InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Prophecy ❯ Acceptance of a Son ( Chapter 52 )
[ 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: 04.05.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 2.5K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 04.05.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.4K | Visits: 2.5K | Status: Work In Progress
The Prophecy
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in, except Sturaki
* * * * *
Chapter 51: Acceptance of a Son
After ascertaining that the witch had that human female of his brother’s well in hand, Sesshoumaru turned to follow his mate. He knew exactly where the inuhanyou was headed, but decided to just allow him to lead for the time being. Besides, he was reminding himself, it really was more of his little brother’s problem than his after all.
As he followed Inuyasha down yet another hall, his mind went back to the priestess who was still unconscious on the floor back in the room they had just left. That damn wench. The only thing that had saved her had been his mate asking for her life. Even then it had been a near thing.
‘How dare she try to hurt my mate or possible pup?’ Sesshoumaru fumed. ‘I will have to impress upon her the foolishness of that action when she comes to,’ he thought with a sadistic smirk, ‘and nothing my little hanyou has to say will stop me.’
He was so busy plotting the appropriate punishment for that damnable human that he barely noticed when they stopped and his mate went into a room. Idly noting that it was one of the less frequently used guest rooms, Sesshoumaru forcefully shoved aside his scheming in favor of observing the scene in front of him.
Standing impassively in the doorway, he watched and listened to his baby brother soothe the kitsune. Just taking the scene in was having a rather calming effect on his own nerves. In the back of his mind, he was shocked at how comforting he, Sesshoumaru, found the soft murmurs coming from his mate. In the place of the kitsune, he had mentally placed one of his own pups and smiled slightly at the scene. His mate was going to be so good with their pups.
Realizing that the kitsune, his younger brother’s adoptive son, had stopped crying, he turned his attention to the conversation between the two. Once again, he was struck by how different his little brother’s relationship was with his pack than the one he had with his own pack. Neither Jaken nor Rin would ever dare to refuse to answer a direct question, no matter how much they might not have wanted to. And they certainly would never dream of making fun of him or laughing at him.
And yet, he realized in shock, Inuyasha was not even upset by this turn of events. He was easily able to see the concern when his questions were not answered and the almost relief that was badly covered up with annoyance when the kitsune began to laugh even though it was at his own expense. But even with all that, what happened next shocked him the most.
His little brother very calmly and rationally laying out why he thought the kitsune should stay with them as opposed to the rest of his group left him just as speechless as the youngest demon. He had always thought that there must be a good deal of intelligence hidden in his young mate’s mind. Other wise, how would he have survived this long? But to see it displayed in such a manner…
It was like a weight being lifted from his shoulders. Maybe his younger brother wouldn’t be as far out of his league with the other higher level youkai as he had feared.
He hadn’t consciously admitted to it, but ever since he had started to seriously consider taking his baby brother as his mate, one of his main concerns had been his general lack of diplomacy. His mate was more of the type to just jump in and start a fight with someone that did not agree with him or insulted him. And, in the world of the youkai lords, that could quite possibly mean starting a full-blown war with one who, up until that point, had been an ally.
In fact, if he was perfectly honest with himself, that was one of the main reasons he had for not wanting to mate with his younger brother (after he got past the whole half-demon male thing). But, after seeing this display, he was beginning to think that he may have judged his little brother a bit too rashly. Perhaps it was not that Inuyasha had no idea how to be diplomatic, but, rather, that he did not often find a time or place to use his skills. Or, more likely, he just had no interest in using these skills in day to day life.
Mentally shaking himself from this train of thought, he brought himself back to the conversation taking place in front of him. He found himself giving his opinion of the situation without even consciously thinking about it. Internally berating himself for getting involved in this and drawing attention to himself, he was grateful to his younger brother for bringing the kitsune’s notice back onto him.
And, he was even more pleased that it happened that way because he got the opportunity to hear his little brother’s opinion on what was needed for one to become a suitable youkai. Listening very carefully to what Inuyasha was laying out for his son; Sesshoumaru found himself wondering who had explained all of this to him. For, to his immense shock, he was finding himself agreeing with many of the points his young mate was making.
Now, he realized that there were things not being mentioned. But, when he really thought about it, for your average youkai, the skills that were being skipped over were not overly important ones for them to have. In fact, with the exception of dealing with youkai nobility, he himself never even made use of them. And in realizing this, he also realized something else about the way Inuyasha had been trained or not trained as the case may be.
