InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Topsy Turvy ❯ Requiem ( Chapter 6 )

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Note- Hooray! The term paper is dead! I can actually start writing things again. And those stories that I have promised to people…they will be written. Yay! I am so excited!

 

Synopsis- The…errr…swinging past of InuT, and more of asshole!Sesshomaru.

 

Beta- unbelievable Demitria Miriam, to whom I am eternally grateful for editing another long ass chapter

 

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha. However I do own yaoi doujinishi and that is almost as good as the real thing.

 

Warning- Darkest chapter yet. I promise you, this is the darkest one you will see. Things must get worse before they can get better. I know I know. I want to smack Sesshomaru too sometimes. I am such an angst whore.

 

The memory of Inutaisho - 200 years into the past

 

Inutaisho wiped the blood from his gaze, the white fur on his paws growing matted in the coagulation. His canine body had sustained heavy wounds; a jagged gash was carved into his side, showing the vestiges of pearly bone in the crevasse. Bending over, more pain shot through his body, at least four broken ribs screamed in disapproval. He cursed as he transformed back into his weaker human form, where he could conserve his youki and heal.

 

The dog lord stabbed the blade of the Tenseiga into the ground, so that he could hold up his injured form upon it.

 

Please, give me strength to do what is right, he murmured to the sword, feeling the blue aura being called to his soul. Please, someone, tell me that what I am doing is right. The hilt of the sword was slippery from the blood gushing from his finger tips, nearly preventing Inutaisho from keeping his grip. The space of raw skin where his claw once grew hurt like nothing he had ever experienced.

 

Inutaisho closed his eyes, focusing intently on the healing power of the sword. A new claw began to sprout, covering the smarting open sore.

 

I'm sorry Ryuu. This is just something that I had to do.

 

He opened one eye, finally daring to glance at the cliff that rose up to meet the sky. His lover's dragon arms were frozen in an absentminded clawing motion, the curve of his spine rearing up to his full height. The purple-scaled head lolled off to the side in charmed sleep, the silvery mane echoing Inutaisho's waving hair in the moonlight. At the center of it all, a giant claw, broken and uneven at the base, protruded through the heart of the slumbering dragon.

 

He needed just a few minutes now, the power of the sword had nearly healed everything. The only thing left was most of the open wound in his side, now just a deep cut; the bones had finally knit together. However, it would still be a while until his energy returned to normal. He hoped he had enough time just to seal the cut.

 

An icy pain stabbed through his heart.

 

No! It can't be! Please don't die! Inutaisho let go of the sword and panted heavily at the exertion of being away from the hilt. At least now he had the strength to stand up unaided when he fought. Again, that icy grip closed its claws around his soul. Hold on, my child. Your father is coming to save you.

 

The dog lord summoned back his inu form once again. He had to tell Sesshomaru what had happened here, even if his only son would fully disapprove of his actions. Well, the teenage inu youkai was his only son for now; he had no idea of the sex of his new child. He just could feel the pain of the pup squirming in the womb of its mother, the blood that made up its demon half calling to the male who had mixed in his incomprehensible power.

 

Inutaisho looked first to the moon, then over his fluffy shoulder at his mate sealed to the cliff. He whined, bounding back to the dragon and nestled his muzzle in the mane. Tenderly, he licked the side of the long snout and the cheek of the pale mask in his forehead.

 

Please forgive me, my love. For tonight, for every time I have ever wronged you. I will come back for you and will pay any cost. But I will not allow it to die!

 

Could you ever kill your own son? Could you raise your sword and drive it deep into Sesshomaru's chest? If his life blood ran over your hands at your own doing, could you ever live another day on this earth, not believing that you should rot in hell?

 

He felt the presence of another full-blooded demon nearby. Sesshomaru. Before he rescued his newborn child, he had to tell his eldest the truth. Casting one last look at Ryuukotsusei, he howled painfully into the heavens.

 

Ryuu, I will always love you.

 

The great inu hurtled headlong into the forest, towards the young teenager who stood sulking in sheltered meadow.

