Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

A Heat to Overcome	By : Sparrowhawk Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 31291 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the associated characters, nor do I make any profit from this fanfic. All other characters not associated with the original manga or anime, however, are mine.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Gah! This computer is seriously ticking me off! I swear I've typed this up, answered your reviews, and nearly finished this thing twice and then when I come back to finish, it's gone. Rude! Well, here we go again. Third time's the charm ... I hope!

Vyperbites: I'm so happy you're enjoying the updates! Inuyasha does need a lot of love right now. We'll see how the story progresses from here (;

midnightsweet: Definitely don't need anymore fighting between the brothers. There will be, though. They still have some issues to overcome before we can have a happily ever after. I hope you're able to get a job. Mine is only a short term one, it'll probably last two or three months and then I'll need to find another job. I have an interview on Tuesday, though, so hopefully that will go well. Wish me luck! Thanks so much for leaving a review, it's appreciated!

Lisa: I'm glad you liked the grooming part. I needed a way to calm Inuyasha down without using the cliche--you've been raped so let's have sex to wash all that away. I really don't find that very realistic (though I'm not an expert on it or anything, so don't quote me on that), and so "grooming" was what I came up with. Here's the next update for you, as soon as I could get it out (: (:

ardentes: You'll find out what happened to Fuyuki in this chapter, so no worries. I tried to make Inuyasha's fear as realistic as possible, so what you said is probably the highest compliment you could give me. I'm so flattered *blushes. Inuyasha will have some time to recover before Michio comes again, that's not to say he won't be making trouble in other ways. He's not the type of bad guy to sit around even with an arm missing. Thanks for the well wishes, the compliments, and the review in general!!

Thanks to all those who read and/or reviewed. I always appreciate the views and comments because they encourage me to keep going and to update as fast as I can. Also, a small note for this chapter and something that popped up that I did not plan. That is, M-Preg. Sometimes the characters take control of the flow of the story, and so, even though I didn't plan for it, it just kinda ... happened, and if you're an author you'll probably know what I'm talking about. So, on that account, I apologize to anyone who is turned off by the idea of a man becoming pregnant (it doesn't happen naturally in this story!), it won't be happening right away or anytime soon so far as I know (things might change, depending), and I fervently hope all of you who read will continue to do so and give me a chance with this *bows hopefully.

Warnings: profanity (duh!), and ... I don't think there's anything else, actually. Amazing. Well, then, on to the story!

Chapter Twelve

Revelations

“Is there any potion or remedy you have on hand that can suppress his heat?” Sesshomaru asked Tamae as he arranged his exhausted sibling on his bed and pulled the satin blankets up over his body.

“I would not recommend it, my Lord. All known medications that have the necessary properties to suppress the heat of youkai have proven most dangerous. It will work for a time, perhaps three weeks if you’re lucky, but after that the patient typically experiences high fever, muscle pains, severe mood swings—usually toward depression—and skin so sensitive every touch brings pain. And those are only the least severe of the possible side effects. Being a hanyou, I don’t know what effect it will have on the young Lord Inuyasha.”

“If he were to take the medication for only a few days, what then?”

The wind demoness shrugged. “It could be he won’t have a negative reaction, but his heat will come back as soon as he stops taking it—perhaps stronger than before. However, if at all possible, I would not take that risk. Youkai have died trying to suppress their natural heat cycle. It is like trying to completely stop a flood after a deluge of rain. You may be able to prevent it in one or two areas, but it will inevitably divert to another area in which the damage may or may not be greater than before.”

“Explain the consequences of taking the medication to Inuyasha. Should he desire to take it even after hearing what it might do, I give you my permission to administer it to him, but for no longer than seven days.”

Having woken up and heard most of the conversation, Inuyasha sat up. “I want to take it.”

“Ototo—”

“I want to take it,” the hanyou repeated, cutting him off. Biting his lip, he reached out toward Sesshomaru, tentatively touching his arm with his fingertips. When the daiyoukai only looked at him, his touch became more firm and he took hold of his brother’s wrist. He felt like a frightened child gripping his parent’s hand. “I can’t tell what my feelings are while I’m in heat. It makes me doubt myself. If there’s a medicine that can make it go away I … I think I’d like to know what my feelings are … a-about you.”

Sesshomaru exhaled heavily at that near confession and turned a frown on Tamae. “Give it to him.” He then turned back to Inuyasha, face set. “You can only take it for seven days, though. No more than that, is that clear?”

“Ten,” Inuyasha argued. “I need time, Sessh.”

Pressing his lips together, Sesshomaru nodded. “Wakarimashita. Ten days, but that’s all.”

The hanyou nodded. “Hai.”

“Now,” the daiyoukai gently said, pressing his sibling back onto the bed. “You need to rest.”

“But I—”

“Rest, Inuyasha. Your fever still hasn’t gone down completely and I do not want your condition to deteriorate further. Take the medicine Tamae gives you and then I expect to see you with your eyes closed like a good pup.”

“P-Pup?!”

“That is what you are, little one, like it or not,” Sesshomaru responded to the hanyou’s obvious indignation. Amused by the sulky look his ototo gave him, the demon lord chuckled. “Do not be upset with me, Inuyasha. In most inu households you would still be required to adhere to a bedtime. Be thankful I do not impose such a childish rule on you, for I know that, although you are in body little more than a pup, you have matured far beyond your physical years.”

Flushing, Inuyasha looked away. He should be angry that Sesshomaru would call him a pup, shouldn’t he? At any other time, he would have been. Rather than angering him, though, Sesshomaru calling him a pup with such an undertone of teasing and even—he thought—affection, he felt pleased.

“In the meantime,” Sesshomaru continued as if he’d never been interrupted, “I must see to the health of the neko slave you were found with—”

Inuyasha gasped. He had completely forgotten about the little neko child! “Fuyuki! Is he here? Is he hurt? Where is he?” When he tried to sit up he was stopped by a heavy hand on his chest and a pair of commanding golden eyes.

