InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Prophecy ❯ What's in a Mark? ( Chapter 35 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: mshutts 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 03.01.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 3.2K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 03.01.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 3.2K | Status: Work In Progress
The Prophecy
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in, except Kira (which I actually did look up and it is apparently a female, Japanese name)
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Chapter 35: What’s in a Mark?
Sesshoumaru awoke to the soft sounds of the servants moving about, preparing breakfast. He felt oddly content and warm and cold at the same time. It took a moment for him to realize that his futon was moving. Leaping off of it, he looked down to see his still sleeping brother, face down, sprawled out on the floor.
He took in the dried blood covering his little brother’s back and briefly wondered if it was more than he could stand to lose in his already weakened state. Then, remembering the way the magic of mating worked, he recalled that any blood that had been taken had already been replenished in the hours they had been asleep.
Finding himself wondering if any had seen them in such a state, he took a sniff of the room. With the exception of their two scents, the only other scent in the room was a stale smell of Rin from yesterday. Satisfied that none had witnessed this, he looked back at his baby brother.
What happened yesterday finally hit him. He had mated with his younger brother. He, the Lord of the West, had mated with this lowly hanyou. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had mated with him in his study, on the floor. They had not even mated on a futon. How much more base could they get? ‘At least it wasn’t in the forest for all to see,’ a voice in the back of his mind teased him.
Realizing that the voice had a point, he stopped that line of reasoning and looked down at his new mate. He briefly considered the idea of tracking down someone to assist in canceling the mating, but realized that it would be futile attempt until after mating season had passed. For, even if they were able to reverse it without ill effects coming to either of them, they would just feel the desire to mate again as soon as it was voided.
At least now with the mark having been laid and finalized, it was not nearly as difficult as it had been before to resist going to the boy, but he now felt a pull of a different sort. He felt the draw to protect his new mate, to keep him close and away from all harm.
As such, when it finally came to his attention that he was desperately in need of a bath to get rid of this dried blood, he could not force himself into leaving Inuyasha lying there on the ground. Not only did he need to protect his mate, but there was the possibility that his new mate now carried his pups. He would need to protect them all as the alpha mate.
Looking down at the hanyou on the floor, he wondered if the transformation had been completed before last night. He had been too preoccupied to concentrate on the intricacies of the scent at the time, but this morning, it was obvious that the transformation was complete.
Ignoring his youki which was insisting he have sex with his brother again to insure that he had gotten him pregnant, he contemplated how to awaken his slumbering sibling while pulling on his innermost layer of clothing. He did not bother with the rest of his outfit for, he was only getting dressed to walk to the spring and undress again.
Having finished making himself look presentable, he looked down at the sleeping hanyou again. With a mental sigh, he nudged the boy’s side with his foot. When all he got in response was a slight groan and his brother changing positions, he nudged him harder. This time he saw Inuyasha open his eyes though they were rather unfocused.
He could tell the instant his new mate realized his situation and almost laughed at the look on his face. Not giving him time to completely comprehend the gravity of the circumstances, he gave a quick order to get dressed and follow him, watching in amusement as Inuyasha automatically did as he was told. He had a feeling he was going to like this new, more submissive, little brother.
Once his little brother was dressed, he began to lead the way to the hot spring. He noted that Inuyasha appeared to be thinking hard about something and let it slide. This was obviously not what his younger brother had had planned for his life either. He wondered idly how his baby brother was going to take the knowledge that he would not be allowed to leave any time soon.
He knew that, for the rest of mating season, his youki would not allow him to be far away from his new mate. It would insist that he always knew exactly where he was and would likely go ballistic if he was out of scenting range of his little brother during that time.
His understanding of it from texts that he had been forced to study in his youth was that it was how the youki forced new mates into forming stronger bonds. Since it was frequently only during mating season that demons would get together and contemplate the claiming rituals, the second claim was often placed on two individuals who had never even met up until that point.
In an effort to solidify the bond, the alpha mate was given the express desire to stay close and protect the beta mate for the rest of the season. The beta mate was also given a desire to stay close to and be protected by the alpha mate. If a pregnancy occurred, it just made the alpha mate all that more protective. The scent the female would give off during pregnancy was specifically designed to bring out all the protective instincts in her mate.
However, there was no way to tell if pregnancy had been achieved until after a week had passed. So, Sesshoumaru knew that, up until the point his little brother started producing scents that proved he was carrying pups, he would feel the continual urge to have sex with his baby brother again to insure pregnancy and having his enticing mate near him all the time would not exactly help matters either.
He supposed the plus side to this whole matter was that no one would really expect him to get anything much accomplished during this mating season when word that he had finally taken a mate got out. Then again, nothing much ever seemed to get accomplished by ANY demons during mating season. Being essentially incapacitated one moon cycle out of the year, just came with the territory, as it were.