 

“Sesshomaru!” Inutaisho called to his son.

 

Sesshomaru looked up at his father, confusion welling up in his eyes. “Where is he?”

 

“Son, when you have children of your own, you will understand why I had to do what I did tonight.” The older inu morphed back into human form.

 

Sesshomaru's eyes grew wide as he noticed the blood that had soaked through his father's kimono, staining the white fabric closest to the rim of his armor. It now dribbled down his arm onto the insides of his gauntlet straps.

 

“You killed him, didn't you. I can't believe you! You killed your own mate. YOU KILLED MY REAL FATHER!”

 

“SILENCE!” Inutaisho barked. He couldn't believe that Sesshomaru could have accused him of such a heinous crime. The wound in his side began to throb again with his overexertion.

 

“I could never do such a thing,” he whispered as he panted. “I love him. Kami-sama, I sealed him to the sacred cliff of Musashi.”

 

Sesshomaru looked away from him. “I'm not as stupid as you'd like to think I am. I know you that have been fighting a lot recently. What have you done to him?” Sesshomaru questioned.

 

Inutaisho bit his lip. He was going to have to find out sooner or later. “I have a child from another. A mortal woman. I saved her life once, and things just happened.”

 

“What?”

 

“I had no idea that I could bear a child with a mortal woman. How was I supposed to know that I could impregnate her when I have had the experience of carrying you in my body, nourishing you with my own flesh and blood?”

 

Sesshomaru closed his eyes. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Spurred on by his son's silence, Inutaisho continued on.

 

“She was vulnerable and needed my love. I didn't think one night of strictly physical love would change anything. Unfortunately, she was a princess and she fell in love with me, so her pregnancy was regrettably high profile. Her betrothed is very angry and is threatening to kill both her and my son. They may even be dead already.”

 

The blood poured even stronger down the inside of Inutaisho's arm. Hurry. Please just say something.

 

“You cheated on my father, and now you expect me to help you save your bastard child and his whore of a mother.”

 

Inutaisho gulped. “Yes. I know I screwed up, but I believe that, as a family, we can fix everything again. I love you, I love Ryuukotsusei, and I love my unborn child, along with the mother of that pup, if even it is just because she carries my seed in her womb.”

 

For the first time in his life, he saw venomous hatred spring behind Sesshomaru's gaze. All the warmth from his body seemed to stop, being cased by invisible scales. The inu teen thrust out his chest, making the dog lord nearly gasp with recognition of this aggressive posture. Sesshomaru had instinctively shown Ryuukotsusei's initial battle stance.

 

“I refuse,” he sneered.

 

Inutaisho turned his back to his son, gazing once more at the sky. He had hoped that the full moon would bring out the most doglike of his characteristics, the will to protect one's family, the need to fight for the love of another. How wrong he was.

 

Another spirit attack lanced through his core. Damn it! I don't have much more time here. Please, just let me survive long enough to save my pup!

 

“Do you have something to protect?” He called over his shoulder to his son. The twin fluffy pelts from his shoulders waved in the wind. Inutaisho didn't really expect Sesshomaru to answer. Kami, I know I do.

 

“If how you cast aside Ryuukotsusei is the way you protect someone, I want no part. I love no one. I feel only duty and the desire for power.” The waves of the ocean crashed nearby, adding an even more ominous tone to the young demon's words.

 

The older inu took a deep breath. Gain a child, lose another. Out of the corner of his vision, Inutaisho noticed Sesshomaru eyeing the three swords that poked out from his obi. Instinctively, he placed a bloody gauntleted hand over the three hilts. Oh, no. Not this, too.

xXx

 

Sesshomaru curled tighter against his fluffy. He tried to open his eyes, but he was just so groggy. He didn't remember ever coming back to his room last night, let alone wrapping himself in the mokomoko-sama. Perhaps his mating had never happened after all. No. That couldn't be right. He never remembered his dreams. Why would he start now?

