InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Waning Moon ❯ Heir ( Chapter 19 )

19. Heir

“But sire, you are in need of an heir if you wish for your branch of the family to remain as the future rulers of the West. Your cousin, Teijo, isn't being at all shy about his will to be the next ruler. He is starting to claim that my Lord is sterile.”

Sesshomaru sends a long, intense, frostbitten stare towards his advisor, for mentioning his family, for mentioning his cousin's opinions, for worrying, for living. He is tired of hearing about this subject; he knows he must have an heir, he knows all about every rule the coucil has created. But he has a mate, and his said mate is far too protective to allow him to sleep with another. Sesshomaru doesn't wish to share a bed, even for one night, with a willing demoness, but he will bend to the council's whims because he knows and acknowledges that he must. Inuyasha, however, will not.

“I will not speak with you on this matter, Kazuo, when this Sesshomaru has already given you his answer. Now,” Sesshomaru's striding doesn't cease, but he speeds up as he nears his and Inuyasha's quarters, “Leave me be. I must speak with my mate.”

The advisor halts and bows before turning and walking in the direction opposite Sesshomaru. The demon Lord hears an exasperated sigh, but pays it no mind; his advisors shouldn't worry over matters he is taking charge of.

Sesshomaru isn't at all surprised to find that Inuyasha is tormenting an aging Jaken mercilessly as he enters their bed chambers; he seems quite happy flicking the toad's forehead, sending him across the floor and making him squawk irritably. With a stare and a monotonously delivered order, Jaken leaves the room, sulking and nursing his bruising forehead. He has become much moodier since Rin's passing and seems content to treat Inuyasha as he had Sesshomaru's human daughter. Unfortunately, the half-breed will not stand for being treated like an inferior imbecile, unfortunately he is unlike Rin in many ways.

Inuyasha watches him carefully, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Sesshomaru wastes no time with the pleasantries of 'hellos' or 'how are yous' and cuts Inuyasha off before the half-breed is able to utter a sound, “You're stubbornness is destroying my reputation and is causing the council to have second thoughts on my ability to rule, Inuyasha.” His mate is put off, Sesshomaru is sure of that from the expression on his face: the way his brows furrow and his mouth slants into a frown. The half-breed's mouth opens again and he once again attempts to speak, “Enough. You will not change my mind. You will allow me to bed the woman the council has chosen without interruption. Seeding an heir will only take one night, two to be sure. I'm sure you can control yourself for that long.”

By the time Sesshomaru's instructions are complete he is kneeling in front of Inuyasha, his hand bracing the under side of the half-breed's jaw, tilting Inuyasha's head up so the fiery, rebellious eyes his brother owns are forced to look into his own icy ones. Their faces are not even an inch apart and Sesshomaru finds that he must force the urge to press his lips against his mate's away.

“I don't share.”

Sesshomaru growls lowly at Inuyasha's answer and the look of arrogance that is usually only present on his own face, “You have no choice, half-breed. My status as Lord puts me far above you, despite our sharing of Father's blood; I can have you thrown from my lands with a single command. I am able to have you sealed to a tree like your damned priestess had you!”

Inuyasha expression crumbles for only a moment, allowing Sesshomaru to see just how angry his words have made him. But Inuyasha returns to being smug, a small smirk gracing his lips as Sesshomaru feels his mate's hands grasp onto his hips and tug him forward. Inuyasha is incredibly lucky the Lord had opted to not wear his armour that morning; he would have had spikes bedded within his chest had he worn it.

Inuyasha's actions have Sesshomaru surprised; he has never encountered anyone that would not follow his orders and would instead tease him as Inuyasha does now. The half breed has taken to cradling Sesshomaru, as though he were nothing but a pup in need of comfort, in his lap. He has his right arm wrapped around the Lord's shoulders, the other laying contently on his abdomen, fingers twitching and sliding over his silk kimono. The half-breed's face bears an amused expression.

It infuriates Sesshomaru.

The demon Lord releases a deep, warning growl and he doesn't hesitate to capture the hand reaching for his left cheek, “Enough. You will stop.”

But the half-breed doesn't and once again, Sesshomaru finds himself cursing his lack of a limb as Inuyasha's right hand brushes against the magenta stripes on his right cheek. His breath catches in his throat, his head tilts back and strains towards his mate's hand, his muscles slacken. Sesshomaru can feel his skin heat almost unbearably. How humiliating, his own body will not obey his commands…

“I won't share you with a woman of any sort, for any reason. You're my mate, despite our lack of a mating mark.” Sesshomaru's eyes are clenched shut as he attempts to regulate his breathing to its usual calm manner, despite the swipe of claws against his cheek every few seconds. He hears and feels Inuyasha chuckle as it reverberates around the half-breed's chest, “You'll live longer than me, you can sleep with who ever you want then.”

“You will allow me to do so now.” Sesshomaru orders shakily. He gasps again as Inuyasha's claws slide over the magenta stripes on his wrist, before the hand moves to intertwine their fingers lovingly.