He had been trained in how to be an average youkai rather than a youkai lord. Given his history, this was not so surprising, but it did give a starting point. Perhaps his mate would be more willing to submit to the training if Sesshoumaru laid out the strengths and weaknesses currently in his knowledge in a similar manner to the one he was using with the kitsune, the youkai lord mused. It was definitely something to consider, in any event.
Tabling those thoughts for the moment, the elder youkai listened to the deal that his young mate was making with his son. He noted with some amusement that Inuyasha was giving far more warnings than he would have. Although, he supposed that there might be some basis for it from what he could recall about the wench they had traveled with. Many of the behaviorisms of the kitsune seemed to be those of a child who was used to having his own way and needed to be disciplined. And if his mate was willing to do the disciplining, he had no problem with it. But, just to make sure that they all knew who was in charge; he elicited a promise from the child as well.
However, after seeing the response that his acceptance of the kitsune as his young mate’s son garnered, Sesshoumaru realized that this issue was, in fact, far from being resolved. With a sigh, he stepped into the room and closed the panel behind him. While it might not be looked down upon for a beta and a pup to be having these types of conversations, it would not do for anyone to come across him, the alpha and a youkai lord, behaving in a similar fashion.
After making sure the entranceway was secured, Sesshoumaru walked over to the two in the corner who still wore shocked looks on their faces and sat down himself. It would be best if this situation was dealt with on relatively even footing. In fact, he remained unconvinced that it had more to do with him than with his younger brother anyway.
“You appear to be shocked that I have called the kitsune your son, little brother,” Sesshoumaru began, deciding to jump straight to the most immediate issue.
He watched closely as his mate tried to feign indifference, “Keh. Of course I’m shocked. Who the hell said the runt was my son?”
“Then perhaps I was incorrect,” the youkai lord replied in a calm voice.
“Of course you were.”
“If that is the case, then I must revoke what I said earlier. The kitsune will not be allowed to remain here with us.” Sesshoumaru watched his young mate’s eyes widen at that and prepared for the verbal assault. It was too easy to set his baby brother off sometimes.
“Who the hell asked you anyway, you bastard? He’ll stay if I want him to stay! I don’t need your damn permission!”
“You appear to be forgetting who the alpha in this relationship is, Inuyasha. Your kitsune realized that you would require my permission. If such a young child could see it, why can you not?”
“I don’t care if you’re the alpha! Hell, I don’t care if you became a god when I wasn’t looking! You have no say in this! If you won’t let the runt stay, then I’ll leave!”
Sesshoumaru could easily see just how much this was getting to his young mate and decided to play it a little further. “Why are you so adamant about this, younger brother? It’s just an orphan kitsune. There are plenty of them around. Are you intending to collect them all?”
“Don’t be stupid, Sesshoumaru,” came the huffed response.
“If you cannot give me a suitable reason to allow the kitsune to remain here, I will be forced to require him to leave with the humans when they leave. I cannot have a baby kitsune running around my home unaccompanied.”
He was aware of an annoyed look spreading over his mate’s face and the way Inuyasha’s arms were tightening protectively around the kitsune in his lap. “I’ll take care of him, Sesshoumaru, if that’s what you’re so worried about. I wasn’t planning on forcing you to have anything to do with him anyway. Didn’t you hear me before? I’m going to be in charge of his training.”
“While that would be well and good if he were your son, you simply do not have enough time to teach a child that is not your own. You will have too many other responsibilities as my mate and will have neither the time nor the means to train such a child.”
He watched his brother weigh the decision back and forth while the kitsune was looking between the two of them with unease and more than a hint of fear. The youkai lord already knew what the ending decision would be, but he decided there was no harm in humoring the hanyou for the moment. Besides, he was hoping to see that illusive intelligence surface again.
“Are you trying to tell me that if I don’t agree with you about him being my son, he won’t be allowed to stay here no matter what anyone has to say about it?” Inuyasha asked with a guarded look on his face.
Raising an eyebrow to his brother, he responded, “I do believe you are finally beginning to get the idea, Inuyasha.”
“So, let me get this straight, all I have to do is say he’s mine, and there won’t be a problem?” the inuhanyou asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“It won’t be enough to merely say it, you have to actually mean it,” Sesshoumaru responded. He had to admit, this was getting more amusing by the moment. He might have felt more guilty about teasing his younger brother, but Inuyasha was just making it entirely too easy.
He watched as the half-demon’s eyes darted back and forth rapidly. “But what if Shippo doesn’t want me to be his dad? I’m not going to force something like that on him,” Inuyasha responded vehemently.
Sesshoumaru glanced down at the kitsune wondering if his younger brother had completely forgotten about the child’s presence even though he was still sitting in a protective embrace in his lap. Asking the obvious question, he addressed Shippo, “What say you, kitsune? Would you wish to be considered the son of a half-demon?”
