InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Prophecy ❯ The Trials and Tribulations... ( Chapter 51 )
[ 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: 12.21.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 2.4K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.21.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 2.4K | Status: Work In Progress
The Prophecy
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest, but, if you are in this section, you should already know that
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in, except Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 50: The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Kitsune
The past couple of weeks had been full of ups and downs for the young kitsune. It certainly hadn’t helped that his father figure appeared to be going through a crisis of some sort and refused to explain to him exactly what was going on. He’d first thought it was a mating issue, but then discarded that idea because it hadn’t fit into his world view.
In fact, the only reasonable explanation he had been able to come up with was that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had been put under some kind of spell that they desperately needed to remove. It made sense to him. It explained everything he had seen. It also fit very nicely into his world.
Having reached this (to his mind) perfect conclusion of his, he had done his duty in informing the rest of pack where their pack leader was and then filed it in the back of his mind until it was needed again. After all, people around him were always getting cursed or possessed, and they always came out of it just fine. Why should this time be any different?
It wasn’t until Kagome came back through the well and he saw her reaction to the news that he began to feel somewhat concerned. If his mother was this worried about his father, perhaps it was more serious than he had thought. Trying to comfort himself by remembering that Kagome had a tendency to overreact, he was able to push those thoughts aside, but, as time went by, it became much more difficult to ignore these fears.
By the time they’d reached the witch’s home, it was to the point where he was feeling nervous almost constantly and wished they would find his father soon so that his mother would stop worrying so much. For, even though he told himself that his father would be just fine, his mother being so upset was making him jumpy.
When the witch joined up with them, he was able to feel a bit of relief. Sturaki, while insisting that they needed to get there quickly, did not seem nearly as worried as his pack. Or, if she was, it was in an entirely different way. In fact, for Shippo, she brought an undeniably older demon side to the pack that had been missing along with Inuyasha.
She was a loner, didn’t like being bothered, had a short temper, didn’t like to mince words or see any point in explaining herself, and was determined to do what she needed to with the minimum of interruptions. In these ways, and even the way she moved, she reminded Shippo of his father. It helped Shippo to calm himself, even if it seemed to drive his mother even more insane with each passing day.
When they finally got into the palace proper, Shippo caught a whiff of his father’s scent. It was not nearby and it still seemed to have the illness in it, but it was current and definitely in the palace with them. The relief he felt was indescribable. He glanced over at Kirara and noticed the cat demon had the same look of contentment on her face that Shippo was sure was on his.
And, even though the smell was a little off, there was no scent of death or blood in it. So, when the offer was made to eat instead of seeing Inuyasha right away, he jumped at the chance. He was very hungry after all. He was sure that his father would be fine while he got something in his grumbling tummy. However, coaxing his mother to eat was more difficult than he had thought it would be.
Having finally gotten everyone seated in the eating area, he was pleasantly surprised when a young human girl came in. When she was introduced to them as ‘Rin’, he wondered if she would be willing to play with him. It didn’t look like there were any other children in the palace for her to play with after all. And so, deciding he would ask her after the meal if she was interested, Shippo went about gathering food onto his plate.
He was almost sorry Inuyasha wasn’t here, too. He knew his father loved to eat as much as he did. One of his best memories with his father involved just lying around, eating for a whole day. There had been plenty of food and no need to fight over it. They had each eaten their fill while the humans were off doing other things and had taken a nice, long nap together in the afternoon. It was definitely one of his better memories.
Basking in the warmth of that memory and content to eat his food, he only listened with half an ear to the question and answer session going on with Rin. Despite himself, he began to get concerned and worry about his father. By the time Rin was explaining that Inuyasha had been upset because he hadn’t wanted to be the wife, Shippo had completely forgotten the food he had been so happy to be eating not two minutes previously.
Having been around humans for so long, he was familiar with the word and understood that what he had feared must have happened. His father had been arranged to mate with some youkai, although, he was still confused about the ‘wife’ comment. He had assumed that his father would be mating a demoness. That would make him the husband and the demoness the wife. Shippo could see no point in mating him to another demon. Wouldn’t they need to produce heirs at some point?
It was enough to make his kitsune head spin. By the end of the meal, his thoughts were chasing each other around in his head so fast that he was barely aware of the servants returning to clear away the excess and dirty dishes. Then, he rather numbly followed along as another servant led them to rooms that they would be able to use for their stay.
Upon entering the room he would be sharing with the girls, he chose a corner and sat down, in much the same way of his father, and contemplated what he had just learned. As time went by, he found himself becoming less concerned about what Rin had said. After all, she was a human. Maybe she had misunderstood what was going on, and he became more worried about his mother.
Kagome was beside herself. Sango was trying to help and calm her in any way possible, but it did not appear to be working. Shippo privately thought nothing short of seeing Inuyasha alive and talking would be enough to calm her down, but kept his thoughts to himself. The fact that his ears were still ringing from the screaming she had directed at Sturaki after being told she couldn’t see Inuyasha yet only helped him draw this conclusion.
And, even though his mother probably was not trying to, it felt as if the air was being sucked out of the room by her worry and anger. And so, quite a few times, Shippo had no longer been able to stand it and would seek out Miroku. However, the monk was not much better. He seemed to be in an almost constant state of meditation and kept making odd comments.
Still in search of something to relieve his boredom and untold fears, he had tried to find Rin again, but after that first day, she had not reappeared. Remembering the look on her face when he had last seen her, though, he wasn’t sure she would play with him anyway. She had looked almost as upset as Kagome did. And Myouga had disappeared again, as well. In the meantime, Shippo was getting bored out of his mind.
