Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Inuyasha show. Rumiko Takahashi is the one who owns them. I do not own Inuyasha fandom either (strange isn’t it?) This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
A/N 1: Ok… For those, who doesn’t know, Sesshoimaru’s name means The Killing Perfection.
A/N 2: Now, there is an OC in this story. His name is Taromaru. I’ve made his name from:
Taro – Japanese name meaning "great son," or "eldest son." It is usually given to the first-born son.
Maru – perfection.
A/N 3: So it seems I’ve changed the title…
A/N 4: Sorry for the mistakes. I am not a native speaker.
A/N 5: *Bows* I am sorry that it took me so long to update the story. I am pretty busy nowadays and I am not even sure when the next chapter will be up.
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Chapter 2 And so the Nightmare Continues
By now Sesshomaru’s eyebrow was twitching like crazy. He was angry. No, even that was an understatement. He was furious. Yes, that’s a more suitable word. It was the first time Sesshomaru had been so embarrassed, and what’s more, it happened in front of his half-brother and his pack. Were it not for his status as the Lord of the Western lands, he would have blushed… and cursed, and killed whoever had seen him in this vulnerable state.
His older brother was standing in front of him, his hands on this Sesshomaru’s shoulders once again, with a happy-go-lucky grin plastered on his face. When their golden eyes met, the grin widened, exposing the sharp fangs that protruded from behind the thin lips.
“Oh! That’s right! Sessh, where’s our father?” Taromaru concentrated on his younger brother and tilted his head to the side. “I couldn’t locate him since I returned… Is he abro-”
“Our sire has left this world,” Sesshomaru finally composed himself and answered the question without stammering or some other difficulty. He sounded like his natural self, cold and impassive.
“Left…” Taromaru drawled as if poking the word and looking into what it would materialize. “Do you mean to say that he is dead?” Arriving at the conclusion, the demon furrowed his eyebrows, the smile fading from his face.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two hundred years ago.”
“How did it happen?”
“He died while protecting his mate,” Sesshomaru almost spat the word ‘mate’ like it was some kind of four letter word. (No pun intended.)
Taromaru’s eyes widened, “He had taken a mate?”
Sesshomaru turned his head away and soon regretted doing it, as his eyes landed on Inuyasha, who was listening to every word that was being spoken between the two brothers. Taiyoukai’s golden pools narrowed in irritation.
Inuyasha saw his half-brother glowering at him and before he could stop it, he ‘keh’ed’ like he always did.
The small sound attracted the older demon’s attention and it seemed that only now did he notice the pack that was standing in the clearing. His eyes caught a sparkle of interest. Taromaru turned to Sesshomaru and the demon lord suppressed the urge to groan. His brother was intrigued and it didn’t mean anything good.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Taromaru delicately inclined his head towards Inuyasha and a little group of humans, while a questioning look was directed at his stoic younger brother.
“They are not worth your concern,” Sesshomaru answered and turned away from the people intending to leave. “We should take our leave.”
“Oh?” A silver eyebrow rose and Sesshomaru almost cringed at the tone of voice with which the sound was produced. “But then again… You befriended a hanyou and a bunch of humans. That’s unexpected.” Taromaru drawled, watching how Sesshomaru’s shoulders became a bit stiffer and he stopped walking. “Or is there something you are not telling me?”
“This Sesshomaru has no friends, and especially not this filthy hanyou,” he held his cool but did not dear to turn and face his brother. Damn why the hell Taromaru had to show up after such a long time? Why now? Why here? And why is he here at all? Why is he in the lands he once disclaimed?
“Huh? Isn’t that Tessaiga over there?” This time Sesshomaru flinched. It was a good thing that he was turned away from his half-brother’s group. He composed himself and spun around.
“Yes, indeed it is.”
Taromaru’s eyes didn’t leave the fang, in its battered form, that was imbedded in the ground, “Sesshomaru, are yo-”
“What the fuck is going on?” Finally, Inuyasha overcame his shock and snapped at the unfamiliar demon before him.
“Oh?” Taromaru’s eyes rose to rest on Inuyasha’s red-clad form and lingered there a little longer this time. After a few seconds of staring and scrutinizing, his eyes narrowed a fraction. “Isn’t that our father’s Fire-rat haori and hakama?” The suspicion growing even more, Taromaru frowned. “Who are you, hanyou?”
“What the hell are yo-”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome decided to interfere. She had heard every word that had been spoken between the two demons and knew that it wasn’t wise to let Inuyasha start a fight right now. “I apologize for Inuyasha’s behavior,” She said to the older demon and bowed. “He doesn’t know when to shut up.” A nervous giggle rose in her throat but didn’t pass her lips.
“Apology accepted.” Taromaru now turned to the young human girl, who dared speaking. He could smell the nervousness coming from her but there was no fear, only curiosity and uneasiness.
“Are you… Sesshomaru’s older brother?” Kagome was glad that her voice sounded pretty normal. She didn’t stammer and the voice didn’t waver. Maybe the question was a stupid one but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Yes, I am. I’m Taromaru.” He slightly bowed to the young girl and asked, “And you are?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Kagome Higurashi. I’m a shikon miko.”
“A miko, huh?” The demon raised an eyebrow in wonder.
“Yes. And here is Miroku,” She introduced, when she saw from the corner of her eye the monk approaching. “He is a monk. And here is Sango,” Kagome motioned towards the girl. “She is a demon slayer. And here,” The girl detached Shippo from her shoulder and held him in front of her, for the demon to see better, “Is Shippo, a fox kit. Oh, and on my right is Kirara, Sango’s fire-cat.” Kagome smiled.