“Calm yourself, Inuyasha. The child is perfectly all right. He is in one of the guest rooms a few doors down recovering from some of the more severe wounds that were inflicted on him from before your escape. Considering your condition, I did not want him causing any undue disturbances while you were yet sleeping so, for the time being, he has been forbidden to come here. When you are more recovered and your fever has dissipated I will bring him to see you if that is what you wish.”

“A-Arigatou …” the smaller inu muttered, blushing for his outburst as he relaxed back into the bed and his elder sibling removed the heavy hand that pinned him there. “What about M-M-M ….” What the hell? He’d never had a problem saying the bastard’s name before.

“Michio?” Sesshomaru guessed.

Inuyasha flinched, then nodded. “Did you get him?”

“No. When he saw us approaching and you refused to let go of him even while unconscious, he attempted to cut off your hand to get away.” The daiyoukai smiled viciously. “Needless to say, he did not succeed. Unfortunately for him, my whip was faster than his. He’s probably missing that hand terribly by now.”

Inuyasha grinned for the ridiculous amount of pride his brother exuded, and then marveled that he didn’t find that arrogance annoying. Maybe because it’s really funny this time, he mused. Sesshomaru looked just like a little puppy dog trotting back after successfully fetching a stick. If he was in his dog form, he knew the daiyoukai’s ears would be perked forward, head and tail held high.

Then, glimpsing the movement of the stump of Sesshomaru’s severed arm beneath his sleeve, Inuyasha sobered. “Do you?”

The demon lord blinked. “Do I what?”

“Miss your arm and hand.” He was relieved when his aniki’s smile remained on his lips.

“It would be easier to do certain tasks with my other hand, but do I miss it? No, I do not. The male inu in our line have never taken the easy route even when given the choice, and I would not do any differently. You have nothing to feel guilty about regarding that incident, ototo. Had you not acted as you did I would have killed you. It is an irrefutable fact that I was angry enough to slaughter you at that time, so do not feel badly for something I have already forgiven and forgotten.”

“Still … I wish I could give it back to you.”

“Do not concern yourself with such trivial matters, Inuyasha. Given a little more time and it will regenerate—one of the benefits of being a full blooded demon. Now, no more questions. You need to sleep and I have duties to attend to.”

“You’re leaving?” Inuyasha cried, almost panicking when the inu youkai got up and started across the room toward the door.

“Only for a short time,” Sesshomaru reassured him, pausing in his departure. “Unless … you truly wish me to stay.”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t want you to!” Inuyasha said, his voice a snarl, face alight in embarrassment. “Get your ass back here and tell me what the hell happened after I passed out. I’m drawing a blank here.”

Humor dancing in habitually icy eyes, Sesshomaru retraced his steps to the bed and sat down on the plush surface. “You presume to order me, pup?” he asked, mock serious.

Inuyasha snorted, almost sounding like his old self when he answered. “Of course I do. I was your alpha for a while. Why shouldn’t I order you around a bit?”

Baring his fangs slightly, watching his brother’s reaction carefully for any signs of distress, the daiyoukai loomed over him, allowing his dominant youki to surround Inuyasha in a warm embrace. “The keyword being ‘was,’ ototo. You accepted me as your alpha, and your alpha I will be.”

“I hate to interrupt when you’re so happily flirting,” Tamae interjected with a gentle smile, “but I must administer the Lord’s medicine. It would be best to do it now, before any … intimacy happens. We don’t want you getting pupped just yet.”

Inuyasha blushed and Sesshomaru straightened. Then, after a moment of running what she had said through his mind, his eyes went wide. “Pupped?! What the hell do you mean by that?”

Tamae pressed her lips together disapprovingly and turned a stern gaze on Sesshomaru. “You haven’t told him?”

“The opportunity hasn’t arisen yet,” the daiyoukai responded evenly, meeting her stare for stare. “I did not want to alarm him.”

“Alarm me?!” Inuyasha practically shrieked, sitting up once again only to have Sesshomaru push him back down with an implacable hand. “How can anyone pup me? I’m a man for fuck’s sake! And I know for a fact inu youkai males do not have the ability to carry pups, not even those who are half human. Sessh, tell me what’s going on!”

The older inu sighed, brushing back a stray lock of his sibling’s unruly mane. “Let Tamae give you the potions, then I will explain what happened and what we discovered.”

“I’m not pupped already?” Inuyasha asked in an uncharacteristically small voice as the healer bustled over to him with two separate cups in hand.

“As far as Tamae can determine, you are not. However, we will be keeping a close eye on you for the next few days just to be certain.”

Inuyasha exhaled in relief. He had, of course, heard of some species of youkai whose males could carry and birth young when their females were scarce or simply could not do so, but he had never thought he would have to worry about such an occurrence in himself. Nodding curtly, he relaxed into the bed.

“All right, my Lord,” Tamae softly explained, placing one of the cups in his hand. “This is the medication to suppress your heat. It may cause your fever to spike, muscle pains, severe mood swings, and skin overly sensitive to touch. If you feel any of these symptoms you must inform me immediately.”

“Hai.”

She looked him sternly in the eyes, repeating, “Immediately, understand? I don’t care if it’s the middle of the night.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it!” Inuyasha growled, downing the potion in one long swallow.

“This other,” the healer continued, taking the empty cup from him and replacing it with the other medicine, “is to help lower your fever and aid in healing. There are herbs mixed in to prevent pregnancy should you and your brother have any sexual contact in the near future. You’ll need to drink it once a day if you want to continue without being pupped. Bear in mind that it is meant for female youkai, though, and not males. Males who … develop the ability to bear young generally do so only when they’re ready to bear that responsibility, so a potion has not been created that can prevent it. That being the case, I cannot guarantee its effectiveness. It shouldn’t have any side effects, though the herbs in the fever medication may put you to sleep.”