Then, three days after they had arrived, there was a change in the dullness. By a pure fluke they were all in one room when his father finally made his entrance. As was expected, his mother flung herself at him and he caught her. With his mother’s cry of relief over his father being alive and Inuyasha’s resulting insult, he forgot how happy he was to see his father again and yelled at him.
Then, the most amazing thing so far happened. His father didn’t bop him on the head. Shippo stood there in shock as his father, for the first time he could remember, ignored his disrespect in favor of giving the adults in their pack a good talking to.
It wasn’t until his father was halfway through his speech that Shippo abruptly remembered that it was currently mating season. In fact, it had been mating season for the entire duration of their trip. He had forgotten what his deceased father had told him about mating season, but now, seeing how enraged his current father was, which was much more furious than he should have been over them coming after Sesshoumaru if he had been killed, it all came back to him. How he was to, under no circumstances, travel, or even wander outside, during mating season. He inwardly cringed at what his deceased father would have done to him for disobeying that rule. In comparison, Inuyasha was going easy on them.
Just as he thought this, he heard his mother yell her incantation of ‘sit’s and cringed once again. Normally, he found some joy in this, but he was feeling guilty for not making sure they didn’t travel during mating season. They were just humans, after all. How were they supposed to know when demon mating season was? He should have told them. He should have remembered.
When, seconds after the incantation, Sesshoumaru appeared next to his mother, he involuntarily jumped back. It was not that he wanted to abandon his mother, but his father’s elder brother scared the living daylights out of him. It was purely instinct to go away from rather than towards such a powerful youkai. Watching helplessly as his mother dangled from the youkai lord’s pale hand and his father remained in the hole much longer than he should have, he could not describe how relieved he was when Sturaki appeared in the room.
She would straighten things out in the way only a full-grown demon could, he was sure. If there was any way to get Sesshoumaru to unhand his mother, Shippo was positive Sturaki would find it, and, within minutes of entering the room, she had not only convinced the youkai lord to release Kagome, but had also started to medicate his mother’s wounds.
Once he determined Kagome would be alright, he turned his attention back to the dog brothers. Ignoring the remarks by the monk and slayer, he allowed his instincts to draw its own conclusions. And the sight of the youkai lord cradling his father combined with the previous image of Sesshoumaru choking Kagome for ‘sit’ing Inuyasha, led him to one conclusion. His father and Sesshoumaru were now mates.
The instant that thought registered, Shippo began to feel sick to his stomach. In his mind, this was the worst thing that could have possibly happened. Mating was not something that went away. It was not something that could be changed. It was permanent. Forever.
Rin’s story came back to mind with Inuyasha’s complaint about no wanting to be the wife, and it suddenly made sense now. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had mated and Sesshoumaru was the alpha mate whereas Inuyasha was the beta mate, or the ‘wife’, as the case may be.
His father being the beta just made everything worse for Shippo. As the beta, his father would have to go to his alpha about any decisions being made about just about everything. Even if Inuyasha himself wanted to keep him around, Shippo was sure Sesshoumaru would forbid it. After all, he was just a child left over from a part of Inuyasha’s life that had drawn to a close. He might not even be allowed to see his father ever again.
With this in mind, Shippo began to feel like crying but was doing everything in his power not to. Youkai didn’t cry over things like this. Besides, why should he mourn a family he never had in the first place? He had known it was too much to get his hopes up about his mother and father mating and bringing him into their family, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. It was just too tempting of an idea. It was his happy ending that he would never have.
His father was leaving him once again. He wasn’t dying, but he might as well have been. He would no longer want to have anything to do with him, Shippo was sure of it. He had spent too much time picking on his new father. He was positive Inuyasha was going to see this mating as the perfect excuse to never see him again and it hurt. It hurt so badly.
And then the idea occurred to him that they must have found a way to have pups. This thought which should have been a cause for joy or even curiosity, only served to upset the kitsune even further. With the possibility of having his own pups, his father would never want to see him again. After all, who would want a child who wasn’t even his real son and didn’t behave at all when they could have a child of their own that would be perfect in every way?
Shippo was so caught up in his thoughts he did not notice Sturaki until she began to talk to him. As such, he was at once shocked and appalled that she knew exactly what he was thinking about. Not knowing how she figured it out, he tried to be tough. He tried to be brave, but it was just too much. He ended up blurting out his greatest fear: that his father was just going to abandon him, to her and running from the room in tears, sure no one would bother to follow him.
As he ran, he passed many rooms and eventually ended up in a part of the castle he hadn’t been in yet. Sniffing around quickly, he found a room that didn’t get much use and decided to hide in there until he was able to get his feelings under control. Quickly and quietly pushing the door open and then shut, he glanced around realizing this must be another of the guest rooms. Not caring much about it other than the fact it was not in use now; he curled up in one corner and cried out his frustration and pain into his folded arms.
Shippo stayed there for what felt like hours, with tears falling down his cheeks. He was so caught up in feeling sorry for himself he didn’t even realize when his father, the object of his current feelings of misery, came into the room. He gasped in surprise when he suddenly found himself no longer on the ground, but in his father’s arms, being cradled and hushed.
Inuyasha’s POV
Inuyasha grumbled under his breath while following the scent trail left by the crying, baby kitsune. It was taking everything in his power not to start cursing at the top of his lungs. Saying his meeting with the rest of his pack could have gone better was a massive understatement.