Sneaking a very nervous look up at Inuyasha, Shippo replied, “I-I wouldn’t mind, just as long as Inuyasha doesn’t mind.”
Sitting back, the youkai lord decided to merely observe once again, coming to the conclusion that they should be able to work it out on their own from here. He silently watched his brother loosen his hold and look down at the kitsune in shock.
“You wouldn’t mind?” Inuyasha questioned in disbelief.
“Why would I mind? I’ve only been in your pack for almost two years now, Inuyasha,” Shippo replied with a mildly exasperated look.
“It’s one thing to be in my pack. It’s quite another to be my son. Aren’t you the least bit concerned that I’m only a half-demon?”
Sesshoumaru watched in some amusement as the child set his jaw into a defiant line and crossed his arms. “Why would I care about that? Sure you’re half-demon, but you’re also one of the strongest demons I’ve ever met,” Shippo said in a rather stubborn tone.
Watching the sheer surprise and even shock at the praise wash over his young mate’s face twisted the knife of guilt that had seemingly implanted itself in his gut sometime in the past week once more. He knew for a fact that he was one of the main reasons his baby brother thought so little of his own skill in battle. Shoving these thoughts aside for the moment on the grounds that they were unproductive, he turned his attention back to the conversation.
“You really think that, runt?”
“Of course I do, Inuyasha. I’ve watched you take down GODS before. Not everyone can do that, you know,” the kitsune stated matter-of-factly.
The youkai lord watched as Shippo took a deep breath and seemed to steal himself. He almost sighed in relief. It looked like this conversation was almost over. He would never admit it to anyone, but this entire situation was making him rather uncomfortable and he was going to be quite pleased to have it over and done with and never have to speak of it again.
With a set look on his face, the child met the hanyou’s gaze and said, “In fact, I would be honored if you were willing to consider me your son.”
Inuyasha contemplated Shippo for a moment. Most likely trying to see if he’s telling the truth or not, Sesshoumaru mused. Apparently having come to the conclusion that the kitsune was telling the truth, Inuyasha stated, “If you’re sure that’s what you want, Shippo, I would be honored to have you as my son.”
The smile on the kitsune’s face lit up the room. “I’m more than sure… dad.”
“Well, THAT’s gonna take some getting used to,” Inuyasha replied, looking sheepish but at the same time relieved that it was over.
However, before the two of them got too comfortable with the new situation, Sesshoumaru decided it was time to step in again. If this was truly going to work, it would not do for his mate to have a son that was not acknowledged by him, the alpha in this mating, most certainly not if the child was going to be living with them.
To this end, the youkai lord stated, “It is not that easy, little brother.”
“What the hell? You just said that all I had to do was accept him as my son! I’ve done that. What more could there possibly be?” his young mate demanded, apparently quite irked at what he most likely saw as a change in the rules of the challenge.
“You are once again forgetting your current position,” Sesshoumaru reminded him. “You are the beta. I am the alpha. It is not enough for you to accept him. I must as well.”
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in response. “You just said that you would. Are you going back on your word now?”
“Not at all, mate. I am willing to accept him as my son as well, since he is already yours, but there ARE certain protocols that must be adhered to.”
“What the hell are you TALKING about?” his mate demanded.
“For instance, there is the issue of the scent claim. He cannot remain in this castle as your son with your scent claim on him,” Sesshoumaru said and waited patiently for what he was trying to convey to sink in. In all honesty, this most likely could have waited for a while, but, while they were already having uncomfortable conversations in a part of the castle that was almost never used, he figured he might as well get ALL of it done at once.
Moments later, he heard a chorus of “You want to scent claim me?!” “You want to scent claim him?!”
Trying to appear as serene as possible despite these unusual circumstances, he replied, “That would be what I was referring to, yes.”
“But… but you barely know me,” came the stutter from the kitsune.
“I am aware of that. However, seeing as you are already my BETA mate’s son, you will need to be under the same protection as him.”
“Are you saying my protection isn’t good enough for him?” came the expected, if rather aggressively phrased, question from his mate.
Sesshoumaru stopped to take a deep breath before continuing, trying to remind himself that his little brother was not trying to piss him off. “I was saying nothing of the sort. If you had been paying attention, you would have realized that it actually has very little to do with either of us and everything to do with the situation.”
Looking into two confused gazes, the youkai lord realized some more explanation was needed. “In the very unusual situation that the beta mate is already in possession of a pack, the entire pack either is re-scent claimed by the alpha who mated with the beta or they lose their scent claim entirely. No beta can have a scent claim on another individual.”