Seeing the hot spring come into view, Sesshoumaru mentally sighed in relief. The dried blood was starting to chaff his skin and being very irritating. If he had been a pup still, he would have shucked his clothes and jumped straight into the water, but he was no longer a pup, he was a dignified demon lord and did not do such things.
Instead, he calmly walked over to the water and removed his clothes, ready to step into the water, when he felt his new mate tentatively touch his back. Not used to being touched, recent events not withstanding, he immediately stiffened. When the hand instantaneously retreated, he could feel his little brother pulling back into himself.
For some reason, he did not want that to happen. He had no idea why that would be, but, instead of getting upset, he decided to see what had caught his baby brother’s attention instead. Upon discerning that it was, in fact the mating mark that had caught his younger brother’s eye, he had not been able to stop himself from asking what it looked like.
Given the response that there was too much blood to tell, he covered his own embarrassment by teasing the boy about being the reason for all that blood being there. His little brother was obviously still affecting his mental processes if he had not remembered how much blood was covering his back. So, before he could make anymore stupid mistakes, he turned from his brother and climbed into the hot spring, inviting his new mate to do so as well.
He watched in concealed amusement as his new mate acted like he had never been naked around him before. Remembering the night before, he found this new attitude of his brother’s to be quite entertaining and called him on it. The slight blush on his baby brother’s cheeks was rather fetching actually.
As Inuyasha walked out further into the spring, Sesshoumaru could not take his eyes off him. The slight sway of his silver hair with each step made a constantly moving mane that glowed in the early morning sun. His younger brother was given the appearance of a heavenly being and it was not until Inuyasha dunked himself under the water that Sesshoumaru remembered why he was there in the first place.
Mentally berating himself, he picked up a sponge that had been lying conveniently nearby and, dunking it in the water, set about washing his own back off. It was more difficult for him to do this task than it was for his younger brother because of his missing arm, but he had learned how to live with it.
In actuality, missing the arm tended to give him a bit of an edge on his opponents instead of hindering him as it should have. His opponents saw the one arm as being a handicap and would misjudge how much of a threat he was. It gave him an edge when they eventually attacked him, expecting no resistance. He was then able to dispose of them easily.
One of the very few who had not underestimated him in battle because of his missing arm was standing right in front of him, bathing. His little brother had never once treated the missing arm as a handicap. He had never assumed that Sesshoumaru was any less deadly because of it and had always treated him like the threat that he was.
He knew it should not have mattered to him, but yesterday when his mate-to-be had looked upon him in his completely unclothed state and not shown anything but adoration, he had been pleased. His mate did not see anything wrong with him because of his missing arm. His mate still saw him as attractive despite that or maybe because of that.
Given that his little brother was the one who had left him with only one arm, he supposed that Inuyasha might view it as one more mark of possession on his mate. Sesshoumaru had to admit that it was a much more blatant and obvious mark than the one that was now on his back. Unfortunately, the number of people who were aware of how he came to be missing his arm could be counted on his remaining hand and therefore, it wasn’t an especially effective form of marking.
While he was on the subject of markings, his younger brother had just arisen from the water after a second dunk and he could clearly see a hint of the mating mark shining off his back in the sun. He involuntarily let a gasp pass his lips and watched as his little brother turned to face him quicker than a human eye could follow.
Standing from the ledge he had been seated on, he walked out to his new mate, intent on seeing exactly what his mating mark looked like. Even more than he was intrigued in the mark that now adorned his own back, he was interested in the mark that was on his mate’s back.
He could remember the lesson he had been given on the importance of mating marks back right before he had reached his adolescence. It had been many hundreds of years ago, but, as with much of his training, it was still crystal clear in his head.
Sensei Kira was a black haired, dog demoness that had been brought to the palace specifically to teach Sesshoumaru about the claiming levels and rituals when he was about 300 years of age. She was the first demoness that had been brought to teach the young lord because the claiming rituals were seen as being a topic that the demonesses understood far better than the demons. So, not wanting his son to be lacking in his education, or more likely not being able to find a demon willing to teach the subject, Sesshoumaru’s father had found a demoness specifically to teach this area to his son.
He already knew everything there was to know about the first claim. It was highly important for him to not only be able to lay a first claim on someone, but also for him to be able to recognize when a first claim had been laid on someone else. He knew that this information might very well be able to save his life one day and had taken it in with all studiousness.
With his knowledge of the first claim being complete, he had moved onto the second claim. Being at such a young age, he had yet to have been affected by a mating season and much of the second claim had not made sense to him. He dutifully listened and memorized the relevant information, but it was rather far removed from his current situation.