Kagome ‘sit’ing him, him passing out, and Sesshoumaru trying to kill Kagome all in short order was not what he had been going for. Although, now that he thought about it, he supposed there wasn’t much he could have done to prevent that particular turn of events. In fact, the only part of it he truly hadn’t been expecting was Sturaki coming to Kagome’s aide. He made a mental note to thank the witch later and continued on his way, ignoring his elder brother who had just appeared right behind him.
Hell, if Sesshoumaru wanted to follow him around everywhere like a lost puppy, it was no skin off his back. In all honesty, he most likely would have been more concerned about it but for the fact that he was currently trying to track down Shippo and didn’t have time to spend wondering about his brother’s newly acquired habit.
Finally, after traveling down a multitude of halls, he found the source of the scent behind a door. Listening carefully, he could clearly hear sniffling and muffled sobbing that accompanied the tears already saturating Shippo’s normal scent. Damn, he hated it when they cried.
Steeling himself for the encounter, he slowly slid the panel open, not wanting to frighten the already distraught kitsune. However, the sight that greeted him upon entrance to the room broke his heart. His adoptive son was huddled in a corner, bawling as if the world was ending and all anger that had been in him immediately fled.
Without being able to stop himself, he quickly walked across the room and picked up the baby kitsune, cradling him to his chest. Switching their positions so that he was now the one sitting in the corner with Shippo on his lap, he tried to remember what Kagome did to comfort the kitsune’s tears. Latching upon the idea of talking softly, he was suitably impressed when it seemed to have the same positive effect on his son that it did when Kagome did it.
When Shippo looked up at him once again, drying the tears from his eyes, Inuyasha asked, “Oi, runt, what’s all this about?” in a much less harsh tone than he was used to using with the kitsune.
He watched as Shippo dropped his head and swallowed, seemingly ashamed of his tears. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just stupid,” came the mumbled response.
Looking down at the kitsune, he was at a complete loss. Kagome would know what to do in this situation, he was sure of it. But he didn’t have Kagome here right now and if he was serious about keeping Shippo as his own, he would need to figure out how to take care of this without Kagome’s help. The main problem was, he could barely remember how his mother used to comfort him when he was younger and he was not his mother. He didn’t have her mannerisms nor did he have her gentle smile or loving heart. He himself didn’t know the first thing about comforting someone else. Growing up, he had not even been able to comfort himself half the time.
Allowing his head to fall back against the wall, he released a soft groan and looked at the ceiling. Who was he kidding? He just wasn’t cut out for this kind of thing. With an exasperated sound, Inuyasha finally settled on, “Look, runt, I suck at this, ok? We both know that I am the last person in the universe who should be comforting anyone. Hell, you know as well as I do that half the time when I try to comfort Kagome, she only gets more upset.”
He could clearly hear Shippo’s giggle. “Yeah, and then she ‘sit’s you and goes home, dog boy.”
Inuyasha groaned once again, the runt just had to bring that up didn’t he? “Don’t remind me, runt,” Inuyasha said and mumbled, “My poor back,” through another groan. This only made Shippo laugh harder.
Getting irritated at being laughed at, Inuyasha turned his attention back onto the kitsune. “Oi, runt, knock it off. It ain’t that funny.”
When his only response was continued laughter, he turned his head in a huff and tried ignoring the kitsune. However, he wasn’t as mad as he was making himself out to be. He was actually quite pleased his son was no longer crying. He would much rather have Shippo laughing than crying, even if it was at his expense.
Waiting until the laughter had died down to just the occasional snicker, Inuyasha turned his attention onto the baby kitsune once again. “So, you gonna tell me what had you so upset earlier or what?”
He watched as Shippo’s head dropped down again. “It doesn’t matter. It’s nothing.”
With a sigh, Inuyasha realized he wasn’t going to be able to convince Shippo to tell him the problem. The kitsune was too embarrassed to bring it up himself. However, from what he had gathered from Sesshoumaru, he had a pretty good idea of why the kitsune was upset. But how could he help to allay his son’s fears? He couldn’t just tell him outright that he wanted Shippo to be his son could he? What if the kitsune rejected him? What if Sesshoumaru decided to make his presence known and forbid it? He had only just begun to feel what having a family was really like; he didn’t want to go back to being alone again.
However, never being one to back down from something just because it was difficult, he bit the bullet and, directing his gaze to a point about a foot in front of his face, said, “You know what, runt? I’ve been thinking. What with me and Sesshoumaru being mated and all, I gotta figure out what to do with you.”
He felt Shippo move in his arms but refused to look down at him. He knew if he saw the expression on his adoptive son’s face, he wouldn’t be able to continue with what he had to say. “My first thought was to just leave you with Kagome and them, you know, because I know how attached you are to her. But, then I was thinking, they’re all humans. You’re a demon. What do they know about raising a demon? Keh, I bet it’s even less than I do. And don’t even get me started on the whole aging thing.
“My second thought was that if you lived with me, I would at least know you were being taught how to survive in the demon world. Now, I realize I’m not the best at being all caring and shit like that, but what demon, or, I guess in my case, half-demon, is? Certainly not any I’ve ever met. But even without that, you’d survive. You’d live. You wouldn’t get cut down at the first sign of danger. You would know how to fight. And, perhaps, most importantly, I would still be around until you were old enough to be on your own.
Turning his gaze back down to the green eyes that were looking up at him with a look he could not quite decipher in them, he laid down his final decision for the kitsune as simply and authoritatively as he could make it. “So, I came to the only conclusion I felt was right. You’re going to have to stay with me, Sesshoumaru, and the rest of my pups. I know I don’t pull rank all that often, but, as your alpha, I must demand you submit to this decision.”