 

The inu youkai finally awoke enough to look around his surroundings. He had been wrapped in a silk sheet and was lying crossways on the bed, as if somebody had just put him there. Other than that, he had no idea how he had happened to end up in his room. After that night had happened, his memory blanked out as to what went on after being hugged face first into Inuyasha's chest. Sesshomaru sighed. No matter. What is done is done. What must happen is only the beginning.

 

He didn't really feel like going anywhere, or doing anything; his bed just called him back again and again as he attempted to sit up.

 

Who am I kidding? I deserve a day off. Everyone else can just fuck off. However, he knew that eventually somebody would try to pull him out of his room. Summoning up enough energy to break the fluffy comfort of his bed, he locked his door, moving his dresser over in front of it. Several large trunks braced the dresser for even more support. Pleased at his accomplishment, he flopped back into his bed, this time squirming under the covers and covering his head with his fluffy pelt to keep out the light. He felt like shit; he wasn't going anywhere.

 

After the demon had finally fallen asleep, he was roused to the living once more by an incessant itch. Sure that it must be some fluke of nature, he rubbed his cheek into his pillows before flipping onto his other side. There it was again! This time, he scratched at his cheek with his long inu claws, yielding a tiny youkai that jumped into the palm of his hand.

 

Sesshomaru clapped his hands together, squashing the flea's body for old time's sake. “Myouga. What are you doing here?”

 

“I flew in the window, my lord. After you had been asleep for two days…my master began to worry about his eldest son.”

 

“Two days?!”

 

“Why yes. Inutaisho-domo said that you had some sort of allergic reaction, and wanted me to check on you every few hours. He and Inuyasha have been worried sick, but of course, there are matters of empire to attend to…Inuyasha is out hunting for the third night dinner, and your father is in a meeting with some very important diplomats. Of course, I am here because tasty blood is what I love. And of course, if it comes with my job description, I must oblige.”

 

Sesshomaru blinked his eyes. Two days. TWO DAYS! I'm going to kill that bastard once I get a chance. An allergic reaction my ass! An allergic reaction to dragon claws! Once again, he attempted to rouse himself by stretching out. He really felt out of sorts with himself, almost as if his energy didn't belong completely to him at all.

 

“Now that you are up,” the flea continued. “I will tell your father that you are well enough for the Dinner of Decision. I must go now. He will be most pleased. Not to mention that Inuyasha will be so happy to see you well again, my lord.”

 

Dinner. The word repulsed Sesshomaru, why he did not know. The mere thought of food just made him want to barf. He didn't want to know what would happen if he actually saw food. Damn the poison.

 

“I do not believe that I will be attending. Please tell them that I send my finest sympathies with that message,” Sesshomaru said sarcastically. “If somebody hadn't exposed me to poi- er, I mean an allergen, I wouldn't be feeling quite so ill.”

 

“Nonsense. I just tasted your blood. Your youki has already full recovered from its battles. You will be fine in a few hours.”

 

“What's that supposed to mean?” Myouga just smiled as he looked at the young lord. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing in that very room. Sometimes, it paid to be a flea.

 

“Oh, it's probably nothing. I'm sure it has to do with something else, as I taste no toxin, but what do I know, I am just a flea.” Giving a hasty bow, he flew as fast as he could to the Lord of the West. He couldn't wait to tell his secret to him. Even though it was technically against protocol for the Lord to know about this before the dinner, Myouga was sure that he would burst and tell the entire castle if he didn't say something to somebody!

 

At the flea's departure, Sesshomaru stood up so that he might go to the baths. He must have had a troubled sleep; sweat made his hair and his sheet cling to every part of his body. Quickly, he dropped the sheet in favor of a light yukata, and went to go down into the private bath that his father kept near his quarters.

 

Ugh! Now he had a headache. What else was going to go wrong? Everything about him just felt awful. His legs and back ached, and he was tired, not to mention the nausea he was experiencing right at this moment.

 

No poison! The flea had to be telling him quite the whopper to keep up his father's untarnished image. Damn it! He was in such a foul mood.