On this day, however, Sensei Kira had determined that he was ready to move onto a topic that was of much greater interest to him than the mechanics of the second claim. She had decided he was ready to learn about the mating marks that were left behind when the second claim was completed.
He had always wondered about the depictions that were on his parents’ backs and the only answer he had ever gotten when he asked was that they were ‘mating marks’ which was nowhere near enough to satisfy the curious youkai. As such, he had been excited since he had found out the topic of today’s lesson at the end of his last lesson. His parents had even inquired as to why he was being uncharacteristically fidgety at breakfast that morning. Maybe now he would have his questions answered.
Striding quickly to the room where he took his lessons, he forced himself to calm back down. It would not do for Sensei Kira to decide he was not mature enough to have this discussion with, after all. By the time he had reached the door, he had collected himself once again into the emotionless mask that his other senseis had had him working on for the past couple hundred years.
Sliding the door open far enough for him to pass through, he stepped inside before once again closing the door and looking to his sensei. He waited until she looked up from the scrolls she had been reading before he greeted her with a slight bow. She returned the greeting in kind and he went to sit on the ground next to her in the fashion that they often sat for lessons.
After he was seated, Sensei Kira turned to face him fully. He could see a slight glint in her eye that generally meant trouble for him. “So, Lord Sesshoumaru, are you ready to talk about the significance of mating marks?”
“I shall learn what you have to teach, Sensei Kira,” he responded, being careful to keep his voice level. No matter how much he wanted to know, it would be unbefitting of him to outwardly show his interest.
He watched her raise a brow at him and say, “No need to get so excited about it, Lord Sesshoumaru. You might hurt yourself,” to which he merely looked at her. She was often given to making odd comments. It was one of the reasons he preferred his demon senseis.
Ignoring his stare, she began to talk. “As we have discussed previously, the last part of the second claim is the drawing of blood. The claws that are used to draw this blood are steeped with a special substance that in turn mixes with the blood. The mixture then covers the entire back of each of the newly mated couple.
“After this occurs, both mates will fall asleep for a long enough time for the mating mark to appear. Depending on the individuals this can be a very long or a very short period of time. However, once they have awoken, the mark will be present on the back of each mate, albeit covered in dried blood.
“An interesting thing to note about the marks is that they are different on every person. No two demons or demonesses have the exact same mark on their back. More fascinatingly, the mark that appears seems to have more to do with the giver than the receiver. In the odd event that a person takes more than one mate in a lifetime, the mark on their back will not be the one that they had previously.
“Likewise, with the death of their mate, assuming the other mate does not immediately follow them into death, the mating mark will disappear from the back of the one who remains alive.” Here she paused, looking at him, “You had a question, Lord Sesshoumaru?”
Up until that point, he had not realized that his mask had slipped a bit while he was listening. If she had not called him on it, he most likely would have never noticed that he had furrowed his brows in slight confusion. But, since she had brought up the issue, he decided to ask the question that had popped into his mind. “What determines what the mating mark looks like?”
“Excellent question, Lord Sesshoumaru. I was just getting to that.
“The marks are determined by the marker. It is a rather personal way of laying claim to a certain individual. The image that appears on the back always holds special significance to the one who has given the claim.
“If you look at the mark, you will get a glimpse into the soul of the one who left it. What does that person hold dear? What motivates that person? The mark that is left behind is very telling.
“You yourself do not consciously choose what your mark will be, your spirit chooses it for you. Looking at your own mark will give you insight into your own mind, your own heart, your own being.
“Because it is so, the marks are rather jealously hidden from most. They are difficult to see unless you know they are there and, being that they are on the back, they are often covered with clothing. It is a rare thing to see a marked demon or demoness with their back uncovered in a public forum.
“But do not let that lead you to believe you cannot tell a marked person from and unmarked person. For those who are trained in how to see it, it takes a single glance to determine if the individual is marked or not. And before you ask, yes, I will be teaching you how to see it.
“But, before that, do you have any other questions?” she asked, looking at him expectantly.
He mentally shook himself out of his revelry as he came within touching distance of his little brother. From that day on, he had been curious about what his own mating mark would look like when he eventually claimed a mate. He wondered if it would look like either of his parents’ marks had.
Grabbing Inuyasha’s arm, he turned his new mate around, sweeping the bothersome hair out of the way so that he could get a good look at the mark he had left. There, standing proudly in the center of his little brother’s back, was an inuyoukai in true form.
He could not help but trace the iridescent outline with one claw. The delicate, almost feathery lines filled in a beautiful line art drawing of the inuyoukai. The outline of his markings shone on the figure and he could see each hair that adorned the body of the dog. It was more detailed than any artist rendering he had ever seen. It was without a doubt the single most exquisite depiction he had ever laid eyes on.