Shippo’s POV
To say Shippo was shocked would be an understatement. That was by far the longest speech he had ever heard his father make. And to think, it was all about him and barely hidden concern for his welfare. Could it be that Inuyasha actually DID want him? If he didn’t want him around or to ever see him again, why would he have gone to all the trouble of demanding he stay with him? Or even give the idea any consideration at all?
His head was spinning so fast with this newly acquired information, that there was only one thing he could say, “I thought you hated me.”
It was his father’s turn to look shocked. “Where the fuck did you ever get a stupid idea like THAT from, Shippo?”
“You’re always bonking me on the head.”
“Because you’re always being annoying just to piss me off. Besides, you mean to tell me, you can’t take a little bonk on the head? It’s worse than I thought,” Inuyasha responded, the last statement muttered under his breath.
His curiosity roused, Shippo asked, “What’s worse than you thought?”
He watched his father sigh and then respond, “Nothing.”
Curiosity not assuaged in the least, Shippo continued to wheedle him. “Come on, tell me. What’s worse than you thought?”
“He is referring to the handicap in your training no doubt brought on by being in the presence of humans for so long.” The response came, not from his father, but from Sesshoumaru who had apparently been standing in the doorway this entire time, although Shippo had only just noticed his presence.
“What do you mean? What handicap? There’s nothing wrong with living with humans,” Shippo began, not really understanding what they were getting at.
“Runt,” Inuyasha said in a commanding tone which immediately drew his attention back to him. “How far has your training progressed since you have joined the group?”
Still not really understanding where his father was going with this, he responded, “I’ve gotten better at my tricks. I can also transform better now.”
He watched Inuyasha nod. “Good. Now, how is your tracking? Hunting? Fighting skills? Hiding techniques? Have any of them progressed since you joined my pack? If I dropped you off in the middle woods and came back a week later, would you still be alive?”
Taken aback by all the questions being thrown at him, Shippo could only blink at his father. “Do you want to know what I’ve observed?” Inuyasha asked and Shippo responded with a slight nod, not really sure what to expect.
With a deep breath, his father gave him his evaluation of his current levels and where his father believed he should be by this point in time. He had not realized that even in the areas he was proud of himself for his accomplishments in; Inuyasha still believed he was not quite up to the level he should be at.
When he had attempted to argue that he had in fact made progress in those areas, his father was very quick to point out he had only made progress because of his natural affinity for transforming and playing tricks, not because he actually put any effort into it. In fact, Inuyasha was arguing that if he were to actually put time and effort into his training, he would be much further along in both his transformations and tricks than he was right now.
Finally, when he felt like he couldn’t take anymore, his father stopped and the truly serious, almost scary, look he had on his face the entire evaluation, was replaced with a much more normal one. “Don’t worry about it so much, runt. I’m sure we can catch you up in no time.”
He looked up with a hopeful look, “You really think so?”
“Keh. Sure. But it’s not going to be easy. There’s a lot of work that goes into becoming a truly great youkai. And, I won’t lie to you, I’m not about to coddle you like Kagome does. You’re going to get hurt, you’re going to get tired, you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to do, and if I don’t think you’re doing your best, there WILL be consequences you will NOT like.”
Hardly able to believe that Inuyasha was actually offering to TRAIN him, he quickly promised he would try his hardest. It wasn’t until after he had made this promise, that he thought to turn his attention to the, once again, silent youkai lord standing in the doorway. Sesshoumaru’s face looked as impassive as ever, as if what they were discussing was not a matter that would affect him directly but something not even worthy of his notice.
Hadn’t he just been thinking that if Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha’s alpha, he would be making the final decision as to whether or not Shippo would be allowed to even SEE Inuyasha again? Given that the powerful youkai lord had yet to make a comment on the matter either way since they had begun talking, Shippo began to worry once again.
He wanted to ask Sesshoumaru if it was alright for his father to take him into his care or if it was going to get his father into trouble with his mate, but could not find the courage to do so. Instead, he turned to Inuyasha and asked him, “Inuyasha, are you sure you can offer me this? Don’t you have to talk it over with Sesshoumaru first?”
Once again, he was not answered by his father, but by the cold voice of the youkai lord. “Do you truly intend to learn the ways of the youkai? Do you truly intend to work hard and sacrifice to become a being worthy of being in my household?”
Looking back at the youkai lord, he swallowed hard when he realized those cold, calculating eyes were boring right into his eyes. Barely able to get his voice to work, he responded with a raspy, “Yes, I do.”
He released a sigh of relief when the eyes left his and another one when he heard the response, “Then I see no reason to try and separate my mate from his son.”
It was not until he heard his father choke that he realized exactly what Sesshoumaru had said. Had he just called him Inuyasha’s son OUT LOUD? True, he had been thinking it in his mind for a long time now, but to have it stated aloud, by the cold youkai lord nonetheless, he didn’t know what to make of it. And, judging by the look on his father’s face, he didn’t either.
In fact, his father was resembling nothing so much as a very red, gapping fish at the moment. If it had been any other situation, he would have been laughing hysterically. But, in this situation, he was fairly sure that he had the same look on his face. This assumption was only confirmed when Sesshoumaru stepped fully into the room, closing the panel behind him, before walking over to them.
* * * * *
Hey all! First off, Happy Holidays! Second off, this chapter (the first part especially) was insanely difficult for me to write. Add to that the fact that my girls have been sick with a stomach virus these past couple weeks, and it all equals a very slow update. Hope you like the chapter and I wish all of you who are traveling this time of year safe travels.