“And that’s not a side effect?” Inuyasha grumbled, tipping the other cup to his lips. He wrinkled his nose at the bitter drink, but continued to down it. Once done, tongue hanging slightly out of his mouth in disgust, he soon found another full cup in his hand. “What’s this?” he asked, looking to his brother who had placed it there.

“Water sweetened with nectar,” Sesshomaru responded, gently coaxing it to his ototo’s lips. “Tamae’s potions indisputably work wonders, but the taste isn’t always the best.”

Inuyasha took a sip and then glanced from his brother to the kindly healer, noting her rueful smile. She obviously knew well how bitter some of her potions were and took no offense at the daiyoukai’s less than tactful comment.

With a pat to Inuaysha’s shoulder—and an almost unnoticeable flinch from him—she got to her feet. “If you feel tired it would be best if you refrain from fighting it. Let yourself sleep. Your body will be able to put more energy toward healing you that way. Now,” she bowed to the brothers, “if the Lords will excuse me, I will be taking my leave.”

“Thank you, Tamae,” Sesshomaru said with a nod. “Your services are always appreciated.”

“It is my pleasure to serve you and your brother, my Lord.”

When the healer had been escorted to the door and the door firmly latched, Sesshomaru returned to the bed and his sibling who was watching him with interested golden eyes. The daiyoukai lifted his eyebrows, “Nani?”

Inuyasha felt nervous butterflies take flight in his stomach and lowered his gaze to the bedcovers. “Betsu ni. It’s just … you’re being so nice to me. It feels weird.”

“Do you dislike it … my being nice?”

“Iie.”

Eyes betraying the tenderness and sorrow he felt toward this fragile being, Sesshomaru laid the back of his knuckles lightly against his baby brother’s cheek. Inuyasha’s head jerked up sharply at the touch. “You’re still running a fever. Perhaps the story should wait.”

Shuddering a little, the hanyou shook his head. “I want to hear it.”

Sesshomaru stared into his brother’s face for a moment, then, upon noting the determined set to his features, withdrew his hand and spoke. “I began my search a few nights after you were taken, once I had returned to my Lord Father’s palace and set the men under my command searching for your whereabouts and any signs of the slavers who took you. The next night I discovered the first sign.”

Inuyasha didn’t have to ask what the first sign was; he remembered that night clearly, how that bastard dark inu had taunted him about his brother. Some time later, the first incident of rape, Michio had deliberately taken him out in the open to provoke the Lord of the West.

Sesshomaru continued reciting the events, recalling those moments of rage and disgust and perhaps even fear—not for himself, but for his baby brother—when he had almost abandoned the search.

“Does all that blood … belong to your brother?”

Sesshomaru gazed around him at the crimson coated ground without answering. The fact that Inuyasha had fought the men who raped him was clear enough, but … still, he had been touched while in heat. The smell of his semen was there. He had cum, numerous times. Males other than Sesshomaru had touched him, and he had felt pleasure from it. Michio had claimed him.

Some part of him knew it was wrong to think this way. Inuyasha couldn’t help his reactions, being in heat as he was. Even so … it was unforgivable. How could he, the Western Lord, allow what had belonged to him and had been dirtied by another, touch him again, dirty him?

The answer was simple. He couldn’t.

“Lord … Sesshomaru? What do you want us to do?”

Do? Was there anything he could do now? Did he want to do anything? What did he plan to do once he found Inuyasha anyway? Take him in? Claim him as his mate? Take him into his bed and into his heart, the same heart he had closed so many years ago when his Lord Father was killed?

He lowered himself to one knee on the ground, his transformation gradually receding. Now that his rage had faded, he heard and felt Tenseiga humming at his waist. You’re being a fool, the sword seemed to say. He growled, barely noticing when the ookami youkai who had spoken to him hastily moved farther away. What did his Lord Father expect him to do, then? Overlook everything? Take him in regardless of the affront to his pride?

The wind stirred the dust at his feet, blew it up into his nostrils along with the stench of blood, sex, and fear. Lingering traces of his sibling’s youki called to him from where it had soaked into the ground along with the crimson liquid. It lanced through his heart like a spear, transmitting to him all the emotions his ototo experienced along with the hurt. He gasped, his muscles going rigid as, over and over again, pain stabbed into him from all sides as if from thousands of blades.

Sesshomaru!!!

He staggered over to the rock in the center of the clearing, leaning heavily on it, panting.

“Lord Sesshomaru … are you all right?” the wolf called, this time taking a step forward in concern.

“Stay back!” the daiyoukai commanded, sweat breaking out on his forehead. Inuyasha was calling for him. His voice was so desperate. He had called to him for aid, to save him.

Help me, Sessh! It hurts! Gods, it hurts!!

Groaning, he collapsed to his knees. “Inuyasha …” he whispered hoarsely.

Why aren’t you here?! Sesshomaru! SAVE ME!!!

For the first time in his life outside of training with his Lord Father—a time when he’d been hit repeatedly in the liver—he felt sick to his stomach. He doubled over, bile crawling up his throat, spewing from his mouth onto the ground below him.

Wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand, he shakily stood only to almost fall over again when a crack of lightning struck the ground less than two paces in front of him followed by the familiar lowing of a demon cow.

“So, you’ve finally done it, have you?”

“Totosai,” Sesshomaru greeted impassively, struggling to maintain his upright position and his dignity. “What brings you here?”

“I knew you’d do it one of these days. You’ve denied your feelings for so long it was only a matter of time before they exploded. So where is he? You didn’t accidentally kill him, did you?”

“Of whom are you speaking?” the daiyoukai wondered, breathing deeply and evenly to keep the sickness at bay.

“Your brother of course. Inuyasha. Where are you hiding him?”

“I am not ‘hiding’ him anywhere, Totosai. If you had half the sense of a toad you would realize that without my having to tell you.”

“No, no, I’m sure the Tessaiga is nearby. Tenseiga is humming so loudly I can barely hear myself think!”

“He is not here, Totosai.”

The old fire demon blinked. “Who isn’t?”