 

Finally, he reached his father's room and descended the stairs that led to the only private bath in the entire castle. For all the ladies and gentlemen that he invites over to spend the night. Sesshomaru snickered inwardly at the thought. If his father so much as thought about dallying with courtesans…

 

The water was a pleasant temperature; the water level rose over his body with every step he took deeper. How amazingly light he felt suspended in the pool. Reaching over for the soap that rested upon a stone ledge, he began to wash the grime from his hair and body.

 

Much better. Now he could stand to look at himself in the mirrors that lined the walls. The dirt and shame was now gone from his body. He stood up fully and walked to the shallow end so that he might admire himself in the mirrors, in which the parallel reflection echoed Sesshomaru's perfection an infinite amount of times. He loved this room.

 

Sesshomaru frowned. Something was slightly off. But what was it? He stared more intently at his reflection, annoyed that something dared blemish his image. He didn't look quite so strong and powerful today; some of his harder edges had rounded slightly.

 

By all this inactivity over the past two days, did I gain weight?

 

The dog youkai rubbed his abdomen as he wondered. How much did I gain? Five, ten pounds? Why did this day keep getting worse for him?

 

Still rubbing in the absentminded circle, he thought harder. This is ridiculous. If I have been asleep for two full days, then I have not eaten in two days. I couldn't have gained weight. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. The only thing that could make his day worse would be that dinner, if by some strange quirk of nature he was declared…

 

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed open and he moved his other hand down to rest on his stomach.

 

The aches and pains. The nausea. The fatigue. The weight.

 

Oh, no you don't! No. No! NO! He had to do something and do it quick. Looking over his shoulder into his father's room, he noticed the swords lying in their racks. The panicked inu demon did not know how he was going to do this; he just knew it had to be done. With a shaking hand, he reached for the Tetsuseiga and unsheathed it.

 

Oh well. He thought. No pain, no gain.

 

xXx

 

“Hey! Have you finished your business for today, yet?” The inu hanyou called out.

 

“Yeah.” Inutaisho waved to his son, who was walking towards him with a freshly killed buck slung over his shoulders. “Nice kill. You don't see many regular eight pointed stags in this area of the forest anymore. The demon ones have nearly forced the native deer out.”

 

Inuyasha shifted the deadweight to be a little more comfortable. “Today must be a special day.”

 

“Indeed it is. I hope your mate is awake. No matter how stubborn he is, I'll never feel right without his constant dyspeptic countenance sulking around.” Inutaisho smiled nervously.

 

“Yeah. Just between you and me, I'm a little afraid to see him. Do you think he hates me?”

 

“No. He can't hate you. You marked each other. If he hated you, he would hate himself.” Inutaisho ran a hand to smooth out the sides of his ponytail. “If he's going to be angry with anyone, it will be me.”

 

“You?”

 

“Yes, me. None of this would have happened without me. I live my life to be the devil's advocate, but this time, I may have outdone myself.”

 

Ever since Sesshomaru hadn't awoken, Inutaisho's sense of security had faltered. Yes, he had made Inuyasha fall for Sesshomaru, but he hadn't anticipated the consequences of the powder.

 

I should have told Inuyasha only to use a tiny amount, or maybe I shouldn't have tried to raise Inuyasha's spirits beforehand. He knew the basics of what would have happened, he just didn't know to what scale. Besides, he had never used it on his son, only his dragon mate had used it in the direst of situations. I just try to do what I think is right, but it just never goes the way I planned. Because of my stupid impulses, I break my family apart. Without even trying, I hurt Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, just like I hurt Ryuukotsusei. Boy do I have a talent for fucking up.

 

“Dad, you have nothing to worry about. You always get him to do what you want. I think you're the only demon who can.” Inutaisho looked into the idolizing gaze of his youngest son.

 

“No, I don't.” Inutaisho remembered very clearly the one and only time Sesshomaru had directly refused him aid. “And that time, I betrayed him very badly, too.”

