April 2008 Week 4
Title:How It Could Have Been; ch 66, Frustration
Author:petalears
Universe:Alternate
Rating:PG
Summary:Inuyasha needs help
Quote:"They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm." - Dorothy Parker
Frustrations
The gardens were laid out neat and tidy, the layouts and colours designed to instil calm with pleasant strolls and for meditation. Gentle grassy swells and paths led the walker to hidden woods and groves, ornamental ponds with shining fish or naturally appearing pools in sunlit dappled glades. Peace and solitude could be had in many directions for the wanderer, without fear of any danger suddenly shattering the tranquillity.
Inuyasha’s rooms at the Palace were part of the Royal Suite and his shoji opened onto the private area of these gardens, well away from the noisy sparring courtyards and children’s’ playgrounds. He was allowed to walk on the sweet scented grass, listen to the bubbling streams and falls along the waterways. He would come to no harm; his discreet guard was always close by in case of need and everyone hoped the little boy’s soul would be eased by the quiet contemplation encouraged by the area.
Inuyasha was a good boy; he was normally a respectful and polite child and a happily obedient pup, both by nature and by nurture. Neither of his sets of parents would have tolerated rudeness in behaviour, or coarseness of speech; after all he was a born a Prince from both his mother and father. But however well he’d been brought up, he soon proved he knew all the wrong words and how to use them, one day after he had started school again. Inuyasha soon got fed up with the whispers and stares from his classmates all whom knew that he had lost his mother.
A week into his schooling Inuyasha stood up in class and upturned his table, tipping his ink and paper all over the floor in disgust at the constant feeling of eyes watching him. Then standing with his fists clenched tight, he told them all using language worthy of his father’s barracks, that they were ‘annoying’ him. The Tiger led Inuyasha out of the class to his own private suite where he sat the boy down and made him a cup of tea. Then he called to the guard to take charge of the class while he took Inuyasha back to the Palace.
The Tiger did not berate Inuyasha for his colourful language or for the disruption of his class; nor did he punish the pup, in fact he didn’t speak much at all. Being a youkai he was able to tell that Inuyasha was far from repentant, there was no shame in his scent, just anger. This though was understandable, grief often transformed into anger for youkai and human alike, but it was not good in school and The Tiger recommended that Inuyasha was not yet ready to return.
When Inuyasha was asked by his father privately what had upset him so much in school, the pup got another chance to let loose a tirade of swearing abuse, about people spying on him all of the time and whispering behind his back. Like his tutor however, Inu no Taishou recognised that there was no reasoning with Inuyasha for the time being, but he couldn’t be allowed to rant to his heart’s content in the public areas of the Palace. So he was confined to his own rooms alone where no one would disturb him and with instructions to walk in the gardens to cool his temper.
To be fair to Inuyasha, he did try to calm down but he found it difficult, his youkai was very close to the surface and was enjoying his sense of freedom. He had allowed the youkai to help him deal with his mother’s death in the natural way all youkai did to cope with trauma, physical or mental. Because of Tessaiga, Inuyasha was in no danger of being overwhelmed, but he wasn’t trying to control himself either and his youkai was still powerful. His growing anger stopped him from thinking too hard which was a bonus, but Inuyasha also found he enjoyed the strength he had, the power over others.
Although his outburst at school had been unplanned, Inuyasha hadn’t failed to notice the effect he’d had on his fellow pupils. They had initially been shocked at his violent movement and his disrespect to interrupt the class in front of their tutor, but there had also been definite admiration and awe from his peers. Inuyasha’s youkai had enjoyed the sense of power, even as the hanyou had shaken with anger. But his walks in the garden were not so satisfactory; the calm was mind numbing to the youkai, whereas it was softening to the hanyou.
There were too many places in the gardens where Inuyasha could almost feel his mother’s presence, or noticed things she would have liked. His youkai though didn’t like the waves of sadness coursing through his body; the hanyou’s heart needed the strength of the youkai for protection or the boy would lose his power again and that would never do. The youkai too missed his mother, but he had grieved, his howl had been long and sorrowful, so now he would help his half human heart to heal.
Anger, power, physical strength and destruction were all good aids and by the time Inuyasha reached one of the glades his self control was almost in tatters and he proceeded to shred the boles of any trees within reach of his claws. This was satisfying, it stopped his thoughts from running on and he liked the result of his strength shown in the deep grooves devastating the tree trunks and the flow of the trees’ life sap as it oozed and ran down the paler wood.
Inuyasha could feel Sesshoumaru’s concern and attempts to calm him through his bond, but he was not going to stop, why should he, his youkai was just as strong as his brother’s on one side? Why should he automatically obey Shu just because he was older than Inuyasha? However ripping at the trees had taken out some of the stress Inuyasha was under and he came back through the winding paths towards the Palace and his room again. The gardens though had not had the desired effect; they were too perfect, too planned, whereas Inuyasha preferred the wilder nature of the woodlands and his youkai hated the peace.