“What are you talking about? My entire pack still has my scent claim on them. I can smell it.”
“It takes more than one week for a scent claim to fade away. Most of your pack has been claimed for almost two season cycles now. It will most likely take a few more weeks for the scent claim to no longer be present.”
“But, then, how am I supposed to protect them?” Inuyasha asked, beginning to look a little lost as the implications were finally sinking in.
“You are not. I am supposed to protect you and our pups. You are no longer responsible for protecting anyone other than our pups.”
“But, Sesshoumaru, they’re counting on me,” as he saw the almost pleading look on his young mate’s face, Sesshoumaru’s youki surfaced, telling him to comfort his mate who was obviously distressed. Without thinking on it, he pulled both his mate and his soon-to-be son into his lap.
“They will have others they can count on. Our pups will only have one mother. If something were to happen to you, what would happen to them? I refuse to allow you to go into that kind of danger again. You are needed much more here than you are needed with them.” As he spoke, Sesshoumaru unconsciously stroked his mate’s hair.
Sensing the confusion still present in his younger brother, the youkai lord said, “I know it is a lot for you to take in. I will postpone the scent claiming to give you some time to get used to it.” It was the only thing he could think of to offer his younger brother in an attempt to soothe his obvious distress.
He had expected that to be the end of it, and, as a result, was very surprised when his younger brother said, “No. You should do the claim now. I don’t want him to be without protection just because we didn’t know when it would wear off.”
“If that is what you wish…” Upon receiving a nod from both of them, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and focused his youki on that of the baby kitsune. It was not nearly as powerful as the youki’s of many other demons he had scent claimed, but he knew that much of that was due to a lack of training and how young he was. However, it was not the kitsune’s own youki that was the problem. It was the previous scent claim that was laid by his little brother. While it was true that the claim was fading, it was still much stronger than he had anticipated.
As he pushed against the already established claim, he was finding that he needed to allow his raw youki to flare even more than he had expected. Even laying the scent claim on his little brother had not warned him of how strong his mate’s own scent claims would be. Although he supposed he should have expected it. He had, after all, realized that Inuyasha had been treating the kitsune as his own son for quite some time now. As a result, the kitsune most likely had the strongest scent claim on him of any in the pack.
For, while there was a scent claim on all members of a pack, the ones who the layer of the claim felt needed their protection the most always had the strongest scent claims. In most packs, these individuals would be the mate and pups of the pack leader. To a lesser degree, it would also apply to any of the breeding bitches and other pups in the pack. The lowest degree would be present on the full-grown warriors who were generally considered to be capable of taking care of themselves and only had a scent mark on them as a sort of courtesy or sign of allegiance.
Interestingly enough, from Sesshoumaru’s understanding, it was the youki of the layer, not the layer themselves that decided on the strength of the claim. Not only that, but the strength was subject to change based on increases in age and maturity, changes in pack position, or sometimes even the general attitude of the layer towards the layee changing.
All that being said, he really should not have been surprised at the intensity he was seeing in the scent claim on the kitsune. Not that it was impossible for him to overlay the current scent claim or even that it was as difficult as it had been to lay the claim on his younger brother, but it made for something else to think about. All he seemed to be getting these days was more to think about, Sesshoumaru mused as he continued to work.
Having finished laying the claim on the kitsune, he opened his eyes and looked down at the two of them. Shippo had a look on his face that appeared to be a mix of shock and awe. However, it was the look of dazed adoration on his mate’s face that was really doing him in. Not only that, but he could feel his little brother’s youki calling out to his own youki.
Feeling the desire to mate with his younger brother once again beginning to rise inside him, he forcefully reminded himself that they were not alone. To this end, he quickly turned away from the sight, unsure of what he would do if he allowed his gaze to linger. After a moment had passed during which he forcibly pushed his youki and its desires down again, Sesshoumaru stated, “We have other business to attend to.”
Sensing more than seeing the confusion from his mate and newly accepted pup, he elaborated, “There is still the rest of your pack to deal with, Inuyasha.”
That was enough to snap the two younger ones out of their stupor. Within moments, they were once again back in the hallway, retracing their steps to the aforementioned pack.
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Hey all! I know, I know, it’s been FOREVER. Main reason you haven’t had an update in so long: my computer died. I had most of the chapter written up and then my computer just died on me. I was only recently able to get access to my files from that computer again to finish up the chapter. Add to that my daughter turning four and I, myself, being in my last trimester of pregnancy… Well, I’ve kind of been getting hit from all sides. Hopefully the next chapter won’t take as long.