Sesshomaru will not contemplate giving in and allowing the slowly questing lips kissing and sliding along his throat, then his jaw, force him into submission. Instead, as Inuyasha's lips fit snugly over his own, he forces poison into his claws, causing his hand to glow a florescent green. Inuyasha has him thrown from his lap immediately.

“What the fuck?” The half-breed curses, cradling his now burnt hand. Sesshomaru eyes it critically, thinking little of the wounds he can see there; they could have been a lot worse, they will heal quickly. “What the fuck was that for? Is that what I get for caring about my mate?” Inuyasha is outright yelling as he moves into a crouch, his eyes narrowed as he glares at Sesshomaru, who is also crouching, his knees resting lightly on the ground. They are both wary of an attack; they both know they have dangerous tempers.

The demon Lord doesn't blink, he won't, as they start a battle between them with their eyes. It is a common occurance, especially over the past few months, when the topic of an heir bloomed between them. “You will not cause this Sesshomaru to be seen as a joke! The council wish for me to produce an heir, and you will not interfere; they are beginning to think me incapable!"

“Fuck the council! You've never cared about the opinions of others; You've a half-breed as a brother and now, as a mate! You're mine! And I'm not going to let some demon bitch sleep with you just so you can keep your fucking reputation in tact!”

“It is my reputation, I hold dearest, mate! It has been the only constant within my life and I will have it stay that for a few more centuries to come!”

Slowly, surprisingly, Sesshomaru finds that Inuyasha's ears droop as though he is extremely miserable. Sesshomaru hasn't seen him like this since the day the human preistess in the strange kimono left this world. His voice is quiet when the Inuyasha finally speaks, “You threw your reputation out the window for Rin, when you adopted her as your charge. Why the hell can't you do the same for me? I'm your mate.”

The demon finds he doesn't have an immediate answer, and that he must remain silent for a few minutes in order to gather and sort through his thoughts. He knows what his mate is talking about; he understands perfectly that his brother should be jealous of his acceptance of Rin, the human girl that was the first creature to not be afraid of him. Even Inuyasha was shaky when he first met him. But they will never be the same, Sesshomaru can never consider them in the same way; Inuyasha is the half-breed who's birth and mother caused his Father's most dispicable death, he cannot forget that. And Sesshomaru has always found it hard to forgive.

Carefully, he pieces together a reply, one he is sure Inuyasha will not like, “You are male and I require an heir. That is something you cannot provide for me in the slightest, Inuyasha, no matter how stubborn you remain or how much you will yourself to help.”

The room, for the first time in a while, is silent, uncomfortably so. It is the kind of oppressive silence Sesshomaru usually basks in as a newly hired servant or a new young Lord meets him, but he doesn't appreciate its manifesting while he is in the presence of his mate, or the fact that it is making him feel strange. Sesshomaru knows the news is tearing at Inuyasha; he is far too human for his own good. He does not understand that seeding a child, an heir, is all apart of his duty as Lord of the Western Plains.

Sesshomaru eyes his brother's grey bangs, stained so because of his bathing habits earlier in his life. His personal hygiene has improved, the demon Lord is glad to acknowledge, but he curses their ability to seal Inuyasha's eyes from his own. He needs to know exactly what his mate is feeling; Inuyasha's eyes have always been full of too many emotions, like overfilled sake cups just waiting to spilt when knocked or touched the wrong way.

“Do you feel the need to seed a child, Sesshomaru?” Inuyasha's tone is dead, as though he has given up and Sesshomaru finds that he doesn't like it one bit. He has never heard his brother's voice so devoid of emotion and will. He once again curses his brother's bangs, the half-breed is still staring at the floor.

“I do.” He replies cautiously, levelly.

Inuyasha turns, so he is facing away from his mate, then raises his head, “Then I can't stick around. Send the toad once the kid's born, I'd like to meet my niece or nephew at least once in my life.” He strides, much like the he himself does, Sesshomaru realises idly, over to the window before he hops onto its sill. Inuyasha's tone is bitter as he turns to glance at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru knows there is a deep, burning hatred within those golden eyes; it is the only emotion he has ever been able to name easily, without thought.

“See you later, you bastard.”

The demon Lord doesn't reply, he doesn't move, he doesn't hear, he doesn't feel and he is sure he doesn't breathe for sometime as Inuyasha leaps from the window and bounds away, out of his home's large gates, into the forest and further. His mate has left him and Sesshomaru feels numb; he never thought Inuyasha would run from a problem, run from him.

He doesn't know whether he is glad that the half-breed is gone, or whether it is his ignored heart aching so unbearably for his half-breed, ignorant, annoying, heathen for a half-brother and mate to return. However, he is sure he is also feeling hatred towards Inuyasha, just as the half-breed is feeling towards him. He hates him for causing such confusion in him, for invoking such a potent and painful reaction, for thinking he will change when he has - for so long, for all of Inuyasha's life - been cold and unmoving when it came to his brother.

Idly, once he is capable of moving - even as slow and distantly as he is, his mind hidden within itself as he muses and remembers and curses - he thinks he ought to call his future son Inuyasha; he is proving to be as troublesome as his uncle is.