But even so, he wondered why he was standing alone. His father had left a similar mark on his mother, but in his father’s there had been multiple inuyoukai. There was an entire family of them, in fact, some on the ground asleep, others appearing to be playing, with a single, proud, inuyoukai in the midst of it all. Why was his only the one? What did it say of him that his spirit chose for him to stand alone?
Taking in the almost mournful look on the inuyoukai’s face, he realized that the demon was howling. Following the upward curve of the youkai’s body, he saw a moon on the left shoulder of his mate. Looking at it closely, he realized that it was not quite full. He was mildly confused by this until he realized that with last night having been the full moon, tonight would not quite be a full moon. In fact, the moon tonight would look much the same as the moon that was currently adorning his mate’s shoulder. He was wondering if the moon would continue to change with the cycle when his thoughts were interrupted by Inuyasha.
Giving his brother the only explanation he could about what the mating mark looked like, being as there were no words that could possibly hope to describe it, he was a little shocked when his younger brother turned around a moment later and pulled on his arm. Not understanding, he just stood there, watching his mate.
It took a moment for his mind to process his new mate’s request to see his back and allow himself to be turned around. No longer looking at his younger brother, he felt some of his self-control coming back to him and asked what it looked like in a tone of voice that he thought was much more like his own.
At hearing it was a tree, he was understandably confused. He could understand an inuyoukai. That made sense, he could even understand the mountains that his mother had placed on his father’s back, she had been born in the mountains but had to leave them to become his father’s mate, after all. But a tree?
And then to hear that it was the tree his younger brother had been sealed to. It was incomprehensible to him. Why would his mate want to be constantly reminded of his greatest mistake? Everyone who looked at his back now would know that he was mated to the hanyou who had been sealed to the tree. For, there was no doubt in his mind that if Inuyasha said it reminded him of that tree, it was an exact line art depiction of said tree.
He knew he was being rather unfair in attacking his brother on the issue, seeing as it was not actually something he had conscious control over, but he couldn’t help it. He had been dealt so many insults in the past few days. He could not stand for this one more.
This was a mark he would have to carry for the rest of his or his sibling’s life. Every time someone saw it, they would wonder what it meant to his mate and once they knew his mate was, there would be even more questions. It would raise doubts of the stability of their mating. They would wonder if his brother felt trapped into this mating the same way he had felt trapped when he was sealed to that tree. They would try to use it against them.
As he was pondering all the possible ways this latest show of idiocy from his younger brother could disrupt his entire life, he had not even noticed that the object of his thoughts had since gotten out of the spring and was getting dressed. Being pulled from his contemplation by a flash of red in his line of vision, he suddenly realized that his new mate had every intention of leaving immediately.
His youki rebelled against the idea. His new mate was still in a vulnerable state and, thus, he would need to stay with him and protect him. This one desire came to the forefront of his mind and, overwhelming all other thought, brought him to his brother’s side.
When he heard his younger brother tell him he was going home, his youki became enraged and he grabbed his little brother’s arm hard enough to bruise if his sibling had been a human. He then informed him that he already was home, blatantly ignoring the shocked look his brother was giving him at those words.
His younger brother would need to be taught his place in the palace. As the lord’s mate, he could not just wander off whenever he wanted to. This palace was now his home. He, as the beta mate, would have to go to Sesshoumaru, the alpha mate, for permission before he would be allowed to go off on any of these little trips of his. Not that Sesshoumaru had any intention of allowing him to do so in any event.
Keeping a steady eye on his brother for any signs of attempting to leave, Sesshoumaru calmly dried himself and put his clothes back on. It was time for breakfast and his new mate needed to eat something. With a brief instruction to follow him, he turned and went back to the castle, sure his younger brother would follow.
He was not overly concerned that his brother was going to just leave because, while he could still feel the upset coming off the boy, it was now mixed with interest. He knew that he had made his new mate curious as to why he was not allowed to leave just yet and was counting on that to be enough to keep him in check for the moment.
Reentering the palace, he walked regally down one of the halls to the eating area. He ignored the few servants he passed as they quickly bowed and then went about their business. They were not worthy of his attention, after all. Although, he did notice that his younger brother seemed to be a bit ill at ease with them and made another mental note to correct that problem.
He realized he was going to have a lot of work ahead of him in making Inuyasha a suitable mate for him, but he had faith that it could be done. He refused to give up on it and his little brother would bend to his will if it was the last thing he did.
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Well, I hope you’re all happy. This chapter is 9 pages long. No wonder it took forever to write. Oh, and sorry to everyone who hates flashbacks, I couldn’t resist. Don’t worry there will be more story progression in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading and/or reviewing. I really appreciate both.