By the time Inuyasha had reached his rooms again and noticed that a meal had been laid during his absence, his blood was growing hot again and came to a peak. He was suddenly in a fine temper and threw his dinner to the floor and when that wasn’t enough, he grabbed his toys and flung them one at a time at the shoji doors making holes in the paper. He didn’t realise that he had begun to breathe heavily either or what the frustrated yell that burst from him was all about. All he knew was that part of him wanted to wreck and destroy and part of him just wanted everything back to normal where he could go and rest happy and contented in his Mama’s arms.
In Inu no Taishou’s study Sesshoumaru was remonstrating with his father. He was concerned about Inuyasha’s aura and the upset in their bond, besides not understanding his younger brother’s uncharacteristic temper tantrums.
"You will only weaken Inuyasha more by ignoring his need for discipline Father; you would never have let me get away with such behaviour."
"Inuyasha isn’t weak My Sesshoumaru; never equate his differences to weakness, unless you want to be shown up a fool."
"Well that makes it worse then; if it wasn’t weakness that caused his rudeness...you wouldn’t have put up with me doing anything like he is." Sesshoumaru repeated.
"You would have me punish Inuyasha because he grieves for his mother Sesshoumaru?"
"Of course not, but Izayoi died over a month ago...he seems to just be...I don’t know, out of control. His youkai is very near the surface and he is pushing me away. It’s almost as if he is rebelling about being my Beta at times."
"He is...rebelling I mean. Inuyasha’s youkai is very strong as it comes from me. There will be times when he rebels or objects, especially as he grows older."
"I thought the aim was for him to calm down in the gardens, to be on his own to think about his deplorable behaviour...it doesn’t seem to be working very well." Sesshoumaru huffed, annoyed that his father wasn’t taking the older son’s concerns very seriously. It was at this point that they heard the crash of Inuyasha’s dinner and the ripping of the shoji screens as the boy’s aura spiked on their senses. Sesshoumaru merely raised his eyebrow at his father and Inu no Taishou sighed.
"I didn’t really think that it would work, the pup being on his own with nobody to fight against, but I hoped."
"He needs a sharp spanking and putting back in his place and that’s what he’d get if it was up to me." The older boy said pompously.
"Then it’s as well he is not in your charge My Son...for you do not understand." Inu no Taishou was well aware that Sesshoumaru was motivated by pique from Inuyasha not heeding his brother’s youkai to calm down. But Sesshoumaru was correct, Inuyasha couldn’t keep going the way he was; something had to be done. Meantime the father would try to enlighten the elder son.
"Do you remember when the cats started the war and it triggered your first transformation to your true form My Son?"
"Of course I do, Papa." Sesshoumaru said and Inu no Taishou was heartened by the softer ‘Papa’ over the less personal ‘Father’; it meant that his son realised he had been harsh over Inuyasha’s plight.
"At first you were afraid, remember?"
"I don’t remember fear..."
"You do My Child; and it was only natural. The sudden surge of youkai and then your body starts to reshape. It is uncomfortable and even painful at times and you had no prior experience. But do you remember how you felt in your true form?
"I remember most things." In truth Sesshoumaru didn’t have complete recall of the first time but he knew how he felt subsequently; and his father smiled, understanding his pup. There was no point in telling his eldest that he remembered very clearly the time when Sesshoumaru had been a small and cute, ungainly puppy, with huge paws and laughing eyes. A proud, happy little pup, whose ears used to stand pricked to attention very like Inuyasha’s did until he got older and the weight of fur caused them to hang down somewhat.
Sesshoumaru had only been about sixty years old, which was far earlier than normal for a first transformation; but the cat war had caused enough stress to the boy that his youkai had taken over. In fact neither of his full blooded siblings had yet had it happen nor would be expected to for many years yet. Now though Sesshoumaru thought over the feeling of freedom his true form gave him and imagined he was soaring through the skies with his parents. He easily pictured the three, large and graceful Inu Youkai, with his father and himself either side of his more delicate mother; while his father was fondly recalling the smaller rambunctious puppy.
"The power to soar high above the earth, the strength in our limbs and hearts to roam the skies, the beauty that causes others to gasp in awe as we pass and the knowledge that we are unbeatable. The ability and desire to shed our restraint, to give in to our lusts for life and death, to feel no remorse when things fall beneath our claws, to answer to none but ourselves; this is what it means to be completely free, to be Inu Youkai." Inu no Taishou said quietly, but his words were powerful nonetheless and Sesshoumaru was transfixed.
"And yet we are civilised, in preference we put on our restraints until such times as they are needed. We are not savages as some are, and rejoice in our peace and prosperity; yet all the while there is a part of us that yearns for the wild storms that rage and sing at times in our blood. You will find one day that much of that longing can be assuaged by mating flights." Inu no Taishou deliberately lightened the mood making the boy blush, because he could feel Sesshoumaru’s youkai start to rise as a result of that inherent desire for power in his singing blood.
However now that Sesshoumaru had been reminded of the delights of transformation it was time to bring him to back down to earth.