As always, thank you for reading and/or reviewing. Both are greatly appreciated.
By: mshutts
WARNING: incest
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters here-in, except Sturaki
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Chapter 51: Acceptance of a Son
After ascertaining that the witch had that human female of his brother’s well in hand, Sesshoumaru turned to follow his mate. He knew exactly where the inuhanyou was headed, but decided to just allow him to lead for the time being. Besides, he was reminding himself, it really was more of his little brother’s problem than his after all.
As he followed Inuyasha down yet another hall, his mind went back to the priestess who was still unconscious on the floor back in the room they had just left. That damn wench. The only thing that had saved her had been his mate asking for her life. Even then it had been a near thing.
‘How dare she try to hurt my mate or possible pup?’ Sesshoumaru fumed. ‘I will have to impress upon her the foolishness of that action when she comes to,’ he thought with a sadistic smirk, ‘and nothing my little hanyou has to say will stop me.’
He was so busy plotting the appropriate punishment for that damnable human that he barely noticed when they stopped and his mate went into a room. Idly noting that it was one of the less frequently used guest rooms, Sesshoumaru forcefully shoved aside his scheming in favor of observing the scene in front of him.
Standing impassively in the doorway, he watched and listened to his baby brother soothe the kitsune. Just taking the scene in was having a rather calming effect on his own nerves. In the back of his mind, he was shocked at how comforting he, Sesshoumaru, found the soft murmurs coming from his mate. In the place of the kitsune, he had mentally placed one of his own pups and smiled slightly at the scene. His mate was going to be so good with their pups.
Realizing that the kitsune, his younger brother’s adoptive son, had stopped crying, he turned his attention to the conversation between the two. Once again, he was struck by how different his little brother’s relationship was with his pack than the one he had with his own pack. Neither Jaken nor Rin would ever dare to refuse to answer a direct question, no matter how much they might not have wanted to. And they certainly would never dream of making fun of him or laughing at him.
And yet, he realized in shock, Inuyasha was not even upset by this turn of events. He was easily able to see the concern when his questions were not answered and the almost relief that was badly covered up with annoyance when the kitsune began to laugh even though it was at his own expense. But even with all that, what happened next shocked him the most.
His little brother very calmly and rationally laying out why he thought the kitsune should stay with them as opposed to the rest of his group left him just as speechless as the youngest demon. He had always thought that there must be a good deal of intelligence hidden in his young mate’s mind. Other wise, how would he have survived this long? But to see it displayed in such a manner…
It was like a weight being lifted from his shoulders. Maybe his younger brother wouldn’t be as far out of his league with the other higher level youkai as he had feared.
He hadn’t consciously admitted to it, but ever since he had started to seriously consider taking his baby brother as his mate, one of his main concerns had been his general lack of diplomacy. His mate was more of the type to just jump in and start a fight with someone that did not agree with him or insulted him. And, in the world of the youkai lords, that could quite possibly mean starting a full-blown war with one who, up until that point, had been an ally.
In fact, if he was perfectly honest with himself, that was one of the main reasons he had for not wanting to mate with his younger brother (after he got past the whole half-demon male thing). But, after seeing this display, he was beginning to think that he may have judged his little brother a bit too rashly. Perhaps it was not that Inuyasha had no idea how to be diplomatic, but, rather, that he did not often find a time or place to use his skills. Or, more likely, he just had no interest in using these skills in day to day life.
Mentally shaking himself from this train of thought, he brought himself back to the conversation taking place in front of him. He found himself giving his opinion of the situation without even consciously thinking about it. Internally berating himself for getting involved in this and drawing attention to himself, he was grateful to his younger brother for bringing the kitsune’s notice back onto him.
And, he was even more pleased that it happened that way because he got the opportunity to hear his little brother’s opinion on what was needed for one to become a suitable youkai. Listening very carefully to what Inuyasha was laying out for his son; Sesshoumaru found himself wondering who had explained all of this to him. For, to his immense shock, he was finding himself agreeing with many of the points his young mate was making.
Now, he realized that there were things not being mentioned. But, when he really thought about it, for your average youkai, the skills that were being skipped over were not overly important ones for them to have. In fact, with the exception of dealing with youkai nobility, he himself never even made use of them. And in realizing this, he also realized something else about the way Inuyasha had been trained or not trained as the case may be.
He had been trained in how to be an average youkai rather than a youkai lord. Given his history, this was not so surprising, but it did give a starting point. Perhaps his mate would be more willing to submit to the training if Sesshoumaru laid out the strengths and weaknesses currently in his knowledge in a similar manner to the one he was using with the kitsune, the youkai lord mused. It was definitely something to consider, in any event.