 

Inuyasha looked puzzled. My father couldn't betray anything. “You haven't betrayed anyone. Sesshomaru was probably being a bastard that time, anyway.”

 

“No, that's not it. As hard as it may seem, he hasn't always been cold. He is cold because of me.” The Lord of the West looked towards the sun in the east, just simply thinking. “Here, deliver that animal to the kitchens so that it may be cleaned for dinner. Come right back. There's some place I would like to show you.”

 

Inuyasha sprinted to the castle, his super speed allowing for his return in under a minute. “So, where are we going?”

 

Inutaisho faced the east. “Jump on my back, I can fly us there with very little time to lose.”

 

Throwing his arms around his father's neck, the hanyou held on tight as they rocketed towards the unknown destination together, encased in a blazing ball of light. Inutaisho focused on the inward pull of is heart to guide him. Take me there.

 

Inuyasha could have sworn that he suffered whiplash from the sudden landing. As he rubbed his neck, he surveyed the landscape. There was a beach that stretched as far as he could see in all directions, hissing as the waves crashed down on the rocky shore. Great chalky granite cliffs broke upward from the ground, dwarfing the two inu demons. Inuyasha knew that the cliffs would even belittle his father in true form.

 

“This way.” Inutaisho steered Inuyasha through the maze of rocky outcroppings. “He's over there.”

 

He's over there? Who's he? After moving through two more pairs of jutting rocks, the ground plateaued in front of one of the massive cliffs. Inuyasha gasped. He had known that the dragon Ryuukotsusei had been sealed to a cliff, and done so by his father, but seeing it was something completely different. He ran over to the dragon's side and poked the long scaly tail that lay curled on the ground. The circumference was so great that the tail stood as high as the hanyou's waist.

 

Inutaisho gazed up at his love, but did not dare come near him. If he did so much as touch the ryuu youkai, he was sure that he would rip out the claw in the desperation caused by two hundred years of sleeping alone.

 

“I bet you are wondering why I brought you here.”

 

“Well, ummm sure,” Inuyasha mumbled as he tried to take in the dragon's enormous size. “I specifically remember you telling me not too long ago that you refused to speak about your sex life with your sons.”

 

The youkai sat down upon a rock. “Maybe I lied a little. I know the last time that I made that promise, I nearly lost Sesshomaru, and my life.”

 

“Why did you do it?” Inuyasha walked back over to his father's side and plopped down next to him. If your mate drove you crazy, what will that make of Sesshomaru and I?

 

“Well, it is a long story.” The dog lord took a deep breath. Since he had sealed Ryuukotsusei, this tale had stayed locked inside him; a burden long since needing fresh air. Sesshomaru would never be able to listen to it, but he had faith that Inuyasha would have sympathy.

 

“About 200 years ago, I had a fling with a mortal woman; her name was Izayoi, your mother. I never hid this from my mate, in fact I told Ryuu that I had saved a young maiden and she had offered herself to me as a token of her love and appreciation.

 

“Ryuu was good humored and would joke around about it saying, `Hey stud, maybe you should bring her around sometime and see if she can stand the power of a full-blooded dragon.'

 

“After that night, I continued to see her; it was thrilling for me to be with her. She praised my strength, my courage, and my control over her. This was new for me. Because I had always been the softer partner in my mating with Ryuukotsusei, this newfound power was exhilarating. Soon, I was making clandestine trips to see her at least once a week.”

 

Inuyasha was transfixed. Realizing that his son had nothing to say, Inutaisho continued.

 

“Ryuu really didn't mind. In fact, there were a few courtesans that we kept at court, just in case we felt like mixing things up. Hell, I even planned on telling her about Ryuu and letting them meet. We were loyal to one another; experimenters, yes, but loyal.”

 

Inuyasha still sat there in silence. My father was a manwhore? Inutaisho couldn't help but grin like an idiot at his son's expression. They were all adults here.