“My brother.”

“Your brother?”

Sesshomaru growled impatiently. Doddering old fool. “Inuyasha. My brother, Inuyasha, is not here. The Tessaiga calls to him from its sheath at my waist. I did not do this to him. I am not so starved for intimacy that I would rape my own little brother, whether he’s in heat or not.”

“Humph,” Totosai grunted, bug eyes rolling. “Of course you wouldn’t. I wasn’t suggesting you would. Now then, if Inuyasha’s not here and the Tessaiga’s nearby howling for all the world as if it has been broken in two again, does that mean you don’t know where he is?”

“I would not be out here looking for him if I knew where he is, would I?”

“Hmm, then you haven’t been able to sense him.” Folding his arms, he leaned his head on his chest, frowning in thought.

“Sense him?”

The old swordsmith let out a loud snore, swaying on the spot. Frustrated and impatient, emotions he wouldn’t normally allow anyone to see, he grabbed Totosai by the shoulders and shook him—hard. He woke up with a start and a snort. “W-What? What’s going on? Wah! Sesshomaru! Are you trying to kill me?!”

“Tell me, Totosai, are you saying I should be able to sense Inuyasha?”

“Inuyasha? Oh … yes!” He brushed Sesshomaru’s hands from his shoulders. “Yes, of course you should be able to sense him. The swords have a strong resonance between them. You can sense him quite easily when he’s in possession of the sword, can’t you?” He went on without waiting for Sesshomaru’s curt nod. “Well, it’s similar to that. There is a bond that exists between demon family—parents and children, siblings, mates—that does not exist between humans, or at least, not to the same degree. It sometimes manifests in twins. Through that bond, you should be able to sense him wherever he is, unless, of course, there is a strong barrier around him.”

“Then why is it I could not sense him before?”

“Because, fool pup that you are, you rejected him as a part of your pack, your brother, and your submissive these past two hundred years! He could sense you just fine, but you couldn’t sense him until he was close enough to smell. Sometimes I can’t understand how the Great Dog General could give birth to such an idiotic son.”

“Ha!” Inuyasha exclaimed with a grin. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill him for insulting you like that.”

A small smile graced Sesshomaru’s lips for the hanyou’s good humor. “Maa, I did think about it. However, it would not be wise to destroy the swordsmith who forged our father’s fangs into the swords we now carry. It would be difficult to find someone to repair them if ever they should need it.”

“True enough. So … what happened after that?”

“I commanded Totosai to burn the place. There were no clues there as to your whereabouts, and I wanted no one else to witness what I had. I felt it was for the best.”

“Yeah,” Inuyasha muttered, eyelids lowered in shame. “Thanks.”

Reaching over, Sesshomaru lifted his chin until their eyes met. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, little one. You fought as hard as you could. I understand this as I did not before. They had the advantage of superior numbers and powers that were beyond your capability to counteract. I am not ashamed of you, neither should you be.”

“Keh,” Inuyasha grunted, shoving his brother’s hand away. “What makes you think your opinion matters?”

The corner of Sesshomaru’s mouth twitched up minutely when, contrary to the hanyou’s words, his mood lifted, and so he continued with the story. “I searched far and wide for clues—previous places Michio’s band raided, where rumors circulated that he would raid or where he might have his hideout … but for days there was no sign, nothing to tell me where he had taken you. A week passed. The longer I couldn’t find you, the closer I came to believing you were well and truly lost to me. And then …”

“Then?” Inuyasha questioned, avidly interested in this other side of events. “What happened?”

With an almost wondering expression, Sesshomaru tenderly brushed his fingertips against that of his brother and slowly threaded their hands together. “I felt you. It was as if a blindfold had been taken from my eyes or a veil of darkness from my heart. I saw everything you were, everything you could be to me. What hit me the hardest, however, was not what I saw about you but what I saw about how you viewed me. You thought I had given up, that I had abandoned you.”

“You’re going out again, Sesshomaru-sama?” Rin asked, sitting up in her bed when the daiyoukai headed for the door.

“I am. Go to sleep, Rin.”

“Do you think he’s all right, Sesshomaru-sama?”

“I do not know. Tonight, Miroku tells me, Inuyasha will be fully human. He will not have the defenses or healing powers of one with youkai blood. I am afraid if I do not find him tonight, I may never do so.”

“Don’t say that, Sesshomaru-sama! You’ll find him! You have to have faith in Inuyasha-sama!”

“Faith, Rin?”

“Hai! You need to believe in him, Sesshomaru-sama. If you give up, what’s he going to do if he escapes and has nowhere to go? You shouldn’t look down on him just because he’s human on the new moon.”

“I am not looking down on him—”

“Yes you are,” Rin argued, startling him when she glared right into his face, tears trickling from her innocent eyes. “You think being human is a weakness, Sesshomaru-sama. You always have. Well, Inuyasha-sama is not weak! He’s survived for a long time without you to look over his shoulder and he’ll keep doing it! What are you going to do when I’m grown up and get taken by a demon?” He started to protest that she wouldn’t be kidnapped by a demon, but she cut him off. “It’s happened before. It’ll happen again. Are you going to keep saving me? Forever and ever? Are you going to stay by my side every second of every day so I don’t get kidnapped? Will you lock me up to keep me safe? Will you take away my freedom because I’m human and can’t take care of myself? I don’t want that! I want to be your equal, Sesshomaru-sama! I want you to be able to trust me as much as I trust you. I’m sure Inuyasha-sama wants that, too. That’s why you can’t give up. Ever! Even if he’s gone for months or years you can’t give up on him!”

“Rin …”

“You can’t! If you give up on Inuyasha-sama I’ll … I’ll never forgive you! I hate you, Sesshomaru-sama!!”