Tabling those thoughts for the moment, the elder youkai listened to the deal that his young mate was making with his son. He noted with some amusement that Inuyasha was giving far more warnings than he would have. Although, he supposed that there might be some basis for it from what he could recall about the wench they had traveled with. Many of the behaviorisms of the kitsune seemed to be those of a child who was used to having his own way and needed to be disciplined. And if his mate was willing to do the disciplining, he had no problem with it. But, just to make sure that they all knew who was in charge; he elicited a promise from the child as well.
However, after seeing the response that his acceptance of the kitsune as his young mate’s son garnered, Sesshoumaru realized that this issue was, in fact, far from being resolved. With a sigh, he stepped into the room and closed the panel behind him. While it might not be looked down upon for a beta and a pup to be having these types of conversations, it would not do for anyone to come across him, the alpha and a youkai lord, behaving in a similar fashion.
After making sure the entranceway was secured, Sesshoumaru walked over to the two in the corner who still wore shocked looks on their faces and sat down himself. It would be best if this situation was dealt with on relatively even footing. In fact, he remained unconvinced that it had more to do with him than with his younger brother anyway.
“You appear to be shocked that I have called the kitsune your son, little brother,” Sesshoumaru began, deciding to jump straight to the most immediate issue.
He watched closely as his mate tried to feign indifference, “Keh. Of course I’m shocked. Who the hell said the runt was my son?”
“Then perhaps I was incorrect,” the youkai lord replied in a calm voice.
“Of course you were.”
“If that is the case, then I must revoke what I said earlier. The kitsune will not be allowed to remain here with us.” Sesshoumaru watched his young mate’s eyes widen at that and prepared for the verbal assault. It was too easy to set his baby brother off sometimes.
“Who the hell asked you anyway, you bastard? He’ll stay if I want him to stay! I don’t need your damn permission!”
“You appear to be forgetting who the alpha in this relationship is, Inuyasha. Your kitsune realized that you would require my permission. If such a young child could see it, why can you not?”
“I don’t care if you’re the alpha! Hell, I don’t care if you became a god when I wasn’t looking! You have no say in this! If you won’t let the runt stay, then I’ll leave!”
Sesshoumaru could easily see just how much this was getting to his young mate and decided to play it a little further. “Why are you so adamant about this, younger brother? It’s just an orphan kitsune. There are plenty of them around. Are you intending to collect them all?”
“Don’t be stupid, Sesshoumaru,” came the huffed response.
“If you cannot give me a suitable reason to allow the kitsune to remain here, I will be forced to require him to leave with the humans when they leave. I cannot have a baby kitsune running around my home unaccompanied.”
He was aware of an annoyed look spreading over his mate’s face and the way Inuyasha’s arms were tightening protectively around the kitsune in his lap. “I’ll take care of him, Sesshoumaru, if that’s what you’re so worried about. I wasn’t planning on forcing you to have anything to do with him anyway. Didn’t you hear me before? I’m going to be in charge of his training.”
“While that would be well and good if he were your son, you simply do not have enough time to teach a child that is not your own. You will have too many other responsibilities as my mate and will have neither the time nor the means to train such a child.”
He watched his brother weigh the decision back and forth while the kitsune was looking between the two of them with unease and more than a hint of fear. The youkai lord already knew what the ending decision would be, but he decided there was no harm in humoring the hanyou for the moment. Besides, he was hoping to see that illusive intelligence surface again.
“Are you trying to tell me that if I don’t agree with you about him being my son, he won’t be allowed to stay here no matter what anyone has to say about it?” Inuyasha asked with a guarded look on his face.
Raising an eyebrow to his brother, he responded, “I do believe you are finally beginning to get the idea, Inuyasha.”
“So, let me get this straight, all I have to do is say he’s mine, and there won’t be a problem?” the inuhanyou asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“It won’t be enough to merely say it, you have to actually mean it,” Sesshoumaru responded. He had to admit, this was getting more amusing by the moment. He might have felt more guilty about teasing his younger brother, but Inuyasha was just making it entirely too easy.
He watched as the half-demon’s eyes darted back and forth rapidly. “But what if Shippo doesn’t want me to be his dad? I’m not going to force something like that on him,” Inuyasha responded vehemently.
Sesshoumaru glanced down at the kitsune wondering if his younger brother had completely forgotten about the child’s presence even though he was still sitting in a protective embrace in his lap. Asking the obvious question, he addressed Shippo, “What say you, kitsune? Would you wish to be considered the son of a half-demon?”