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in, except Kira (which I actually did look up and it is apparently a female, Japanese name)
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Chapter 35: What’s in a Mark?
Sesshoumaru awoke to the soft sounds of the servants moving about, preparing breakfast. He felt oddly content and warm and cold at the same time. It took a moment for him to realize that his futon was moving. Leaping off of it, he looked down to see his still sleeping brother, face down, sprawled out on the floor.
He took in the dried blood covering his little brother’s back and briefly wondered if it was more than he could stand to lose in his already weakened state. Then, remembering the way the magic of mating worked, he recalled that any blood that had been taken had already been replenished in the hours they had been asleep.
Finding himself wondering if any had seen them in such a state, he took a sniff of the room. With the exception of their two scents, the only other scent in the room was a stale smell of Rin from yesterday. Satisfied that none had witnessed this, he looked back at his baby brother.
What happened yesterday finally hit him. He had mated with his younger brother. He, the Lord of the West, had mated with this lowly hanyou. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had mated with him in his study, on the floor. They had not even mated on a futon. How much more base could they get? ‘At least it wasn’t in the forest for all to see,’ a voice in the back of his mind teased him.
Realizing that the voice had a point, he stopped that line of reasoning and looked down at his new mate. He briefly considered the idea of tracking down someone to assist in canceling the mating, but realized that it would be futile attempt until after mating season had passed. For, even if they were able to reverse it without ill effects coming to either of them, they would just feel the desire to mate again as soon as it was voided.
At least now with the mark having been laid and finalized, it was not nearly as difficult as it had been before to resist going to the boy, but he now felt a pull of a different sort. He felt the draw to protect his new mate, to keep him close and away from all harm.
As such, when it finally came to his attention that he was desperately in need of a bath to get rid of this dried blood, he could not force himself into leaving Inuyasha lying there on the ground. Not only did he need to protect his mate, but there was the possibility that his new mate now carried his pups. He would need to protect them all as the alpha mate.
Looking down at the hanyou on the floor, he wondered if the transformation had been completed before last night. He had been too preoccupied to concentrate on the intricacies of the scent at the time, but this morning, it was obvious that the transformation was complete.
Ignoring his youki which was insisting he have sex with his brother again to insure that he had gotten him pregnant, he contemplated how to awaken his slumbering sibling while pulling on his innermost layer of clothing. He did not bother with the rest of his outfit for, he was only getting dressed to walk to the spring and undress again.
Having finished making himself look presentable, he looked down at the sleeping hanyou again. With a mental sigh, he nudged the boy’s side with his foot. When all he got in response was a slight groan and his brother changing positions, he nudged him harder. This time he saw Inuyasha open his eyes though they were rather unfocused.
He could tell the instant his new mate realized his situation and almost laughed at the look on his face. Not giving him time to completely comprehend the gravity of the circumstances, he gave a quick order to get dressed and follow him, watching in amusement as Inuyasha automatically did as he was told. He had a feeling he was going to like this new, more submissive, little brother.
Once his little brother was dressed, he began to lead the way to the hot spring. He noted that Inuyasha appeared to be thinking hard about something and let it slide. This was obviously not what his younger brother had had planned for his life either. He wondered idly how his baby brother was going to take the knowledge that he would not be allowed to leave any time soon.
He knew that, for the rest of mating season, his youki would not allow him to be far away from his new mate. It would insist that he always knew exactly where he was and would likely go ballistic if he was out of scenting range of his little brother during that time.
His understanding of it from texts that he had been forced to study in his youth was that it was how the youki forced new mates into forming stronger bonds. Since it was frequently only during mating season that demons would get together and contemplate the claiming rituals, the second claim was often placed on two individuals who had never even met up until that point.
In an effort to solidify the bond, the alpha mate was given the express desire to stay close and protect the beta mate for the rest of the season. The beta mate was also given a desire to stay close to and be protected by the alpha mate. If a pregnancy occurred, it just made the alpha mate all that more protective. The scent the female would give off during pregnancy was specifically designed to bring out all the protective instincts in her mate.
However, there was no way to tell if pregnancy had been achieved until after a week had passed. So, Sesshoumaru knew that, up until the point his little brother started producing scents that proved he was carrying pups, he would feel the continual urge to have sex with his baby brother again to insure pregnancy and having his enticing mate near him all the time would not exactly help matters either.
He supposed the plus side to this whole matter was that no one would really expect him to get anything much accomplished during this mating season when word that he had finally taken a mate got out. Then again, nothing much ever seemed to get accomplished by ANY demons during mating season. Being essentially incapacitated one moon cycle out of the year, just came with the territory, as it were.