“Rin, listen to me,” Sesshomaru commanded, inwardly distraught at the ningen child’s words. He grasped her shoulder in his hand, hard, but not hard enough to hurt her. “I have no intention of giving up on finding Inuyasha. I was merely pointing out the possibility that he may not … be able to come back, and I may not be able to—” He sucked in a sharp breath, head going back, eyes wide and filmed over with the red of his demon heritage. Something was happening. His heart beat—slowly, steadily, hard against his ribcage, like the beat of a huge tribal drum.

“Sesshomaru … sama?” Rin called, scared by the daiyoukai’s reaction. “I … didn’t really mean it … Sesshomaru-sama. I don’t hate you.”

“Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru breathed, oblivious to his ward’s reassurances. “I can feel him. I can feel him even while he’s human. Our father’s blood still runs in his veins. It’s faint, but it’s there. Rin,” he said, turning back to where she sat watching him on the bed, “I must go.”

She nodded, her smile as bright as the noonday sun. “Hai!”

“Summon Sasaki and inform him of what has happened. He’ll know what to do.”

“Wakata, wakata, just go!” she urged.

Nodding at his ward, he condensed his youki around himself and flew out the door and then out an open window toward the northeast. He couldn’t sense Inuyasha well enough to pinpoint his exact location, but he knew the general direction. If he could pick up his ototo’s scent it would only be a matter of time before he found him.

Anxiety pounded through him, partially from the emotions of his baby brother, and partially from himself. Inuyasha had escaped the barrier. Human though he was, he had escaped. Truly, Inuyasha was a creature apart. He always seemed to beat the odds when they were stacked against him, no matter how bad his situation. Why hadn’t he been able to see it before?

Pride.

His foolish pride, of course. Pride had always been his shortcoming. He was too proud as a full blooded inu youkai to admit he had a half brother that was half human. He was too proud of being the son of Inu no Taisho to acknowledge that his Lord Father had another son who, if not as powerful as his full blooded demon lord sibling, was still exceptionally powerful among other full blooded youkai. His pride had made him blame his baby brother for his beloved sire’s death and the hardships he had gone through when the responsibilities of being heir to the western lands was suddenly thrust upon him. It had blinded him to his pack bond with him and the feelings that bond brought with it. He loved his brother. He wasn’t yet certain which kind of “love” it was, but it was love nonetheless. He didn’t want to save Inuyasha merely because it was his duty as his elder brother, nor because he was the hanyou’s alpha, he wanted to save him because he cared for him. Not for duty, but because he desired it.

His heart swelled with more emotion than he’d felt since his Lord Father’s death. It filled him up. Only now did he realize how empty he had been. He had shut himself away. Rin had brought out his inu’s pack instincts to protect and provide for the young—one he had taken the trouble to save from the clutches of death—and he thought he might love her as one might a little sister or a daughter. He was surprised at himself to find he even held a glimmer of affection for the little kappa demon—not as anyone related to him, of course, but as a loyal servant like Taree, Tamae, and Sasaki. Or perhaps, he thought humorously, like a favorite toy. It was quite amusing to watch the kappa attempt to keep him in good temper, and to run around and bow and scrape when he was in a bad temper. Somehow, the smaller demon always knew his moods.

Inuyasha was another matter altogether. He was a burst of life, of color, of fresh earth and nature, of fire and passion—all the things Sesshomaru’s life seemed to lack. He wanted him so much. It was only now he realized what he really wanted the hanyou for; not just to satisfy his sexual needs, but to be beside him every day, to fill his empty life with his vibrance. Yet, there was a problem with that the daiyoukai had never considered. Would Inuyasha want to be with him? After his heat was over and the hanyou no longer needed him to relieve its effects, would he stay with him? There was still Naraku to think about. He knew just as he’d been hunting the spider youkai, so had Inuyasha and his group. His ototo may choose to return to his group rather than travel with Sesshomaru. That wasn’t even the worst of his troubles. The slavers would have raped him. Would he even want to see another male, let alone touch one? How did Inuyasha see him? Was he only a brother to the hanyou, a brother who would fuck him to relieve his heat, his alpha and nothing more?

As he neared the area he began to sense other youkai—the youki of many, many ookami youkai combing the land for Inuyasha. Perhaps they had picked up his scent. He disliked being indebted to anyone, even an ally—or, perhaps, especially an ally—but if the pack of wolf demons had found sign of his baby brother he felt he would be.

One of the wolves looked up, a little quicker than the others to notice and identify him. Without the need to exchange words, the wolf pointed, and Sesshomaru followed the direction of the gesture, turning farther eastward, moving closer to the ground to catch his ototo’s scent. It wasn’t long before he found it. Human. Weak with fatigue. Pained. Feverish. Frightened. His ototo wasn’t going to be able to last long in this cold weather, not as a human. He needed his hanyou powers, but the sun was still many hours from rising. With him was what smelled to be some type of foreign wildcat youkai. Though injured, the child wasn’t nearly as badly off as Inuyasha.

Another scent joined the first two, fresher than that of Inuyasha and the neko, much, much more powerful, dominant, and distinctly inu youkai. Sesshomaru growled. He’d recognize that bastard slaver’s stench anywhere! He pushed himself harder. He could feel his sibling drawing closer, close enough to pinpoint, about a mile or so farther on. From the sudden stark terror hammering into him, he also knew Michio was already there.

I don’t want to go back! I won’t go back! Sesshomaru!!

Inuyasha. He was calling to him again—this time not through his youki, but through their mutual bond. I’m coming, ototo, he thought, hoping the hanyou could hear him. I’m coming. Just hold on a little longer.

No … no, I can’t rely on him. He’s not coming. He abandoned me …

No, damn you! I did not abandon you Inuyasha! Sesshomaru cried, his chest aching for the sorrow and despair in those thoughts. His baby brother was giving up on him!

… just like before. Don’t hope. Don’t think about him. I’ve waited two-hundred years for him; I’m not going to wait any longer. It’s useless. He won’t want me anyway. I’m only a half breed ….”

