InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What Matters the Most ❯ All You need is Time ( Chapter 4 )

A\N: Hope everyone’s still enjoying the story. This chapter’s got a bit more of Sesshomaru’s POV.

-Honorelle - Lol, I’ve gotten worse receptions believe it or not. And don’t worry, I do plan to continue updating here, and it is likely that there will be a Mpreg later on. I also seriously doubt that you’re any weirder than the rest of us! ^_^ ~*~   All you need is Time

When Sesshomaru woke the next morning a strange scent was drifting through the air, filling his nose and stirring something deep within him that he couldn’t recognise.

It was a vaguely familiar scent, and yet he could not place it.

Slipping into a dark robe, he wandered out into the halls to find the source of the alluring scent, and was surprised when he ended up right outside Inuyasha’s bedroom door.

Pausing there, he sniffed the air.

The scent was strongest here, and was definitely coming from within his brother’s chambers, filling his nose in such an enticing manner that was just begging him to go to it.

The smallest trace of a frown crossed his noble features as he tried, and failed, to place the scent.

Sounds of the servants making their way toward the hallway were enough to startle him back to his senses, and he rushed away from there before he could get caught hovering around the hanyou’s door.

He returned to his rooms in an unfamiliar state of confusion, the scent following him with more strength than before, effectively distracting all coherent thoughts and sending them fleeing his mind, pushed aside by the gradually growing instinct to return and find the source of that scent.

He ignored this urge, deciding he would wait until after breakfast and then go and investigate the hanyou’s rooms to try and discover the source of the smell, and until then, he would put the matter out of his head.

Yeah, right.

The smell stuck to him all through his bath and distracted him so much, he actually attempted putting his leg through his haori sleeve before realising his mistake and quickly righting the error, nearly shredding the damn thing in the process.

Whatever that smell was, it was unsettling him, achieving that which even the most powerful youkai had failed to do, and he did not like it.

All the limbs in the proper garments, he stepped out of his room, gently closing the door, and turning, the smell washing over him with even more strength. He felt instantly drawn toward the hanyou’s rooms, and he growled low in confused irritation as his body actually took a step in that direction before he managed to regain control of it, and head down toward the kitchen instead.

His father and that wretch of a human he called “mate” were already there when he arrived. Izayoi smiled warmly at him (an action he did not return) and his father looked at him, almost as if expecting something.

When Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, the dog demon frowned then turned away to his mate and meal again.

Sesshomaru turned his attention toward his own meal, but was almost instantly distracted when his brother walked in, bringing Myouga and that alluring scent with him.

Sitting down at the table, Inuyasha completely missed the looks directed at him from pretty much all angles of the table, his attention fixed on the annoying insect on his shoulder, whom he glared at openly.

‘Alright, we’re here, now would you get off of me?’ He demanded. The flea gave him a small glare, then hopped off onto the table before leaping over to Inu no Taisho.

‘Hello Myouga.’ Izayoi said, smiling (something the ningen did entirely too much, in Sesshomaru’s opinion) as the flea passed by toward her mate. ‘My lady.’ Myouga said, giving a low bow, before hopping over onto his master’s shoulder and beginning to speak to the dog demon in a hushed tone that even Sesshomaru’s sensitive ears could not pick up on.

Inuyasha shook his head, then caught sight of his brother. Staring. At him.

Inuyasha’s eyes instantly narrowed in suspicion as he moved so that they were right in his brother’s line of sight, locking gazes for a moment, before Sesshomaru looked away, turning back to his meal. However, as the meal progressed, he could constantly feel and see his brother’s eyes flitting to him then back to his meal in a distinctly un-Sesshomaru like manner, and he could practically hear his nose twitch every time he took a breath. What’s more, his father was sitting at the end of the table, looking between the two and grinning like a mad man.

Now, where the latter was certainly unusual, if somewhat scary, the former was just downright disturbing, and Inuyasha was getting increasingly nervous with ever moment that passed.

And his only way to hide his nervousness was to get angry. So he did.

‘Dammit, what the hell is wrong with everyone?’ He finally snapped, startling his mother and making her jump, while his father’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Would you stop looking at me already?’ He demanded of his brother. Sesshomaru stared coldly back at him as though his case of wandering eyes was his fault ‘I mean it’s me ya know. You have seen me before!’

Before either brother could continue the fight about to erupt all over the place, Inu Taisho decided to intervene.

‘Inuyasha, you should not get angry at your brother, he is restraining himself very well. Many demons with less power would not have the will to resist your heat scent, especially since your mate has failed to claim you yet.’

Both brother’s froze, the comment about mates and claiming lost on them as they took in what Inu no Taisho had said before that. Inuyasha’s eyes grew comically wide as he stared at his father in disbelief. That ningen also had a look of surprise, though it was a much milder version of Inuyasha’s, on her face-- clearly unable to smell the alluring scent emanating off her son. Sesshomaru, of course, was keeping his mask of ice firmly in place, but underneath it was like a light bulb being turned on as he realised that that was what he had been smelling this morning. His little brother’s heat scent! How could he have been such a baka and failed to recognise it? Moreover, how could he had allowed himself to be drawn in by it?