Seeing the hot spring come into view, Sesshoumaru mentally sighed in relief. The dried blood was starting to chaff his skin and being very irritating. If he had been a pup still, he would have shucked his clothes and jumped straight into the water, but he was no longer a pup, he was a dignified demon lord and did not do such things.
Instead, he calmly walked over to the water and removed his clothes, ready to step into the water, when he felt his new mate tentatively touch his back. Not used to being touched, recent events not withstanding, he immediately stiffened. When the hand instantaneously retreated, he could feel his little brother pulling back into himself.
For some reason, he did not want that to happen. He had no idea why that would be, but, instead of getting upset, he decided to see what had caught his baby brother’s attention instead. Upon discerning that it was, in fact the mating mark that had caught his younger brother’s eye, he had not been able to stop himself from asking what it looked like.
Given the response that there was too much blood to tell, he covered his own embarrassment by teasing the boy about being the reason for all that blood being there. His little brother was obviously still affecting his mental processes if he had not remembered how much blood was covering his back. So, before he could make anymore stupid mistakes, he turned from his brother and climbed into the hot spring, inviting his new mate to do so as well.
He watched in concealed amusement as his new mate acted like he had never been naked around him before. Remembering the night before, he found this new attitude of his brother’s to be quite entertaining and called him on it. The slight blush on his baby brother’s cheeks was rather fetching actually.
As Inuyasha walked out further into the spring, Sesshoumaru could not take his eyes off him. The slight sway of his silver hair with each step made a constantly moving mane that glowed in the early morning sun. His younger brother was given the appearance of a heavenly being and it was not until Inuyasha dunked himself under the water that Sesshoumaru remembered why he was there in the first place.
Mentally berating himself, he picked up a sponge that had been lying conveniently nearby and, dunking it in the water, set about washing his own back off. It was more difficult for him to do this task than it was for his younger brother because of his missing arm, but he had learned how to live with it.
In actuality, missing the arm tended to give him a bit of an edge on his opponents instead of hindering him as it should have. His opponents saw the one arm as being a handicap and would misjudge how much of a threat he was. It gave him an edge when they eventually attacked him, expecting no resistance. He was then able to dispose of them easily.
One of the very few who had not underestimated him in battle because of his missing arm was standing right in front of him, bathing. His little brother had never once treated the missing arm as a handicap. He had never assumed that Sesshoumaru was any less deadly because of it and had always treated him like the threat that he was.
He knew it should not have mattered to him, but yesterday when his mate-to-be had looked upon him in his completely unclothed state and not shown anything but adoration, he had been pleased. His mate did not see anything wrong with him because of his missing arm. His mate still saw him as attractive despite that or maybe because of that.
Given that his little brother was the one who had left him with only one arm, he supposed that Inuyasha might view it as one more mark of possession on his mate. Sesshoumaru had to admit that it was a much more blatant and obvious mark than the one that was now on his back. Unfortunately, the number of people who were aware of how he came to be missing his arm could be counted on his remaining hand and therefore, it wasn’t an especially effective form of marking.
While he was on the subject of markings, his younger brother had just arisen from the water after a second dunk and he could clearly see a hint of the mating mark shining off his back in the sun. He involuntarily let a gasp pass his lips and watched as his little brother turned to face him quicker than a human eye could follow.
Standing from the ledge he had been seated on, he walked out to his new mate, intent on seeing exactly what his mating mark looked like. Even more than he was intrigued in the mark that now adorned his own back, he was interested in the mark that was on his mate’s back.
He could remember the lesson he had been given on the importance of mating marks back right before he had reached his adolescence. It had been many hundreds of years ago, but, as with much of his training, it was still crystal clear in his head.
Sensei Kira was a black haired, dog demoness that had been brought to the palace specifically to teach Sesshoumaru about the claiming levels and rituals when he was about 300 years of age. She was the first demoness that had been brought to teach the young lord because the claiming rituals were seen as being a topic that the demonesses understood far better than the demons. So, not wanting his son to be lacking in his education, or more likely not being able to find a demon willing to teach the subject, Sesshoumaru’s father had found a demoness specifically to teach this area to his son.
He already knew everything there was to know about the first claim. It was highly important for him to not only be able to lay a first claim on someone, but also for him to be able to recognize when a first claim had been laid on someone else. He knew that this information might very well be able to save his life one day and had taken it in with all studiousness.
With his knowledge of the first claim being complete, he had moved onto the second claim. Being at such a young age, he had yet to have been affected by a mating season and much of the second claim had not made sense to him. He dutifully listened and memorized the relevant information, but it was rather far removed from his current situation.