Sneaking a very nervous look up at Inuyasha, Shippo replied, “I-I wouldn’t mind, just as long as Inuyasha doesn’t mind.”
Sitting back, the youkai lord decided to merely observe once again, coming to the conclusion that they should be able to work it out on their own from here. He silently watched his brother loosen his hold and look down at the kitsune in shock.
“You wouldn’t mind?” Inuyasha questioned in disbelief.
“Why would I mind? I’ve only been in your pack for almost two years now, Inuyasha,” Shippo replied with a mildly exasperated look.
“It’s one thing to be in my pack. It’s quite another to be my son. Aren’t you the least bit concerned that I’m only a half-demon?”
Sesshoumaru watched in some amusement as the child set his jaw into a defiant line and crossed his arms. “Why would I care about that? Sure you’re half-demon, but you’re also one of the strongest demons I’ve ever met,” Shippo said in a rather stubborn tone.
Watching the sheer surprise and even shock at the praise wash over his young mate’s face twisted the knife of guilt that had seemingly implanted itself in his gut sometime in the past week once more. He knew for a fact that he was one of the main reasons his baby brother thought so little of his own skill in battle. Shoving these thoughts aside for the moment on the grounds that they were unproductive, he turned his attention back to the conversation.
“You really think that, runt?”
“Of course I do, Inuyasha. I’ve watched you take down GODS before. Not everyone can do that, you know,” the kitsune stated matter-of-factly.
The youkai lord watched as Shippo took a deep breath and seemed to steal himself. He almost sighed in relief. It looked like this conversation was almost over. He would never admit it to anyone, but this entire situation was making him rather uncomfortable and he was going to be quite pleased to have it over and done with and never have to speak of it again.
With a set look on his face, the child met the hanyou’s gaze and said, “In fact, I would be honored if you were willing to consider me your son.”
Inuyasha contemplated Shippo for a moment. Most likely trying to see if he’s telling the truth or not, Sesshoumaru mused. Apparently having come to the conclusion that the kitsune was telling the truth, Inuyasha stated, “If you’re sure that’s what you want, Shippo, I would be honored to have you as my son.”
The smile on the kitsune’s face lit up the room. “I’m more than sure… dad.”
“Well, THAT’s gonna take some getting used to,” Inuyasha replied, looking sheepish but at the same time relieved that it was over.
However, before the two of them got too comfortable with the new situation, Sesshoumaru decided it was time to step in again. If this was truly going to work, it would not do for his mate to have a son that was not acknowledged by him, the alpha in this mating, most certainly not if the child was going to be living with them.
To this end, the youkai lord stated, “It is not that easy, little brother.”
“What the hell? You just said that all I had to do was accept him as my son! I’ve done that. What more could there possibly be?” his young mate demanded, apparently quite irked at what he most likely saw as a change in the rules of the challenge.
“You are once again forgetting your current position,” Sesshoumaru reminded him. “You are the beta. I am the alpha. It is not enough for you to accept him. I must as well.”
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in response. “You just said that you would. Are you going back on your word now?”
“Not at all, mate. I am willing to accept him as my son as well, since he is already yours, but there ARE certain protocols that must be adhered to.”
“What the hell are you TALKING about?” his mate demanded.
“For instance, there is the issue of the scent claim. He cannot remain in this castle as your son with your scent claim on him,” Sesshoumaru said and waited patiently for what he was trying to convey to sink in. In all honesty, this most likely could have waited for a while, but, while they were already having uncomfortable conversations in a part of the castle that was almost never used, he figured he might as well get ALL of it done at once.
Moments later, he heard a chorus of “You want to scent claim me?!” “You want to scent claim him?!”
Trying to appear as serene as possible despite these unusual circumstances, he replied, “That would be what I was referring to, yes.”
“But… but you barely know me,” came the stutter from the kitsune.
“I am aware of that. However, seeing as you are already my BETA mate’s son, you will need to be under the same protection as him.”
“Are you saying my protection isn’t good enough for him?” came the expected, if rather aggressively phrased, question from his mate.
Sesshoumaru stopped to take a deep breath before continuing, trying to remind himself that his little brother was not trying to piss him off. “I was saying nothing of the sort. If you had been paying attention, you would have realized that it actually has very little to do with either of us and everything to do with the situation.”
Looking into two confused gazes, the youkai lord realized some more explanation was needed. “In the very unusual situation that the beta mate is already in possession of a pack, the entire pack either is re-scent claimed by the alpha who mated with the beta or they lose their scent claim entirely. No beta can have a scent claim on another individual.”
