew of agreement and he could see that his grandmother felt better.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome."

They fell silent, each caught up in their own thoughts. Deep inside, Yukio knew that what happened with Miroku, and Miroku himself, would have to be dealt with, but for now he just wanted to count his blessings and thank whatever god looked over youkai and hanyous for his mother and unborn sibling's safety. Everything else could wait until later.