On this day, however, Sensei Kira had determined that he was ready to move onto a topic that was of much greater interest to him than the mechanics of the second claim. She had decided he was ready to learn about the mating marks that were left behind when the second claim was completed.
He had always wondered about the depictions that were on his parents’ backs and the only answer he had ever gotten when he asked was that they were ‘mating marks’ which was nowhere near enough to satisfy the curious youkai. As such, he had been excited since he had found out the topic of today’s lesson at the end of his last lesson. His parents had even inquired as to why he was being uncharacteristically fidgety at breakfast that morning. Maybe now he would have his questions answered.
Striding quickly to the room where he took his lessons, he forced himself to calm back down. It would not do for Sensei Kira to decide he was not mature enough to have this discussion with, after all. By the time he had reached the door, he had collected himself once again into the emotionless mask that his other senseis had had him working on for the past couple hundred years.
Sliding the door open far enough for him to pass through, he stepped inside before once again closing the door and looking to his sensei. He waited until she looked up from the scrolls she had been reading before he greeted her with a slight bow. She returned the greeting in kind and he went to sit on the ground next to her in the fashion that they often sat for lessons.
After he was seated, Sensei Kira turned to face him fully. He could see a slight glint in her eye that generally meant trouble for him. “So, Lord Sesshoumaru, are you ready to talk about the significance of mating marks?”
“I shall learn what you have to teach, Sensei Kira,” he responded, being careful to keep his voice level. No matter how much he wanted to know, it would be unbefitting of him to outwardly show his interest.
He watched her raise a brow at him and say, “No need to get so excited about it, Lord Sesshoumaru. You might hurt yourself,” to which he merely looked at her. She was often given to making odd comments. It was one of the reasons he preferred his demon senseis.
Ignoring his stare, she began to talk. “As we have discussed previously, the last part of the second claim is the drawing of blood. The claws that are used to draw this blood are steeped with a special substance that in turn mixes with the blood. The mixture then covers the entire back of each of the newly mated couple.
“After this occurs, both mates will fall asleep for a long enough time for the mating mark to appear. Depending on the individuals this can be a very long or a very short period of time. However, once they have awoken, the mark will be present on the back of each mate, albeit covered in dried blood.
“An interesting thing to note about the marks is that they are different on every person. No two demons or demonesses have the exact same mark on their back. More fascinatingly, the mark that appears seems to have more to do with the giver than the receiver. In the odd event that a person takes more than one mate in a lifetime, the mark on their back will not be the one that they had previously.
“Likewise, with the death of their mate, assuming the other mate does not immediately follow them into death, the mating mark will disappear from the back of the one who remains alive.” Here she paused, looking at him, “You had a question, Lord Sesshoumaru?”
Up until that point, he had not realized that his mask had slipped a bit while he was listening. If she had not called him on it, he most likely would have never noticed that he had furrowed his brows in slight confusion. But, since she had brought up the issue, he decided to ask the question that had popped into his mind. “What determines what the mating mark looks like?”
“Excellent question, Lord Sesshoumaru. I was just getting to that.
“The marks are determined by the marker. It is a rather personal way of laying claim to a certain individual. The image that appears on the back always holds special significance to the one who has given the claim.
“If you look at the mark, you will get a glimpse into the soul of the one who left it. What does that person hold dear? What motivates that person? The mark that is left behind is very telling.
“You yourself do not consciously choose what your mark will be, your spirit chooses it for you. Looking at your own mark will give you insight into your own mind, your own heart, your own being.
“Because it is so, the marks are rather jealously hidden from most. They are difficult to see unless you know they are there and, being that they are on the back, they are often covered with clothing. It is a rare thing to see a marked demon or demoness with their back uncovered in a public forum.
“But do not let that lead you to believe you cannot tell a marked person from and unmarked person. For those who are trained in how to see it, it takes a single glance to determine if the individual is marked or not. And before you ask, yes, I will be teaching you how to see it.
“But, before that, do you have any other questions?” she asked, looking at him expectantly.
He mentally shook himself out of his revelry as he came within touching distance of his little brother. From that day on, he had been curious about what his own mating mark would look like when he eventually claimed a mate. He wondered if it would look like either of his parents’ marks had.
Grabbing Inuyasha’s arm, he turned his new mate around, sweeping the bothersome hair out of the way so that he could get a good look at the mark he had left. There, standing proudly in the center of his little brother’s back, was an inuyoukai in true form.
He could not help but trace the iridescent outline with one claw. The delicate, almost feathery lines filled in a beautiful line art drawing of the inuyoukai. The outline of his markings shone on the figure and he could see each hair that adorned the body of the dog. It was more detailed than any artist rendering he had ever seen. It was without a doubt the single most exquisite depiction he had ever laid eyes on.