 

“One day, Izayoi did not show up when she was supposed to meet me. Curious as to where she had gone, I looked for her, only to find her scent inside of a castle on the far borders of my land. I waited for night to fall, before I climbed up the walls to see her.

 

“As soon as she saw me, she began to cry.

 

“`Inutaisho,' she said. `I am to be married to the Lord Takemeru of Setsuna. I can never see you again. I have never told you, but I am a princess, and as such, I am not allowed to marry who I love.'

 

“I felt a little relieved, because I had the sneaking suspicion that she was falling in love with me.

 

“But what she told me next, was what scared me more than anything. She said that she was pregnant with my child, and that she wanted me to rescue her from Takemaru, because if he ever found out, she would be dead. I didn't know what to do. In fact, I didn't even realize that I could still have children with females; being mated with a male still did not change this fact.

 

“I told Ryuu about Izayoi's situation, but he was indifferent about it.

 

“`It's just a mortal girl,' he said. `And the child is only a hanyou. His life would be so miserable because he would be unable to fit in one world or the other, and her life is short as it is.'

 

“However, dogs have always been the companions of men, and I couldn't forget this woman and the child of mine she carried. I knew it was the blood bond that I shared with the pup, that little life force of mine in her womb. Ryuu and I began to fight more and more. We agreed to hide all of our personal disputes from Sesshomaru, but I know he could feel the tension that grew stronger between us.

 

“One day, I woke up with a strange feeling in my heart. It was telling me that I had a child being born. I hoped that I could sneak to Izayoi's castle to steal away the infant, preferably before Takemaru's men took siege of the castle where my pup would be born.

 

“I told Ryuu that I was going to take the pup and leave, so that the princess would be safe. However, he expressed other sentiments. He claimed that I cared more about Izayoi than I did about him. In his rage, he told me the child should die, because it was not born in our love, and that even if it was conceived by accident, we demons should not meddle in mortal affairs. A quarrel became a fight, and a fight ignited into a battle. I was badly wounded, but I managed to seal him to that cliff.”

 

Inuyasha just gaped at his father. “You mean, you sealed him to save me?”

 

The Lord of the West nodded. “You must remember. He is a dragon, and as such, he has a fiery temper. He didn't really want you dead, but he didn't want me to seek you out. He was threatened and understandably so. I just couldn't bear anything happening to my son, whether he was full demon or hanyou.” He spaced out in the direction of the charmed dragon. “Maybe I have been too soft my whole life. Ryuu never got himself into these kinds of problems. He was perfect.”

 

“Nobody's perfect, father.”

 

“Love makes us blind, Inuyasha. In my eyes, he will always be perfect.” Inutaisho sighed, getting ready to trudge on ahead in his story.

 

“Anyway, I managed to reach the castle, and was met by Lord Takemaru and his men. He challenged me to a fight, and I killed him as I entered the threshold of the castle doors. He bled to death after I sliced off his arm. When I reached you and your mother, you both had already been killed by Takemaru, so I used the Tenseiga to bring you back and carried you both home. I couldn't just leave Izayoi there, which had been my original plan. I had gotten there too late, and by then the hordes of men were beginning to burn the castle down.

 

“So, I brought her back to our fortress so that we could raise our son together, for the rest of her tiny lifespan. Because you would outlive her by millennia, I wanted to give you the longest memory of her possible.”

 

Inuyasha was officially stunned. He had never known this side of the story. He remembered his mother whispering tales of true love, and a gallant rescue from a burning castle, but little else. He wondered if Izayoi had ever known the darker hues of the tale.

 

No, probably not. Inuyasha thought. He tries so hard to protect everyone. Telling mother at that point probably would have only caused her grief.

 

The hanyou gazed at the pale face that adorned the dragon's head like a mask. It held little emotion, not even the look of passive sleep that most frozen demons took. Perhaps that is where his stoic sibling had gotten his mannerisms.

 

“What did Sesshomaru think of all this?” He wondered aloud. You know I have to ask.