“What are you talking about? My entire pack still has my scent claim on them. I can smell it.”
“It takes more than one week for a scent claim to fade away. Most of your pack has been claimed for almost two season cycles now. It will most likely take a few more weeks for the scent claim to no longer be present.”
“But, then, how am I supposed to protect them?” Inuyasha asked, beginning to look a little lost as the implications were finally sinking in.
“You are not. I am supposed to protect you and our pups. You are no longer responsible for protecting anyone other than our pups.”
“But, Sesshoumaru, they’re counting on me,” as he saw the almost pleading look on his young mate’s face, Sesshoumaru’s youki surfaced, telling him to comfort his mate who was obviously distressed. Without thinking on it, he pulled both his mate and his soon-to-be son into his lap.
“They will have others they can count on. Our pups will only have one mother. If something were to happen to you, what would happen to them? I refuse to allow you to go into that kind of danger again. You are needed much more here than you are needed with them.” As he spoke, Sesshoumaru unconsciously stroked his mate’s hair.
Sensing the confusion still present in his younger brother, the youkai lord said, “I know it is a lot for you to take in. I will postpone the scent claiming to give you some time to get used to it.” It was the only thing he could think of to offer his younger brother in an attempt to soothe his obvious distress.
He had expected that to be the end of it, and, as a result, was very surprised when his younger brother said, “No. You should do the claim now. I don’t want him to be without protection just because we didn’t know when it would wear off.”
“If that is what you wish…” Upon receiving a nod from both of them, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and focused his youki on that of the baby kitsune. It was not nearly as powerful as the youki’s of many other demons he had scent claimed, but he knew that much of that was due to a lack of training and how young he was. However, it was not the kitsune’s own youki that was the problem. It was the previous scent claim that was laid by his little brother. While it was true that the claim was fading, it was still much stronger than he had anticipated.
As he pushed against the already established claim, he was finding that he needed to allow his raw youki to flare even more than he had expected. Even laying the scent claim on his little brother had not warned him of how strong his mate’s own scent claims would be. Although he supposed he should have expected it. He had, after all, realized that Inuyasha had been treating the kitsune as his own son for quite some time now. As a result, the kitsune most likely had the strongest scent claim on him of any in the pack.
For, while there was a scent claim on all members of a pack, the ones who the layer of the claim felt needed their protection the most always had the strongest scent claims. In most packs, these individuals would be the mate and pups of the pack leader. To a lesser degree, it would also apply to any of the breeding bitches and other pups in the pack. The lowest degree would be present on the full-grown warriors who were generally considered to be capable of taking care of themselves and only had a scent mark on them as a sort of courtesy or sign of allegiance.
Interestingly enough, from Sesshoumaru’s understanding, it was the youki of the layer, not the layer themselves that decided on the strength of the claim. Not only that, but the strength was subject to change based on increases in age and maturity, changes in pack position, or sometimes even the general attitude of the layer towards the layee changing.
All that being said, he really should not have been surprised at the intensity he was seeing in the scent claim on the kitsune. Not that it was impossible for him to overlay the current scent claim or even that it was as difficult as it had been to lay the claim on his younger brother, but it made for something else to think about. All he seemed to be getting these days was more to think about, Sesshoumaru mused as he continued to work.
Having finished laying the claim on the kitsune, he opened his eyes and looked down at the two of them. Shippo had a look on his face that appeared to be a mix of shock and awe. However, it was the look of dazed adoration on his mate’s face that was really doing him in. Not only that, but he could feel his little brother’s youki calling out to his own youki.
Feeling the desire to mate with his younger brother once again beginning to rise inside him, he forcefully reminded himself that they were not alone. To this end, he quickly turned away from the sight, unsure of what he would do if he allowed his gaze to linger. After a moment had passed during which he forcibly pushed his youki and its desires down again, Sesshoumaru stated, “We have other business to attend to.”
Sensing more than seeing the confusion from his mate and newly accepted pup, he elaborated, “There is still the rest of your pack to deal with, Inuyasha.”
That was enough to snap the two younger ones out of their stupor. Within moments, they were once again back in the hallway, retracing their steps to the aforementioned pack.
* * * * *
Hey all! I know, I know, it’s been FOREVER. Main reason you haven’t had an update in so long: my computer died. I had most of the chapter written up and then my computer just died on me. I was only recently able to get access to my files from that computer again to finish up the chapter. Add to that my daughter turning four and I, myself, being in my last trimester of pregnancy… Well, I’ve kind of been getting hit from all sides. Hopefully the next chapter won’t take as long.
As always, thank you for reading and/or reviewing. Both are greatly appreciated.