But even so, he wondered why he was standing alone. His father had left a similar mark on his mother, but in his father’s there had been multiple inuyoukai. There was an entire family of them, in fact, some on the ground asleep, others appearing to be playing, with a single, proud, inuyoukai in the midst of it all. Why was his only the one? What did it say of him that his spirit chose for him to stand alone?
Taking in the almost mournful look on the inuyoukai’s face, he realized that the demon was howling. Following the upward curve of the youkai’s body, he saw a moon on the left shoulder of his mate. Looking at it closely, he realized that it was not quite full. He was mildly confused by this until he realized that with last night having been the full moon, tonight would not quite be a full moon. In fact, the moon tonight would look much the same as the moon that was currently adorning his mate’s shoulder. He was wondering if the moon would continue to change with the cycle when his thoughts were interrupted by Inuyasha.
Giving his brother the only explanation he could about what the mating mark looked like, being as there were no words that could possibly hope to describe it, he was a little shocked when his younger brother turned around a moment later and pulled on his arm. Not understanding, he just stood there, watching his mate.
It took a moment for his mind to process his new mate’s request to see his back and allow himself to be turned around. No longer looking at his younger brother, he felt some of his self-control coming back to him and asked what it looked like in a tone of voice that he thought was much more like his own.
At hearing it was a tree, he was understandably confused. He could understand an inuyoukai. That made sense, he could even understand the mountains that his mother had placed on his father’s back, she had been born in the mountains but had to leave them to become his father’s mate, after all. But a tree?
And then to hear that it was the tree his younger brother had been sealed to. It was incomprehensible to him. Why would his mate want to be constantly reminded of his greatest mistake? Everyone who looked at his back now would know that he was mated to the hanyou who had been sealed to the tree. For, there was no doubt in his mind that if Inuyasha said it reminded him of that tree, it was an exact line art depiction of said tree.
He knew he was being rather unfair in attacking his brother on the issue, seeing as it was not actually something he had conscious control over, but he couldn’t help it. He had been dealt so many insults in the past few days. He could not stand for this one more.
This was a mark he would have to carry for the rest of his or his sibling’s life. Every time someone saw it, they would wonder what it meant to his mate and once they knew his mate was, there would be even more questions. It would raise doubts of the stability of their mating. They would wonder if his brother felt trapped into this mating the same way he had felt trapped when he was sealed to that tree. They would try to use it against them.
As he was pondering all the possible ways this latest show of idiocy from his younger brother could disrupt his entire life, he had not even noticed that the object of his thoughts had since gotten out of the spring and was getting dressed. Being pulled from his contemplation by a flash of red in his line of vision, he suddenly realized that his new mate had every intention of leaving immediately.
His youki rebelled against the idea. His new mate was still in a vulnerable state and, thus, he would need to stay with him and protect him. This one desire came to the forefront of his mind and, overwhelming all other thought, brought him to his brother’s side.
When he heard his younger brother tell him he was going home, his youki became enraged and he grabbed his little brother’s arm hard enough to bruise if his sibling had been a human. He then informed him that he already was home, blatantly ignoring the shocked look his brother was giving him at those words.
His younger brother would need to be taught his place in the palace. As the lord’s mate, he could not just wander off whenever he wanted to. This palace was now his home. He, as the beta mate, would have to go to Sesshoumaru, the alpha mate, for permission before he would be allowed to go off on any of these little trips of his. Not that Sesshoumaru had any intention of allowing him to do so in any event.
Keeping a steady eye on his brother for any signs of attempting to leave, Sesshoumaru calmly dried himself and put his clothes back on. It was time for breakfast and his new mate needed to eat something. With a brief instruction to follow him, he turned and went back to the castle, sure his younger brother would follow.
He was not overly concerned that his brother was going to just leave because, while he could still feel the upset coming off the boy, it was now mixed with interest. He knew that he had made his new mate curious as to why he was not allowed to leave just yet and was counting on that to be enough to keep him in check for the moment.
Reentering the palace, he walked regally down one of the halls to the eating area. He ignored the few servants he passed as they quickly bowed and then went about their business. They were not worthy of his attention, after all. Although, he did notice that his younger brother seemed to be a bit ill at ease with them and made another mental note to correct that problem.
He realized he was going to have a lot of work ahead of him in making Inuyasha a suitable mate for him, but he had faith that it could be done. He refused to give up on it and his little brother would bend to his will if it was the last thing he did.
* * * * *
Well, I hope you’re all happy. This chapter is 9 pages long. No wonder it took forever to write. Oh, and sorry to everyone who hates flashbacks, I couldn’t resist. Don’t worry there will be more story progression in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading and/or reviewing. I really appreciate both.