 

Inutaisho smiled tightly, shaking his head. I was waiting for that one. “Well, the night you were born, I went to him to ask for help rescuing you, having been so badly injured in my fight with Ryuukotsusei, I did not think I could do it alone.

 

“Ryuu and I hid our problems from him, so that he could be a happy child. Perhaps we handled that wrong. Time was of the essence; I could only give him a short explanation about your mother and you. When I asked him to accompany me, he refused, saying that he would one day challenge me to a fight to my death.”

 

“Oh.” Inuyasha didn't really know what to say. He knew that it was a difficult subject for his father. He had sensed the complexity in his father's relationship with his older brother, but wasn't sure if it was a topic he even wanted to learn about. He switched the topic entirely, to something he now wondered.

 

“Did you love my mother?” As a child, he remembered the affection between the taiyoukai and the human while they would play with him, or tell him bedtime stories. He could still hear the butterfly whisper of his mother's voice when she called his father her dearest and see her standing on the very tips of her toes to kiss the demon's striped cheek. How did she fit into this mess of hearts?

 

“Of course I loved her. You don't have to be mated to someone to love them. I tried to do my best for her, after all, she was a mortal. I mourned her passing, but after she had left me, I still felt guilty for everything that had happened. Unsure of what to do, I just maintained the status quo. I left Ryuu on the cliff, raised you and Sesshomaru to the best of my abilities, and wondered about what might have been.”

 

Inutaisho looked up at the petrified body of his mate and put his arm around Inuyasha's shoulders. “You know, one day I'm gonna get the guts to take out that claw and get what's coming to me.” He began to laugh, softly at first, growing into hysterics. It wasn't until his lungs hurt and his face ached that he subsided, staring into the sea with a bemused look upon his face.

 

Yet again, Inuyasha was at a loss for words.

 

xXx

 

“Sire! Where have you been?” Inutaisho plucked the flea demon up off of his shoulder.

 

“Oh, just around. Having some father-son time.”

 

“I have been looking all over for you. I have some extraordinary news for you!.”

 

“Well, what is it?” The demon lord and his son looked at the flea in anticipation.

 

“Master Inuyasha, I am sorry, but this is for your father's ears only. It is strictly business,” Myouga gave a frantic look to Inutaisho.

 

“Ah, I see. I am sorry Inuyasha. I will catch up to you later.”

 

Inuyasha looked from his father to the flea and back to his father again, begging him to let him stay. Inutaisho shook his head. Finally, the half demon ran off in the vicinity of the castle.

 

“What needs my urgent attention, Myouga?”

 

“Well, this morning, I was looking for you to tell you that Sesshomaru had awoken. I sampled his blood and there is no trace of toxin left in it at all.”

 

“Excellent! You told him about the dinner, right?”

 

Myouga began to pace on the lord's palm. “Yes, I did. He does not wish to come. He still feels sick.”

 

Inutaisho furrowed his brow. “Sick? Why? He's slept enough, and you said the toxin was gone midday through yesterday.”

 

Myouga coughed. “Methinks my lord that your servant tasted something else in your son's blood. Or rather someone else. He did sleep past when the usual 3rd day rites would be.”

 

A ghostly pallor rose from the dog lord's toes, rising up the back of his spine. “You're kidding! That's impossible!” Too shocked and frightened to do anything else, Inutaisho chewed on the end of his claws, but stopped as he noticed the annoyance in the flea's expression. Of all the news I need today… “You don't think that…”

 

“Sire, I know for certain.” Myouga knew what this event implied for the Inu household.

 

The dog lord whispered between his fingertips. “Does he know?”

 

“Well, he kept blaming it on the poison, but he is a smart one when he can suppress his pride for long enough. I was hoping to tell you before he figured it out, just in case.”

 

“Right.” Inutaisho's heart began to race in his chest. No matter how much he was afraid of his son right now, he had to find him.

 

Sprinting to Sesshomaru's room, he found it to be empty. When he caught his son's most recent scent, he tracked it through the hallway, down the stairs, into the baths, and…into the Lord's chamber?

