InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Through the Looking Glass ❯ Learning the News ( Chapter 1 )

“Koishii . . .”

 

InuTaisho glanced up at the sound of his human mate's gentle and musical voice, and smiled when he saw her approaching. Trailing behind her were her ladies-in-waiting. Upon her face was a smile that shone as bright as the sun.

Slowly, he rose to his feet, keeping a surreptitious eye on his opponent. Puppy ears flattened to the back of the boy's head as he, too, slowly got to his feet, sword in one hand. Rather than try to attack him once more, the boy, who also happened to be his youngest son, sheathed the blade and gave him a curt bow.

 

“Father.”

 

“Inuyasha,” he nodded just as curtly. Golden eyes flashed angrily at him then quickly brightened as the human female approached them.

 

“Is everything all right?” she inquired. “I heard some yelling . . .”

 

“We're fine, Mother,” his son replied, walking up to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Father was just teaching me a new attack with the Tetsusaiga. That's all.”

 

“I see . . .”

 

“Relax, beloved,” InuTaisho murmured. “I'm not about to hurt our son.”

 

He took his mate's hand into his and gave it a kiss. Inutaisho then waved his hand at his son, dismissing the boy. Their son quickly scampered off, silvery-white hair trailing behind him. He then dismissed Izayoi's ladies-in-waiting, much to their disappointment. Once they were alone, InuTaisho pulled her close and nuzzled her neck.

 

“Now,” he purred, “what is it that you wish to talk to me about?”

 

“And what makes you think I wanted to talk about something?” she giggled.

 

“Because you came all the way out here to see me rather than wait for me inside the palace,” InuTaisho pointed out.

 

Her eyes sparkled as she tried to feign indignation. However, she couldn't manage. She burst into another a fit of giggling.

 

“You know me far too well, koishii,” she stated, sighing softly and looking troubled all of a sudden. InuTaisho frowned at that. He hated to see his mate sad.

 

“What is it, beloved?”

 

“I've talked with Shinsei . . . he says your theory was confirmed . . .”

Izayoi trailed off at that, biting her lower lip. InuTaisho nodded as she spoke, understanding her concern. He was concerned as well but also very elated. If his theory was confirmed then he now had a solution to one of many of his problems, though only a tiny solution. Now he just needed to find a way to pull what it was that he had in mind.

 

-

 

InuTaisho happened to be one of the most powerful rulers that Japan had ever seen, next to his siblings and his father, who had ruled before them. Like his father before him, he tried his best to lead by example, and to be fair and compassionate to his subjects. It proved to be trying at times but there wasn't anything else that he'd rather do. He had been born and bred to be a ruler, and he intended to be the best ruler that he could be, even if it meant unsavoury decisions at times.

 

Because of his royal status, InuTaisho had been set up in an arranged mating with the daughter of another inuyoukai noble. Not that he'd minded. His mate, Yashira, had possessed an ethereal beauty of the rarest sort and also had possessed a very kind heart, something most inuyoukai females lacked. He'd loved her very much, more than life itself, and had been extremely grateful when she'd given birth to a son, Sesshomaru, for him.

 

The boy himself had been rather stunning to look at upon his birth. InuTaisho knew that, as Sesshomaru got older, that his son would only become more and more beautiful, and the boy's strength and power would increase. Many would desire his heir, most seeking alliance but all of them seeking Sesshomaru's power and natural beauty.

 

What those seeking alliance didn't know was the extent of InuTaisho's cleverness and intelligence as well as the intelligence of Yashira. While she'd been alive, Yashira had a say in everything that her son had been taught, including fighting techniques and learning how to tell when someone was truly interested in him . . . or just seeking him out for political gain. After all, those seeking political alliance were more than capable of turning on those they called allies. It had happened before.

 

Then the unexpected had happened. Yashira, who had a tendency to accompany her mate into battle, had died trying to protect both himself and Sesshomaru. Why Sesshomaru had been there, InuTaisho could no longer recall but he knew this. The boy had been devastated to see the death of his mother at the hands of someone who had clamoured, and won, political alliance with his parents. InuTaisho had been as equally devastated, if not more so than his son. They'd both lost someone dear to them. Yashira had been expecting InuTaisho's second pup.

 

Time had passed. Sesshomaru grew cold and distant while InuTaisho did his best to keep his emotions in check. Yashira's loss had been hard and they'd dealt with it the only way they'd figured on how.

 

That was before Izayoi, his current mate, had entered their lives. She'd offered them a ray of warmth that had been lacking since Yashira's demise. InuTaisho would never forget his first mate. It would have been impossible. She'd captured his heart and had sparked something within him that he believed to be wonderful, and she'd given him a son that any male would have been proud to have. For that, InuTaisho would be eternally grateful to the female inuyoukai. Izayoi, in his mind, continued to bring out that something wonderful within him, and InuTaisho knew that he'd die for her, just as he would have for Yashira.

 

At first, Sesshomaru had been less than kind towards the woman and had done his absolute best to make her uncomfortable in her new home. His behaviour had been less than . . . princely, in InuTaisho's opinion. However, it hadn't been until after he'd sat down and talked with his son that he learned the true problem. Sesshomaru did not want his father to forget his mother, something that simply wasn't possible. His son had become a living embodiment of his deceased mate. He saw her every time he looked at Sesshomaru, and had hoped that Yashira was happy and at peace, wherever she may have gone to in the afterlife.

 

The situation itself had been rather easy to remedy. After he'd reassured his son that he'd never forget Yashira, not for as long as he lived, Sesshomaru had warmed up some to Izayoi, especially after she'd told him that he'd have a sibling soon enough.

 

Things, for a while, had become peaceful in his household . . . until after his youngest son had gotten older. Then the contrast between the two became painfully clear. Sesshomaru had maintained his cold and aloof demeanor. Inuyasha, the name he and Izayoi had decided upon, had more of a carefree spirit. Because of those contrasts, the two clashed on several occasions. He and Izayoi had become very hard pressed to keep the two from fighting and going for each other's throats. In time, InuTaisho had learned that it was the boys' way of expressing their affection for each other. If they weren't arguing with each other or teasing, they weren't happy. It was a harmony that he couldn't have ever dreamed of happening.

 

`And that's what I'm counting on,' he thought, taking his mate into his arms and leading her back into the castle. `It's the only way I can keep our bloodline going. Otherwise, we will cease to exist.'

 

While he had three brothers, two older and one younger, none of them had mated with their intended females. The females had either died before the mating ceremonies could take place or turned traitor to the alliance - the battle that had taken Yashira's life had been caused by his brother Kenmaru's intended mate - leaving InuTaisho the only one with an heir. It was entirely possible that someday his brothers might find suitable females to mate with but InuTaisho wasn't going to wait for them. He needed to secure the bloodline while he still could. Izayoi's news from Shinsei had given him just what he needed.

 

Too bad none of the other lords were going to like it.