A half breed. How many times had he called Inuyasha that? How many times had he insulted him for the mere fact that he had been birthed of a human mother? He didn’t have a choice in who his parents were, or in who his sibling was for that matter. It wasn’t he who had made his human mother, Izayoi, and the great Inu no Taisho fall in love—that was their decision. So … what had he blamed him for all these years? For being alive?

But … But it hurts! That fucking human! It’s all his fault. If he weren’t here, Sesshomaru-sama wouldn’t have abandoned me.

Sesshomaru frowned. That human? His mother?

No … he had said ‘his fault.’ Was he referring to his human half?

Oh, this was his suppressed demon half. Of course. Being a demon he had no connection with Inuyasha’s ningen half. It was his demon half that he could feel. Did that mean Inuyasha hated the part of him that was human? The thought of his little brother loathing a part of himself somehow made him angry and sad at the same time. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right for his demon half to hate the half of him that was human. Neither was it right for his human half to reject his demon half. They were one and the same. A hanyou—a blending of the strengths and weaknesses of both.

He came upon them suddenly—both Michio and Inuyasha. Michio looked startled, perhaps even a little worried. Inuyasha was unconscious, yet his blunt nails clung to the dark inu’s arm in a death grip, desperately holding on, and Sesshomaru soon saw why. The young neko child that he had been escaping with was crouched up a nearby tree, face streaked with tears, body shaking with cold and fear.

“Inuyasha-san!” the child cried out in warning as Michio raised his hand and youki began to form in his palm.

Sesshomaru saw the other dog demon’s target and reacted, his own youki condensing at his finger tips and lashing out at the inu youkai with a vengeance, cleanly severing his arm at the elbow above where Inuyasha’s hands clung to him.

Michio howled in pain, reeling backward. “Damn you, Sesshomaru!” he shouted as blood splashed onto the ground at his feet and soiled his hakama. Poison from Sesshomaru’s whip seeped into the injury, burning through his bloodstream. “Damn you and your filthy half breed brother!” Thus saying, he fled into the surrounding trees.

Sesshomaru started to go after him, but a groan from his ototo stopped him. He glanced between them, hesitating. If he went after Michio, he could rid his lands and himself of the threat of the cruel slave trader. Yet, at the same time, if he went after Michio, who knew how long chasing him down would take. Inuyasha couldn’t wait more than an hour or two to be treated. Much longer and he would surely perish. Besides, his youki was rebelling against the very thought of leaving his submissive out in the cold, injured and helpless, much longer. It pulsed inside him, calling to his brother, needing to be reunited with the other inu.

“Y-You’re Inuyasha-san’s aniki … aren’t you?” the neko asked as he climbed down from the tree and dropped to the ground. “Please help him! Please! He … He protected me. Even though I would have left him behind … he stayed. He saved me! Please, you have to help him!”

“Silence,” Sesshomaru ordered as he bent and lifted his sibling into his arm. An hour? The fever raging through his baby brother’s body and the deep, freely bleeding cuts on his back made him correct himself—he’d last perhaps another half hour. He had to get him back to the palace and Tamae. “Come hold onto me, neko.”

The child took a frightened step back, eyes riveted on Inuyasha’s pale face. “Is he … going to be okay?”

“He’ll stand a much better chance of recovering if I take him back to my Lord Father’s palace and the royal healer. Come if you’re coming. If not, say so and I’ll transport him alone. It’s your choice.”

“I-I’m coming!”

Sesshomaru nodded as the child grasped the sleeve of his hitoe. “Hold on tight. Travel such as this is always rough for those unused to this method.”

“Hai,” the neko answered meekly.

Concentrating on his private chambers and the lingering traces of his youki, he manipulated his demon powers into encircling both Inuyasha and the cat demon’s youki and condensed them all into his fastest form of travel outside teleportation. He could feel the fear of the neko pulsing inside his youki as he sped off toward his Lord Father’s palace, but ignored it. Inuyasha was what was important right now. He had no room in his mind to be concerned over the cat demon.

Since he was taking a direct course rather than maneuvering back and forth in search of a scent, he arrived back in his chambers in record time—less than ten minutes. Touching down, he removed his youki from Inuyasha and the neko. Once his feet touched ground the boy collapsed on the floor and promptly vomited.

“The sickness should only be temporary,” Sesshomaru assured him.

The boy waved him away toward the door. “I’m fine. You should … take care of Inuyasha-san.”

“I’ll send someone to tend your injuries. Your name?”

“Fu … yuki. Fuyuki. I’m Fuyuki.”

“Fuyuki, I’ll send a wind youkai named Sasaki to attend you. If there’s anything you need, just let him know and he’ll do his best to accommodate.”

“A-Arigatou … ano …?”

“Sesshomaru.”

“Arigatou, Sesshomaru-sama.”

Sesshomaru inclined his head and moved toward the door. “Feel free to use the sofa if you need to rest,” he invited over his shoulder. The neko bowed shakily before the daiyoukai shut the door and continued swiftly through his outer chambers and into the adjoining corridor.

“Tamae!” he bellowed.

She poked her head around the open door of the healing rooms. “I’m here, my Lord. I have everything prepared. Just let me nip my bag from my office and I’ll get started. What are you doing out here anyway? Get him back in your room. He’ll feel safer there. In fact, put him in your bed. Your proximity to him will help him heal.”

“You are implying I should sleep next to him?” Sesshomaru inquired, staring at her in disbelief. “That is hardly appropriate, Tamae.”

“You are an inu youkai, my Lord. No one will believe it inappropriate. It is pack behavior. If you remember, you slept in your great father’s room, in the same bed and most likely right next to him, for many centuries. You didn’t leave his bed even when you became an adult. It was only when the rift between you and him came about after he took Lady Izayoi as his lover that you removed yourself from his bed and claimed your own.”

Now that he thought about it, that was true. He hadn’t had a pack—an inu pack—for so long, he’d forgotten. After all, he couldn’t expect Rin or Jaken to act like anything but what they were—a human and a kappa demon—nor did he expect them to know how an inu youkai pack would act around their alpha.