 

Carefully, he crept towards the door of his own room. Sesshomaru? What are you doing? Are you making a trap for me? Do you know of your condition? The room absolutely reeked of Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru, the iron of blood, and steel.

 

What the hell?

 

Inutaisho burst into the room, his feet splashing as they landed in some unknown liquid. Nobody came out to fight him. Cautiously, he surveyed the premises. Sesshomaru was propped up against the wall, apparently asleep, wearing absolutely nothing but his marks and crescent. Watching him slumber made Inutaisho feel a little less apprehensive, so he continued to look around. Somehow, Tetsuseiga was unsheathed, lying haphazardly on the floor, the tip trailing...

 

He stared down at the unmistakable purplish liquid at his feet. It was blood!

 

“Sesshomaru!” He knelt down beside his son, shaking his shoulders. Sesshomaru slapped his hands away from him and glared at the lord down the tip of his nose.

 

“It is so nice to see you, Father.” The demon's voice dripped with antagonism.

 

All this blood on the floor…thank goodness he's ok. “Sesshomaru, what happened in here? Why is the Tetsuseiga unsheathed?”

 

“It burned me, and I didn't feel like scorching my hand again putting it back,” Sesshomaru said sarcastically.

 

This is so odd. What the hell did he do? Inutaisho stared first at the puddle and then at Sesshomaru's unblemished skin. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but he was intercepted by the reclining inu.

 

“And as for the blood. Yes, it's mine.” He reached over for a robe that was hanging from a hook nearby and wrapped it about his shoulders. “I was hoping that if I let half of it pour out, maybe I wouldn't be your son anymore.”

 

Inutaisho felt the temperature in the room plummet. That last one stung. He cleared his throat. “Well, whether you like me or not right now, we still have to have the dinner. After losing so much blood, I am sure you are famished.”

 

Sesshomaru smiled eerily. “Contrary to what Myouga might have told you, I would like to attend the meal. I just can't wait to hear who is with pup.”

 

The young inu walked out of the door, taking care not to step in the lake of his blood.

 

“Because I know it's not me,” he growled after the fact. The padding of his feet echoed until the distance between father and son was too great to hear.

 

Inutaisho dipped his fingers in the blood and sniffed them. It smelled mostly of Sesshomaru, but a little like Inuyasha as well; not at all like the Sesshomaru who had just left the room now. Picking up the sword that neither of his sons could touch yet, he noticed the same mixture of scents coming from the blade. It made him sick to his stomach.

 

Inutaisho had all the evidence. He knew what had happened here. His vision cart wheeled as if somebody had removed all of the air in the room.

 

How could you do it, Sesshomaru?

 

Inutaisho looked back upon the days events, and cursed every moment that he spent with Inuyasha, ignoring that Sesshomaru slept in his drugged sleep. If he was there before and had tried to talk some sense into the boy…

 

Why must I always fail for you? Inutaisho knew he could never tell Inuyasha about this incident. Today, you dishonored not only me, my son, but, more importantly, your mate.

 

In Sesshomaru's rage he had failed to realize the consequences of his actions. The dog demon smiled bitterly. Just like my Ryuu.

 

Throwing back his head, Inutaisho let go an anguished howl that was trapped by the stone of the walls, a requiem for the innocent.

 

Ok! I promise, there will be less dark chapters. Just stick with me and I will pull you through, I swear. Review please! You know you wanna. Thanks a lot.

 

Now for my reviewers

Nekoyoukie- thanks a lot! I am glad that you are enjoying it. I'm glad that somebody recognizes that the reason why there is so much hate in this piece is because it really isn't hate at all. It's backwards love in all its forms.

 

CrimsonInHumanBlood- oh, boy. You will get your wish of the Sess torture. Ch 7 and Ch 8 are turning out…interesting to say the least. *grins* thanks for the review

 

Rin_sama1989- Thanks for the review. I am beginning to like the seme Inu too. He's not quite there yet, but Inuyasha will really find his own strength. After reading this chapter, I think you know why.