His mind was protesting angrily, but inside his youkai was begging for him to take in more of the alluring scent. Or better yet, take the demon it was coming from, and he barely suppressed a growl that threatened to rumble out of his throat at the thought.

In truth, the heat had been slowly changing Inuyasha over the past few days, delicately and subtly altering things about him that would make him more appealing to possible mates. Besides his scent growing stronger and becoming more alluring, his hair and skin had also seemed to take on a softer effect and almost seemed to glow with some kind of strange light not normally belonging to the hanyou. His skin had also become paler, but tinted still with faint traces of tan and pink, an interesting combination that automatically drew attention to itself, and his cheeks seemed to have an almost permanent flush to them.

But his eyes were undoubtedly the most noticeable and captivating change in the hanyou. The deep golden orbs had seemed to become even more so, their colour seeming to soften and grow more intense at the same time, the pupils unnatural wide considering the light in the room, giving off a strange sort of helpless effect, and they practically seemed to radiate with light and a strange kind of innocence. If they had been strangely beautiful before, now they were positively breathtaking.

In fact, Inuyasha would probably be incredibly stunning, if he ever learned how to use a brush to take care of that mess of silver tangles and get rid of those damn fire-rat clothes he adored so much and put on a proper kimono.

The latter might not even be necessary.

Sesshomaru stiffened slightly. He did not just think that! Not about his stupid, useless, half-ningen brother!

Shaking his head slightly, he focused in on the conversation going on around him, which would likely be very amusing if Inuyasha’s temper and the expression on his face were anything to go on. And usually, they were.

‘What do you mean “heat?”’ Inuyasha demanded. He, of course, already knew what it meant for a demon to go into heat, but, since the topic was never much discussed, and since he never much cared to ask about it, his knowledge on it was very limited. All he knew was that it happened to all demon females once a year throughout the span of their lives and sometimes to demon males in certain clans. He had just never thought that the Inu’s might be one of those clans.

‘I mean exactly what I say, Inuyasha. You are the appropriate age to find a mate, your youkai is simply alerting the rest of the world to this fact.’ His father said, while Myouga jumped down and over to land on the dumb-struck Inuyasha’s hand.

‘It is true, Master Inuyasha.’ Myouga said from his perch on the back of Inuyasha’s hand. ‘Your scent will reach and effect all youkai within a very wide area. Even some humans within close proximity will be subconsciously drawn to you, though they will not understand why. The youkai will recognise their lust for what it is, but may not be able to control it if they get too close to you. Some may be driven entirely by it and will not hesitate to try and mate with you if they catch you alone. You’re better off staying inside the castle until it passes.’

Inuyasha swallowed the dry lump in his throat, not like the prospect of a bunch of sex-crazy youkai coming after him, wondering if any would actually try and force him to mate. He inwardly shuddered at the thought. He would rather mate with Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha blinked in surprise even as something within him silently cheered at the thought, and glanced over at his brother, who was gazing back at him with darkened eyes, obviously brooding over something.

He didn’t like that look in his brother’s eyes (or anybody’s for that matter) and he involuntarily shivered. Would Sesshomaru try and mate with him? And, if he refused, would Sesshomaru finally loose control if his lust got too powerful? Would his brother actually rape him?

The thought was terrifying and strangely exciting all at the same time, and he mentally glared at himself. ‘Sicko!’ He screamed and his uncaring youkai, who, even if he was unaware of it, seemed to be the cause of all of this in the first place. Why the hell should the prospect of mating with Sesshomaru be so damn thrilling all of a sudden?

Glowering, he turned his eyes back to the flea, who was now gorging himself of the blood in Inuyasha’s wrist.

Eyes narrowing further, Inuyasha slapped the flea, who made a strange gagging sound and seemed to start choking (though it was really hard to tell with a flea), two of his tiny hands flying up to clutch his throat as his eyes bulged slightly. Inuyasha watched in bemusement as the flea gagged and hacked on the blood. His blood.

Inuyasha contemplated that revelation for a moment, not entirely liking the idea of someone choking to death on his blood, then began to idly wonder exactly how someone (who wasn’t a flea) would go about choking on his blood.

When Myouga’s little fit finally ended, Inuyasha looked down in disgust at the small droplets of blood the flea had spat back out, and used his haori sleeve to wipe them away. ‘So how long is this supposed to last anyway?’ He demanded of the still heavily breathing flea, who looked up at him with slightly narrowed eyes, before speaking. ‘It usually lasts no longer than a week, sometimes two.’ The flea said, as Inuyasha’s eyes widened again.

‘A week?!’ He demanded, and the flea nodded. Inu no Taisho suddenly decided to speak, immediately drawing everyone’s attention to him. ‘That reminds me. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, we’ll be having some guests staying here this week-- a few rulers from the other lands-- so that we may make the announcement of your mating. Very important people will be there, including Lord Naraku’s two sisters, so I expect you two to be on your best behaviour.’ At the last he cast a very pointed look toward Inuyasha, while Izayoi stared at him in curiosity.