“I see… A pretty interesting group you have here.”
“Hehe, I guess so.” The smile on Kagome’s lips widened, “But they are very good friends.”
“I see.” Taromaru’s lips formed into a small, sincere smile.
“Oi!” Inuyasha frowned at the miko. “Haven’t you forgotten someone?”
“Ah! Right, right. This is Inuyasha,” Kagome motioned towards the aforementioned hanyou, “He is Sesshomaru’s younger half-brother.”
“Hmmmm…” Taromaru hummed and slowly his eyes slid to rest on the aforementioned hanyou. Half a minute later, his golden eyes snapped at Sesshomaru, who was silently watching the group with a disinterested expression on his face. “I thought that I smelled our father’s blood in him but…” His eyes focused on the half-fledged demon again and his feet started moving in his direction. “…but I refused to believe it.”
Inuyasha stiffened. He saw the demon approaching and was at a loss of what to do. Of course the confusion was soon replaced by wariness. He crouched into a defensive position and waited to see what the hell the second half-brother (as if one was not enough) wanted from him. Inuyasha repressed the urge to growl at the stranger.
Taromaru stopped when he was about one or two steps away from the hanyou and tilted his head. He said and did nothing. He just stared at the half-breed.
“What?!” Inuyasha finally snapped when after a minute or so the demon was still hovering above him, staying silent.
“You’re kinda cute!”
“Wha-?!”
Sesshomaru, were he not Sesshomaru, would have slapped his own forehead and rolled his eyes. His older brother once again turned his playful mode on, and to tell the truth, he hated that side of him…
“Well, I’ve seen a lot of hanyou during my journey but I must say that you look relatively good. I’ve seen only two or three that equaled you in appearance. And those triangles on your head are quite tempting too.” Taromaru reached forward and was about to touch Inuyasha’s ears, when Inuyasha ducked and skidded a little way further from the demon.
“Sh-Shut up!” The hanyou sputtered and inclined his head downward, letting his white mane cover the burning face. Only his honey eyes never left the stranger.
“Hm? Did I embarrass you?” Taromaru’s lips curled into a grin and his golden eyes caught a mysterious glint. “Hey, Sessh, we have a cute lil’ brother, don’t we?”
Sesshomaru’s head was starting to buzz. It was big an indication that the headache was rapidly forming. Neither did he want to nor had time to deal with all this shit right now. The fact that his elder brother has just returned from the absence of four hundred years, was enough a shock for him. However, he knew better what it meant to deal with his brother, especially when he was curious about something (or in this case about someone). Yes, it seemed that his elder brother was going to be a real pain in the ass…
The Lord of the West let a little sigh escape his lips and averted his eyes from the person, known as his older brother, and decided not to answer. Intending to finally leave, not caring whether his brother followed or not, he started walking away from the area for the hundredth time this day.
“I know!” Taoromaru clasped his hands together. “Hey, Sessh! How about we do a banquet? We can all gather and talk freely to our hearts’ content. I need to get to know our lil’ brother! ” Eyes sparkling, mode – ‘good puppy’, where you could almost see a wagging tail behind the demon, he grinned and expectantly waited for the answer.
Sesshomaru stopped dead in the mid step. He had underestimated his brother. The nightmare… No, he didn’t want to finish this thought. Letting once again a sigh escape his lips he turned on his heel and marched towards his brother with a scowl on his usually emotionless face. Stopping a few steps away from him, he grounded through his clenched teeth a determined ‘no’, grabbed his half foot taller brother by a collar and actually started dragging him away from the clearing.
A minute or so it was very silent in the area, except for the shuffling of grass, as Taromaru’s feet softly brushed it. And then it was broken.
“Thank you, O’Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru-sama, for your hospitality.” Taromaru snickered at the sound of all these honorifics and sarcasm that dripped from the words. But he couldn’t help himself. He just wanted to annoy his little brother even more… Little? One silver eyebrow arched on its own accord. Maybe he wasn’t the little one now? Inuyasha is younger than Sesshomaru so that makes the hanyou younger and… Taromaru shook his head: I will leave it for another time. The decision made, he chuckled inwardly and suddenly remembered something. Stopping to a halt and almost bringing Sesshomaru down by the suddenness of the movement Taromaru cleared his throat. “By the way,” he chirped happily and flashed an innocent smile. “I forgot to introduce someone to you.” He lifted his hand up and motioned for somebody to come up. “Come here, Thisso, darling.”
Everyone’s eyes turned towards the same spot, Taromaru had first emerged from, to see who the ‘mysterious darling’ was. What they saw, however, made everyone think about some different things, as the approaching person was a man and a hanyou.
“Sessh, this is Thisso, my companion.” Taro introduced the male to the lord and Thisso bowed respectfully to Sesshomaru.
“I hope he is allowed to come along?” Taromaru asked his younger brother but a cold vibe in the question left no doubt that the boy was coming despite the answer.
“… Do as you wish.” Sesshomaru said in an off-handed manner but felt a chill pass his person.
“Good.” Taromaru smiled. “See ya another time folks,” He waved to the little group consisting of humans, demons and a hanyou. “And you, Inuyasha,” He looked at the boy who was huffily standing near the miko friend. “You and I need to talk. Oh, and I will bring Thisso with me so you can chat a bit.” He winked and turned to leave.
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TBC…