Thanks for reading and/or reviewing. Both are much appreciated.
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest, but, if you are in this section, you should already know that
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in, except Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 50: The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Kitsune
The past couple of weeks had been full of ups and downs for the young kitsune. It certainly hadn’t helped that his father figure appeared to be going through a crisis of some sort and refused to explain to him exactly what was going on. He’d first thought it was a mating issue, but then discarded that idea because it hadn’t fit into his world view.
In fact, the only reasonable explanation he had been able to come up with was that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had been put under some kind of spell that they desperately needed to remove. It made sense to him. It explained everything he had seen. It also fit very nicely into his world.
Having reached this (to his mind) perfect conclusion of his, he had done his duty in informing the rest of pack where their pack leader was and then filed it in the back of his mind until it was needed again. After all, people around him were always getting cursed or possessed, and they always came out of it just fine. Why should this time be any different?
It wasn’t until Kagome came back through the well and he saw her reaction to the news that he began to feel somewhat concerned. If his mother was this worried about his father, perhaps it was more serious than he had thought. Trying to comfort himself by remembering that Kagome had a tendency to overreact, he was able to push those thoughts aside, but, as time went by, it became much more difficult to ignore these fears.
By the time they’d reached the witch’s home, it was to the point where he was feeling nervous almost constantly and wished they would find his father soon so that his mother would stop worrying so much. For, even though he told himself that his father would be just fine, his mother being so upset was making him jumpy.
When the witch joined up with them, he was able to feel a bit of relief. Sturaki, while insisting that they needed to get there quickly, did not seem nearly as worried as his pack. Or, if she was, it was in an entirely different way. In fact, for Shippo, she brought an undeniably older demon side to the pack that had been missing along with Inuyasha.
She was a loner, didn’t like being bothered, had a short temper, didn’t like to mince words or see any point in explaining herself, and was determined to do what she needed to with the minimum of interruptions. In these ways, and even the way she moved, she reminded Shippo of his father. It helped Shippo to calm himself, even if it seemed to drive his mother even more insane with each passing day.
When they finally got into the palace proper, Shippo caught a whiff of his father’s scent. It was not nearby and it still seemed to have the illness in it, but it was current and definitely in the palace with them. The relief he felt was indescribable. He glanced over at Kirara and noticed the cat demon had the same look of contentment on her face that Shippo was sure was on his.
And, even though the smell was a little off, there was no scent of death or blood in it. So, when the offer was made to eat instead of seeing Inuyasha right away, he jumped at the chance. He was very hungry after all. He was sure that his father would be fine while he got something in his grumbling tummy. However, coaxing his mother to eat was more difficult than he had thought it would be.
Having finally gotten everyone seated in the eating area, he was pleasantly surprised when a young human girl came in. When she was introduced to them as ‘Rin’, he wondered if she would be willing to play with him. It didn’t look like there were any other children in the palace for her to play with after all. And so, deciding he would ask her after the meal if she was interested, Shippo went about gathering food onto his plate.
He was almost sorry Inuyasha wasn’t here, too. He knew his father loved to eat as much as he did. One of his best memories with his father involved just lying around, eating for a whole day. There had been plenty of food and no need to fight over it. They had each eaten their fill while the humans were off doing other things and had taken a nice, long nap together in the afternoon. It was definitely one of his better memories.
Basking in the warmth of that memory and content to eat his food, he only listened with half an ear to the question and answer session going on with Rin. Despite himself, he began to get concerned and worry about his father. By the time Rin was explaining that Inuyasha had been upset because he hadn’t wanted to be the wife, Shippo had completely forgotten the food he had been so happy to be eating not two minutes previously.
Having been around humans for so long, he was familiar with the word and understood that what he had feared must have happened. His father had been arranged to mate with some youkai, although, he was still confused about the ‘wife’ comment. He had assumed that his father would be mating a demoness. That would make him the husband and the demoness the wife. Shippo could see no point in mating him to another demon. Wouldn’t they need to produce heirs at some point?
It was enough to make his kitsune head spin. By the end of the meal, his thoughts were chasing each other around in his head so fast that he was barely aware of the servants returning to clear away the excess and dirty dishes. Then, he rather numbly followed along as another servant led them to rooms that they would be able to use for their stay.
Upon entering the room he would be sharing with the girls, he chose a corner and sat down, in much the same way of his father, and contemplated what he had just learned. As time went by, he found himself becoming less concerned about what Rin had said. After all, she was a human. Maybe she had misunderstood what was going on, and he became more worried about his mother.
Kagome was beside herself. Sango was trying to help and calm her in any way possible, but it did not appear to be working. Shippo privately thought nothing short of seeing Inuyasha alive and talking would be enough to calm her down, but kept his thoughts to himself. The fact that his ears were still ringing from the screaming she had directed at Sturaki after being told she couldn’t see Inuyasha yet only helped him draw this conclusion.
And, even though his mother probably was not trying to, it felt as if the air was being sucked out of the room by her worry and anger. And so, quite a few times, Shippo had no longer been able to stand it and would seek out Miroku. However, the monk was not much better. He seemed to be in an almost constant state of meditation and kept making odd comments.
Still in search of something to relieve his boredom and untold fears, he had tried to find Rin again, but after that first day, she had not reappeared. Remembering the look on her face when he had last seen her, though, he wasn’t sure she would play with him anyway. She had looked almost as upset as Kagome did. And Myouga had disappeared again, as well. In the meantime, Shippo was getting bored out of his mind.