“I expect you to behave yourself, of course,” the healer went on. “Keep your mind clean. He is sick and injured and he’s been through a lot. He will not welcome intimacy at this stage, so do not get ahead of yourself.”

Startled out of gazing at his younger brother’s haggard face, peaceful in sleep, he glowered at the impudent wind youkai. “Are you lecturing me, Tamae?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. You tend to act before thinking things through like you should.”

“When I was younger, perhaps,” Sesshomaru responded, voice almost a growl. “I am far past that stage now, Tamae, and you will refrain from speaking down to this Sesshomaru. You are a healer. Your only concern should be the welfare of your patients.”

“Which is why I am telling you, do not get ahead of yourself, my Lord. For Inuyasha’s mental and emotional health, restrain your desires.”

Turning his back on her, he strode across the corridor to his chambers, stopping before the door. “I have no obligation to explain myself or my intentions to you. Now do your job and heal my brother.”

“Gladly, my Lord,” the wind demoness answered with the barest hint of a smile as she sent her wind to retrieve her bag and then joined Sesshomaru in the hallway. She opened the door for him, observing as he carried his sibling into the room and gently laid him on the enormous bed, delivering an affectionate caress to the human Inuyasha’s sweat dampened cheek.

“If you will stand away, my Lord,” Tamae politely requested as she approached. “I’ll need to check over his body for any hidden injuries or infections before I prescribe him any medicine. However I may touch him, know I am not taking liberties with his person.”

“And you are informing me of this … why? I have always trusted you to perform your duties in a professional manner.”

“Yes, Lord, you have. The explanation is not for your benefit.”

“Then to whom are you speaking?”

“The neko child, for one, and your youki for the other; it will not take kindly to even a healer touching the one you’ve claimed in any way, especially while your submissive is in heat.”

“Do what you have to, Tamae. I am capable of restraining myself.”

“Of course, my Lord.”

She bent to her task, starting with the hanyou’s half lidded eyes, checking his bruised nose, his limp and ragged ears,his scalp, and the inside of his mouth. From there, she gently probed his jaw and neck, taking care not to rub the abrasions from what looked to have been a collar. Muttering to herself under her breath, she continued downward. Collarbone. Shoulders. Arms. Chest. Ribs. Abdomen. Then she skipped down to examine his feet, calves, and thighs.

“My Lord?” she called, straightening to look him in the eye. “I need to probe his nether regions a little. He has been raped, so there may be damage to his insides, infections that may need treated. Will you permit me?”

He gritted his teeth. “Do what you must.”

Nodding, she reached into her bag and drew out some thin gloves. Ever aware of the daiyoukai’s cold-eyed gaze on her, she cradled Inuyasha’s limp penis in her hand, examining each of the scratches and scrapes that marred the sensitive skin. A low rumble emanated from behind her, but she ignored it. It wasn’t yet threatening, merely a warning to be careful how she touched her Lord’s younger brother—human though he was at the moment. Removing her hands from his penis, she reached lower, and as she did the rumble became a growl. Still, she didn’t stop. She touched his testicles, lifting them to peer beneath at the skin crisscrossed with new and old wounds. Some places looked as if whole patches of flesh had been removed. She grimaced when she glimpsed the muscles around his anus—red and swollen and riddled with the filth of numerous men. The slavers hadn’t been concerned with hygiene, that much was clear.

She glanced back at Sesshomaru. There was red in the whites of his eyes and his upper lip was lifted in an aggressive snarl. His body was hunched forward, balanced on his toes, ready to launch himself at her should she make a wrong move. Turning her back on him, she swiftly slipped one gloved finger inside Inuyasha’s swollen entrance and withdrew it just as fast. When the instinct driven youkai lord swiped his claws at her, she was ready, and simply melted around him. He blinked, bewildered.

“Lord Sesshomaru,” she said calmly. “I will be taking this sample across the hall to my office to run some tests. I will be back momentarily. Please stay beside your brother until then.”

Demon Sesshomaru cocked his head, wondering about the female youkai’s strange behavior. Despite touching his submissive that way, she hadn’t attempted to fight him over his claim nor even attempted to layer her scent on him. If she wasn’t after him as a mate, what did she want? Her youki didn’t even feel threatening.

With the wind demoness’ absence, his mind began to clear and his youki gradually receded. He shook his head, marveling at how territorial he had become over the hanyou. He hadn’t even realized when his youki started acting, rather than him.

A few minutes later, Tamae returned. Her wind, usually energetically, yet gently swirling around the room, had become lethargic. She looked pale and grim.

“I apologize for my unintentional actions, Tamae,” Sesshomaru said. “It was unacceptable.”

She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. “I would have been more worried if you hadn’t tried to attack me, my Lord. It is clear to me now how much you care for your baby brother. Treasure him. Treasure him, shelter him when necessary, support him always. He will need you more than ever before.”

The tight knot of anxiety in his gut grew to a pain for the warning in her tone. “What do you mean?”

“The sample I tested … there were traces of … blood.”

“Isn’t that expected?” Sesshomaru wondered, glancing at the inert hanyou.

“I do not mean the normal blood as in when one is cut, my Lord. It is menstrual blood. The bleeding of a female in heat.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed. He grasped his sibling’s hand. Inuyasha was unconscious and he doubted the hanyou could feel it, much less take comfort from it, but it comforted him. “How is that possible? Male inu youkai cannot bear young, Tamae.”

She nodded tiredly. “I am aware. In spite of that fact, Inuyasha can. From the traces of blood it is apparent the slavers infected him with a certain species of parasitic youkai, much like the one found in your brain.”

“Is it harmful?”

“No. No, it isn’t harmful to your brother,” Tamae reassured him, though the grim expression remained. She took a thick tube and a bottle of medication from her bag and began the procedure to feed the hanyou the potion that would, hopefully, bring his fever down. “It is a parasite youkai that has been used in the past by demon races whose numbers have dwindled beyond the natural means to remedy in which one of the sexes either cannot reproduce or there are no longer any living youkai of the opposite sex. The last known case of its use was with the wind youkai. Taree and I are products of its use and were birthed from a male who had the parasite placed inside him and was impregnated by another male.”