‘Will Lord Naraku not be coming himself?’ She asked, though she was really hoping that the answer would be no. Not much was known about the youkai other than he was very malicious and greatly feared by all the people he ruled over. She personally had no interest in having such a monster as that in her home.

However, she also had no real interest or knowledge in politics (a trait she had unwittingly passed on to her son), and if her mate thought that Naraku was a good alliance to have, then she was not one to interfere with that.

Inu Taisho shook his head. ‘No, not immediately anyway.’ He said, neither taking in the traumatized look that had spread over Inuyasha’s face at the mention of this gathering.

Sesshomaru noticed it, however.

Of course, he was noticing a lot of things about his brother at the moment (most of which had to do with his physical attributes), but the boy looked so stunned, confused, and terrified, and Sesshomaru was overcome by the suddenly overwhelming urge to protect his younger sibling.

Inuyasha was aware of none of this, to wrapped up in his own horror to notice his brother’s stare.

Living cooped up in a castle with his brother and the other people who resided there would be hard enough to endure during heat, but now he was going to have to deal with a bunch of foreign demons he had never met before, who would more than likely be drawn in by his scent-- some of which may be too powerful or tricky for him to stop. He would have to rely entirely on his brother or father’s presence to keep them at bay-- something he was not comfortable with in the least.

‘Inuyasha?’ Izayoi’s voice reached his ears, and Inuyasha jerked slightly, eyes moving to focus on her concerned face. ‘Are you alright? You look so pale...’ she said, her voice laced with worry.

‘I need some fresh air.’ Was all he said, before quickly rising from the table and leaving the room, not waiting to be excused. The other’s sat there for a while afterwards, before Sesshomaru slowly rose and followed at a much slower pace, though once he reached the door leading out of the dining hall, he seemed to deliberately go in the opposite direction that his brother had taken.

Inu no Taish let out a small frustrated growl at his sons actions. ‘Stubborn as mules, the both of them!’ He said, then caught sight of the amusement on Izayoi’s face.

‘And where do you think they get that from?’ She asked. The dog demon opened his mouth to reply, seemed to decide against it, and just shrugged his shoulders instead.

The two finished their meal mostly in silence, before the servants whisked away the remains, and Izayoi turned to face her mate again. ‘So, is it true that Inuyasha has gone into heat?’ She asked, slightly surprising the dog-demon, before he remembered that she could not smell or recognise any of the scents that came with a demon’s heat.

He gave a nod of his silver head. ‘The smell is all around him. He is definitely in heat.’ He said.

Izayoi bit her lip as Myouga’s words echoed in her mind, even as said flea approached them from where Inuyasha had left him on the table, still slightly swollen from his previous meal of her son’s blood.

‘Is it true that those demons will try and mate with him?’ She asked, the turmoil in her voice not escaping Inu Taisho’s ears. He gently placed his hand on her much smaller one, trying to comfort her in a matter that she could not possibly be expected to comprehend.

‘Do not worry, Izayoi. I would never put our sons in danger. The other youkai may be attracted to him, but, so long as he stays in the castle, he should be fine. I believe that, the more demon’s that approach him, the more protective Sesshomaru will become of his mate. Sesshomaru will not risk harm befalling the one who his youkai has chosen and accepted as his mate.’

Myouga glanced keenly up at his master as the words drifted down to his ears. ‘Ah, so its your plan to use this to draw the two brother’s together.’ The flea said, and Inu no Taisho chuckled.

‘You’re as sharp as every, Myouga.’ The dog demon lord said. ‘Yes, I am hoping to draw them toward one another. Because of the heat, Inuyasha will automatically search for protection in the one his youkai feels most comfortable around-- the one it chooses as his mate. Sesshomaru will be drawn to him naturally because of the heat scent, but also because his youkai will not let him stray far from his potential mate when there are so many other’s present who might try to steal what it now thinks as it’s own. Whether they have realised it or not, their youkai have already chosen one another as mates. It’s only a matter of time before they give into them. Though I think that Inuyasha’s human blood may make him a bit more resilient to his youkai than Sesshomaru-- even though both boys will likely fight it with all their might. Unfortunately for them, might it not a very useful weapon in a battle like this. Love, trust, and instinct are far more effective, and neither of them are very good and wielding them at this point.’

‘So you plan to force them together to intensify their youkai’s need for one another.’ Myouga said, and the dog demon nodded. ‘Eventually the feelings will grow until they can no longer fight it. They will be unavoidably drawn together.’

The flea nodded, sitting himself down indian-style on the table. ‘Now if we can only get them to realise that.’ He said, and Inu Taisho chuckled again.

‘Do not worry, Myouga, they will.’ He said assuredly. ‘All they need is time.’ ~*~  

Glossary

Hanyou - half-demon

Haori - A sort of coat (Like Inuyasha’s fire-rat one)

Youkai - demon

Izayoi - Inuyasha’s mother

Inu no Taisho - Inuyasha’s father and it still means something like Lord of the dogs

Ningen - Human

(Any corrections for the glossary, please let me know ^_^)