Then, three days after they had arrived, there was a change in the dullness. By a pure fluke they were all in one room when his father finally made his entrance. As was expected, his mother flung herself at him and he caught her. With his mother’s cry of relief over his father being alive and Inuyasha’s resulting insult, he forgot how happy he was to see his father again and yelled at him.
Then, the most amazing thing so far happened. His father didn’t bop him on the head. Shippo stood there in shock as his father, for the first time he could remember, ignored his disrespect in favor of giving the adults in their pack a good talking to.
It wasn’t until his father was halfway through his speech that Shippo abruptly remembered that it was currently mating season. In fact, it had been mating season for the entire duration of their trip. He had forgotten what his deceased father had told him about mating season, but now, seeing how enraged his current father was, which was much more furious than he should have been over them coming after Sesshoumaru if he had been killed, it all came back to him. How he was to, under no circumstances, travel, or even wander outside, during mating season. He inwardly cringed at what his deceased father would have done to him for disobeying that rule. In comparison, Inuyasha was going easy on them.
Just as he thought this, he heard his mother yell her incantation of ‘sit’s and cringed once again. Normally, he found some joy in this, but he was feeling guilty for not making sure they didn’t travel during mating season. They were just humans, after all. How were they supposed to know when demon mating season was? He should have told them. He should have remembered.
When, seconds after the incantation, Sesshoumaru appeared next to his mother, he involuntarily jumped back. It was not that he wanted to abandon his mother, but his father’s elder brother scared the living daylights out of him. It was purely instinct to go away from rather than towards such a powerful youkai. Watching helplessly as his mother dangled from the youkai lord’s pale hand and his father remained in the hole much longer than he should have, he could not describe how relieved he was when Sturaki appeared in the room.
She would straighten things out in the way only a full-grown demon could, he was sure. If there was any way to get Sesshoumaru to unhand his mother, Shippo was positive Sturaki would find it, and, within minutes of entering the room, she had not only convinced the youkai lord to release Kagome, but had also started to medicate his mother’s wounds.
Once he determined Kagome would be alright, he turned his attention back to the dog brothers. Ignoring the remarks by the monk and slayer, he allowed his instincts to draw its own conclusions. And the sight of the youkai lord cradling his father combined with the previous image of Sesshoumaru choking Kagome for ‘sit’ing Inuyasha, led him to one conclusion. His father and Sesshoumaru were now mates.
The instant that thought registered, Shippo began to feel sick to his stomach. In his mind, this was the worst thing that could have possibly happened. Mating was not something that went away. It was not something that could be changed. It was permanent. Forever.
Rin’s story came back to mind with Inuyasha’s complaint about no wanting to be the wife, and it suddenly made sense now. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had mated and Sesshoumaru was the alpha mate whereas Inuyasha was the beta mate, or the ‘wife’, as the case may be.
His father being the beta just made everything worse for Shippo. As the beta, his father would have to go to his alpha about any decisions being made about just about everything. Even if Inuyasha himself wanted to keep him around, Shippo was sure Sesshoumaru would forbid it. After all, he was just a child left over from a part of Inuyasha’s life that had drawn to a close. He might not even be allowed to see his father ever again.
With this in mind, Shippo began to feel like crying but was doing everything in his power not to. Youkai didn’t cry over things like this. Besides, why should he mourn a family he never had in the first place? He had known it was too much to get his hopes up about his mother and father mating and bringing him into their family, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. It was just too tempting of an idea. It was his happy ending that he would never have.
His father was leaving him once again. He wasn’t dying, but he might as well have been. He would no longer want to have anything to do with him, Shippo was sure of it. He had spent too much time picking on his new father. He was positive Inuyasha was going to see this mating as the perfect excuse to never see him again and it hurt. It hurt so badly.
And then the idea occurred to him that they must have found a way to have pups. This thought which should have been a cause for joy or even curiosity, only served to upset the kitsune even further. With the possibility of having his own pups, his father would never want to see him again. After all, who would want a child who wasn’t even his real son and didn’t behave at all when they could have a child of their own that would be perfect in every way?
Shippo was so caught up in his thoughts he did not notice Sturaki until she began to talk to him. As such, he was at once shocked and appalled that she knew exactly what he was thinking about. Not knowing how she figured it out, he tried to be tough. He tried to be brave, but it was just too much. He ended up blurting out his greatest fear: that his father was just going to abandon him, to her and running from the room in tears, sure no one would bother to follow him.
As he ran, he passed many rooms and eventually ended up in a part of the castle he hadn’t been in yet. Sniffing around quickly, he found a room that didn’t get much use and decided to hide in there until he was able to get his feelings under control. Quickly and quietly pushing the door open and then shut, he glanced around realizing this must be another of the guest rooms. Not caring much about it other than the fact it was not in use now; he curled up in one corner and cried out his frustration and pain into his folded arms.
Shippo stayed there for what felt like hours, with tears falling down his cheeks. He was so caught up in feeling sorry for himself he didn’t even realize when his father, the object of his current feelings of misery, came into the room. He gasped in surprise when he suddenly found himself no longer on the ground, but in his father’s arms, being cradled and hushed.
Inuyasha’s POV
Inuyasha grumbled under his breath while following the scent trail left by the crying, baby kitsune. It was taking everything in his power not to start cursing at the top of his lungs. Saying his meeting with the rest of his pack could have gone better was a massive understatement.