“Are you telling me Inuyasha is pregnant?”

The wind demoness shook her head negatively as she tilted Inuyasha’s head back and began to thread the tube carefully down his throat to his stomach. “No, my Lord. At least, not so far as I can determine, but his organs have begun to show more female characteristics. He has started producing eggs. Outwardly, he has not and will not change. He will still produce sperm and be able to become aroused as any healthy, sexually active male. The only difference is, now if he is taken by a male he has the potential to conceive and carry young. The parasite makes him extremely fertile, especially to inu males. I cannot say with absolute confidence he is not already pregnant, but whether he is or not you must speak to him about it.” When the tube was in place, she placed a funnel on the end and slowly poured the medication into it, waiting until it had drained fully before administering more.

“How long will he be …?”

“How long will he be able to carry? Indefinitely. The parasite has attached itself to his internal organs and feeds off his youki. When he dies, it will die. There is no other way to kill it. Besides the ability to carry it will have no adverse effect on the Lord, so you needn’t worry about his health in that regard, nor will it weaken him in any way. Under the circumstances, my Lord, it is my belief Michio intended to use Lord Inuyasha to produce his offspring.”

“But why Inuyasha? Why not a full blooded demon?”

“My best guess is because a full demon cannot birth pups year after year. Youkai are not built to breed as fast as humans and animals. With his human blood, Inuyasha has the potential to give birth to a litter of pups every year, perhaps even every nine months as a female human would or less. At the same time, Michio would not simply choose a human, because they would not be able to keep up with the physical demands and his pups’ blood would be significantly diluted. Lord Inuyasha is powerful with the blood of Inu no Taisho running through him and any offspring he produces with a full blooded inu youkai will, in all probability, be more powerful still, almost as powerful as yourself.”

“If your theory is correct, Tamae … I can only think Michio is trying to build an army.”

“That is what he appears to be doing, my Lord. However, it is unwise to suppose without concrete evidence. For all we know, he may want Inuyasha to birth his pups for another reason, one we cannot even guess because it is not something one would normally think to do. There has been very little research done on hanyou—especially inu hanyou as the inu race is one of the least likely species to interbreed with ningen because of their high pride and loyalty to their kind—and it may be Inuyasha has something else Michio wants. Unfortunately, we cannot be one hundred percent certain.”

“Unfortunately,” Sesshomaru agreed, pensively gazing at his little brother’s tattered body. “Will he heal?”

Gathering the tube and her supplies back into her bag, Tamae also glanced at the young Lord Inuyasha. “From what the monk has told us, he should heal quite rapidly once his hanyou powers return with the rising sun. As for the wounds of his heart and soul … I’m afraid that part will have to be left entirely up to you. There is no one else who can help him in that area.”

“I understand that, but … will I be enough? I have no experience in these matters.”

The wind demoness stood up and raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “I have given you what advice I can. There are no specific guidelines when it comes to helping rape victims. They will feel vulnerable, helpless, soiled in body and soul, perhaps even guilty, but how the victim expresses those emotions varies from one to the other just as much as the steps that can be taken to aid them in healing. You will have to play it by ear and, hopefully, by soul as well. Only you can determine if you will be enough, my Lord.”

“You’re enough …”

Sesshomaru glanced down at the mumbled interruption, noting with a softening of his expression that Inuyasha was nearly asleep. “Am I, ototo?”

“Mmm … enough. ‘Ve always wish’d to … feel wanted … loved … by ani …”

“Always?” Sesshomaru knew he should let his baby brother sleep, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Even when we fought?”

Inuyasha nodded almost imperceptibly. His eyes opened a crack, attractive golden irises—cloudy with fatigue—rolling his direction. “Tha’s right … even then.”

A smile curled up the corners of the inu youkai’s mouth as Inuyasha’s eyelids drifted shut, opened a sliver, and then closed all the way. His breathing soon evened out and deepened. Sesshomaru reached over, tenderly petting one of the hanyou’s ears that twitched every now and then in response to whatever he was dreaming about. Then, noting the blanket had fallen to the pup’s waist when he had sat up, he pulled it over Inuyasha’s bare stomach and chest, tucking it under his sibling’s chin.

The smile faded at the sick and feverish smell that mingled with the smaller inu’s natural scent. He was healing, that was clear, but the fact that he, Sesshomaru, had allowed this to happen curdled the daiyoukai’s insides and rubbed his youki the wrong way. It wasn’t right. That sort of thing never should have happened. He should have been able to prevent it.

“Inuyasha,” he murmured, shutting his eyes as he lifted the hanyou’s too warm hand to rub against his cheek. “I don’t know what I should do to help you. What can I do to take this pain from you?”

“Stay …”

Startled, Sesshomaru opened his eyes. He had thought his ototo was asleep. Indeed, the hanyou’s eyes were closed, his breathing heavy with sleep. “Inuyasha?”

“Please … stay with me …”

A tear trickled from the corner of his baby brother’s closed eye. So he was dreaming. Sesshomaru brushed the moisture away with his thumb. Though Inuyasha was talking in his sleep, he couldn’t help but respond to the heartfelt plea. “You have nothing to fear, little one, I will not leave you again.”

“Please … Please, don’t leave …”

“I will n—”

“Aishiteru.”

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Definition of Terms

Wakarimashita - I understand, I get it

Betsu ni - nothing

Maa - well ...

Wakata - I know

Aishiteru - I love you

A/N: Oooh, an unconscious confession?! Haha. All righty then, finally finished, and no mishaps this time! I hope you all enjoyed it, and if there were any mistakes, misspellings, or terms that I missed in the definitions, please feel free to inform me. Thanks! See ya next time (;
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A Heat to Overcome