Kagome ‘sit’ing him, him passing out, and Sesshoumaru trying to kill Kagome all in short order was not what he had been going for. Although, now that he thought about it, he supposed there wasn’t much he could have done to prevent that particular turn of events. In fact, the only part of it he truly hadn’t been expecting was Sturaki coming to Kagome’s aide. He made a mental note to thank the witch later and continued on his way, ignoring his elder brother who had just appeared right behind him.
Hell, if Sesshoumaru wanted to follow him around everywhere like a lost puppy, it was no skin off his back. In all honesty, he most likely would have been more concerned about it but for the fact that he was currently trying to track down Shippo and didn’t have time to spend wondering about his brother’s newly acquired habit.
Finally, after traveling down a multitude of halls, he found the source of the scent behind a door. Listening carefully, he could clearly hear sniffling and muffled sobbing that accompanied the tears already saturating Shippo’s normal scent. Damn, he hated it when they cried.
Steeling himself for the encounter, he slowly slid the panel open, not wanting to frighten the already distraught kitsune. However, the sight that greeted him upon entrance to the room broke his heart. His adoptive son was huddled in a corner, bawling as if the world was ending and all anger that had been in him immediately fled.
Without being able to stop himself, he quickly walked across the room and picked up the baby kitsune, cradling him to his chest. Switching their positions so that he was now the one sitting in the corner with Shippo on his lap, he tried to remember what Kagome did to comfort the kitsune’s tears. Latching upon the idea of talking softly, he was suitably impressed when it seemed to have the same positive effect on his son that it did when Kagome did it.
When Shippo looked up at him once again, drying the tears from his eyes, Inuyasha asked, “Oi, runt, what’s all this about?” in a much less harsh tone than he was used to using with the kitsune.
He watched as Shippo dropped his head and swallowed, seemingly ashamed of his tears. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just stupid,” came the mumbled response.
Looking down at the kitsune, he was at a complete loss. Kagome would know what to do in this situation, he was sure of it. But he didn’t have Kagome here right now and if he was serious about keeping Shippo as his own, he would need to figure out how to take care of this without Kagome’s help. The main problem was, he could barely remember how his mother used to comfort him when he was younger and he was not his mother. He didn’t have her mannerisms nor did he have her gentle smile or loving heart. He himself didn’t know the first thing about comforting someone else. Growing up, he had not even been able to comfort himself half the time.
Allowing his head to fall back against the wall, he released a soft groan and looked at the ceiling. Who was he kidding? He just wasn’t cut out for this kind of thing. With an exasperated sound, Inuyasha finally settled on, “Look, runt, I suck at this, ok? We both know that I am the last person in the universe who should be comforting anyone. Hell, you know as well as I do that half the time when I try to comfort Kagome, she only gets more upset.”
He could clearly hear Shippo’s giggle. “Yeah, and then she ‘sit’s you and goes home, dog boy.”
Inuyasha groaned once again, the runt just had to bring that up didn’t he? “Don’t remind me, runt,” Inuyasha said and mumbled, “My poor back,” through another groan. This only made Shippo laugh harder.
Getting irritated at being laughed at, Inuyasha turned his attention back onto the kitsune. “Oi, runt, knock it off. It ain’t that funny.”
When his only response was continued laughter, he turned his head in a huff and tried ignoring the kitsune. However, he wasn’t as mad as he was making himself out to be. He was actually quite pleased his son was no longer crying. He would much rather have Shippo laughing than crying, even if it was at his expense.
Waiting until the laughter had died down to just the occasional snicker, Inuyasha turned his attention onto the baby kitsune once again. “So, you gonna tell me what had you so upset earlier or what?”
He watched as Shippo’s head dropped down again. “It doesn’t matter. It’s nothing.”
With a sigh, Inuyasha realized he wasn’t going to be able to convince Shippo to tell him the problem. The kitsune was too embarrassed to bring it up himself. However, from what he had gathered from Sesshoumaru, he had a pretty good idea of why the kitsune was upset. But how could he help to allay his son’s fears? He couldn’t just tell him outright that he wanted Shippo to be his son could he? What if the kitsune rejected him? What if Sesshoumaru decided to make his presence known and forbid it? He had only just begun to feel what having a family was really like; he didn’t want to go back to being alone again.
However, never being one to back down from something just because it was difficult, he bit the bullet and, directing his gaze to a point about a foot in front of his face, said, “You know what, runt? I’ve been thinking. What with me and Sesshoumaru being mated and all, I gotta figure out what to do with you.”
He felt Shippo move in his arms but refused to look down at him. He knew if he saw the expression on his adoptive son’s face, he wouldn’t be able to continue with what he had to say. “My first thought was to just leave you with Kagome and them, you know, because I know how attached you are to her. But, then I was thinking, they’re all humans. You’re a demon. What do they know about raising a demon? Keh, I bet it’s even less than I do. And don’t even get me started on the whole aging thing.
“My second thought was that if you lived with me, I would at least know you were being taught how to survive in the demon world. Now, I realize I’m not the best at being all caring and shit like that, but what demon, or, I guess in my case, half-demon, is? Certainly not any I’ve ever met. But even without that, you’d survive. You’d live. You wouldn’t get cut down at the first sign of danger. You would know how to fight. And, perhaps, most importantly, I would still be around until you were old enough to be on your own.
Turning his gaze back down to the green eyes that were looking up at him with a look he could not quite decipher in them, he laid down his final decision for the kitsune as simply and authoritatively as he could make it. “So, I came to the only conclusion I felt was right. You’re going to have to stay with me, Sesshoumaru, and the rest of my pups. I know I don’t pull rank all that often, but, as your alpha, I must demand you submit to this decision.”
Shippo’s POV
To say Shippo was shocked would be an understatement. That was by far the longest speech he had ever heard his father make. And to think, it was all about him and barely hidden concern for his welfare. Could it be that Inuyasha actually DID want him? If he didn’t want him around or to ever see him again, why would he have gone to all the trouble of demanding he stay with him? Or even give the idea any consideration at all?
His head was spinning so fast with this newly acquired information, that there was only one thing he could say, “I thought you hated me.”
It was his father’s turn to look shocked. “Where the fuck did you ever get a stupid idea like THAT from, Shippo?”
“You’re always bonking me on the head.”
“Because you’re always being annoying just to piss me off. Besides, you mean to tell me, you can’t take a little bonk on the head? It’s worse than I thought,” Inuyasha responded, the last statement muttered under his breath.
His curiosity roused, Shippo asked, “What’s worse than you thought?”
He watched his father sigh and then respond, “Nothing.”
Curiosity not assuaged in the least, Shippo continued to wheedle him. “Come on, tell me. What’s worse than you thought?”
“He is referring to the handicap in your training no doubt brought on by being in the presence of humans for so long.” The response came, not from his father, but from Sesshoumaru who had apparently been standing in the doorway this entire time, although Shippo had only just noticed his presence.
“What do you mean? What handicap? There’s nothing wrong with living with humans,” Shippo began, not really understanding what they were getting at.
“Runt,” Inuyasha said in a commanding tone which immediately drew his attention back to him. “How far has your training progressed since you have joined the group?”
Still not really understanding where his father was going with this, he responded, “I’ve gotten better at my tricks. I can also transform better now.”
He watched Inuyasha nod. “Good. Now, how is your tracking? Hunting? Fighting skills? Hiding techniques? Have any of them progressed since you joined my pack? If I dropped you off in the middle woods and came back a week later, would you still be alive?”
Taken aback by all the questions being thrown at him, Shippo could only blink at his father. “Do you want to know what I’ve observed?” Inuyasha asked and Shippo responded with a slight nod, not really sure what to expect.
With a deep breath, his father gave him his evaluation of his current levels and where his father believed he should be by this point in time. He had not realized that even in the areas he was proud of himself for his accomplishments in; Inuyasha still believed he was not quite up to the level he should be at.
When he had attempted to argue that he had in fact made progress in those areas, his father was very quick to point out he had only made progress because of his natural affinity for transforming and playing tricks, not because he actually put any effort into it. In fact, Inuyasha was arguing that if he were to actually put time and effort into his training, he would be much further along in both his transformations and tricks than he was right now.
Finally, when he felt like he couldn’t take anymore, his father stopped and the truly serious, almost scary, look he had on his face the entire evaluation, was replaced with a much more normal one. “Don’t worry about it so much, runt. I’m sure we can catch you up in no time.”
He looked up with a hopeful look, “You really think so?”
“Keh. Sure. But it’s not going to be easy. There’s a lot of work that goes into becoming a truly great youkai. And, I won’t lie to you, I’m not about to coddle you like Kagome does. You’re going to get hurt, you’re going to get tired, you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to do, and if I don’t think you’re doing your best, there WILL be consequences you will NOT like.”
Hardly able to believe that Inuyasha was actually offering to TRAIN him, he quickly promised he would try his hardest. It wasn’t until after he had made this promise, that he thought to turn his attention to the, once again, silent youkai lord standing in the doorway. Sesshoumaru’s face looked as impassive as ever, as if what they were discussing was not a matter that would affect him directly but something not even worthy of his notice.
Hadn’t he just been thinking that if Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha’s alpha, he would be making the final decision as to whether or not Shippo would be allowed to even SEE Inuyasha again? Given that the powerful youkai lord had yet to make a comment on the matter either way since they had begun talking, Shippo began to worry once again.
He wanted to ask Sesshoumaru if it was alright for his father to take him into his care or if it was going to get his father into trouble with his mate, but could not find the courage to do so. Instead, he turned to Inuyasha and asked him, “Inuyasha, are you sure you can offer me this? Don’t you have to talk it over with Sesshoumaru first?”
Once again, he was not answered by his father, but by the cold voice of the youkai lord. “Do you truly intend to learn the ways of the youkai? Do you truly intend to work hard and sacrifice to become a being worthy of being in my household?”
Looking back at the youkai lord, he swallowed hard when he realized those cold, calculating eyes were boring right into his eyes. Barely able to get his voice to work, he responded with a raspy, “Yes, I do.”
He released a sigh of relief when the eyes left his and another one when he heard the response, “Then I see no reason to try and separate my mate from his son.”
It was not until he heard his father choke that he realized exactly what Sesshoumaru had said. Had he just called him Inuyasha’s son OUT LOUD? True, he had been thinking it in his mind for a long time now, but to have it stated aloud, by the cold youkai lord nonetheless, he didn’t know what to make of it. And, judging by the look on his father’s face, he didn’t either.
In fact, his father was resembling nothing so much as a very red, gapping fish at the moment. If it had been any other situation, he would have been laughing hysterically. But, in this situation, he was fairly sure that he had the same look on his face. This assumption was only confirmed when Sesshoumaru stepped fully into the room, closing the panel behind him, before walking over to them.
* * * * *
Hey all! First off, Happy Holidays! Second off, this chapter (the first part especially) was insanely difficult for me to write. Add to that the fact that my girls have been sick with a stomach virus these past couple weeks, and it all equals a very slow update. Hope you like the chapter and I wish all of you who are traveling this time of year safe travels.
Thanks for reading and/or reviewing. Both are much appreciated.