"Inuyasha will never know this joy, this complete freedom; he will never be able to transform as we do."
"Impossible Father...you cannot mean it; he is too young yet for him to..."
"I am sorry Sesshoumaru, your brother will never be able to spar and soar with you as Inu Youkai; he is hanyou. Being half human his body will never have the strength to change shape and as you know, if he had access to his full potential, he would die."
"I thought with training...as he ages..."
"It will never be enough."
"He will never know the freedom...he will never race me and the others across the skies?" Sesshoumaru was shocked, immediately horrified at the thought of Inuyasha being trapped to the earth.
"Inuyasha has other strengths that we lack; try to remember that Sesshoumaru. However at the moment, his youkai instinctively wants that freedom and is frustrated and the stress over his mother is the trigger for his imbalance now. If he could have transformed, he would have done at this point."
"I am going to go to him now Papa; he shouldn’t be left on his own, he doesn’t understand what is happening."
"As long as you understand him, you may go Sesshoumaru; you may subdue his youkai with your own, as long as you are careful...it is you also he is rebelling against." Inu no Taishou had no doubts that Sesshoumaru would deal with Inuyasha properly, the bond they shared would be invaluable. Although the father knew what was happening with the younger pup in an intellectual way, he wasn’t wholly sure how to deal with the boy. Whereas Inuyasha’s youkai would respond to his bonded brother, and the father trusted that his eldest would win the pup over.
In his room Inuyasha was waiting, his youkai boiling beneath the surface, was growling in anticipation; he knew he would be punished for his destructive behaviour and he was aggressively ready. To his surprise it was Sesshoumaru who entered his room; Inuyasha had been expecting his father, knowing that he had caused actual damage. But Sesshoumaru merely noted where his brother was and then surveyed the mess; his anger rising because he hated disarray and waste but when he felt his younger brother’s disturbed and angry aura, his own immediately cooled.
The pup’s eyes were glowing with a red tinge to the amber and the scowl on his face and defensive posture was very telling. Sesshoumaru went to sit down on his knees and beckoned his brother to come to him but Inuyasha shook his head, refusing him, much to the older boy’s great surprise.
"I want you to come here Inuyasha, I will not take no for an answer."
"Why should I do what you tell me? I don’t want you here."
"You know I am your Alpha as well as Papa, therefore you should be obedient when I tell you what to do."
"I don’t want to listen to you... you’re gonna give me a spanking aren’t you?"
"I admit that I think you deserve one, but Papa says no; however he has given me the task of helping you see sense."
"Feh! I ain’t doing what you want; Papa said you can’t smack me, so go away and leave me alone." Inuyasha said; interspersing his slang speech with some of his new less refined words. Inuyasha was obviously gleeful; as he saw it, his father had given him the upper hand over his brother. Sesshoumaru was incensed at the boy’s coarse language, and his palms itched to get hold of him, but strangely enough he did understand now that he could feel Inuyasha’s inner turmoil. The boy was not normally rude and disrespectful like this and he adored his older brother.
But a challenge however youthful or under whatever circumstances, couldn’t just be ignored. Sesshoumaru knew that Inuyasha didn’t really want to be ignored either, he needed to be put back into his place of security; the brash behaviour was a plea for a reaction. But the older brother would try reason before force.
"Stop being vulgar Inuyasha or Mama will wash your mouth out with soap."
"She ain’t my Mama and you can’t keep telling me what to do." Inuyasha was getting stroppy.
"You will come over here Inuyasha and you will be clearing this mess and collecting your toys from the garden. If you are good about it, I will let you keep them instead of putting them away for seven days." Sesshoumaru was icily calm until Inuyasha replied in the negative using the foulest language yet, when he nearly grabbed the boy to put over his knee. Only the knowledge of his father’s anger and disappointment should he do so stopped him. Spanking the pup was out, but Inu no Taishou had given Sesshoumaru permission to subdue Inuyasha; that left one way only and the older brother grinned, he would enjoy this.
Inuyasha saw the smile on his brother’s face and knew it boded ill for him; he realised that he had pushed Sesshoumaru too far and now he was in even more trouble. He backed away even further into his corner while Sesshoumaru walked steadily towards him.
"Papa said you mustn’t...I’ll tell him you hit me...go away Shu." Inuyasha was not quite so loud now, Sesshoumaru noticed; he was not so sure of his position. That was all to the good.
"If I spanked you Inuyasha, Papa would hear you from here, believe me; but although I have no doubt you will suffer that fate again one day at my hands, it is not today...I gave Papa my word."
"Well...well, go away then..." Inuyasha was getting unnerved, his youkai was reacting to the closeness of its Alpha, making the boy jumpy and then apprehensive. Sesshoumaru’s eyes had turned red and his youki was buffeting against Inuyasha, keeping him in one place, unable to move. The child’s eyes were huge in his round face and Inuyasha kept them on his brother, not liking the beautiful sinister smile.
Then with speed Inuyasha could never hope to rival, he was grabbed by the scruff and held up at his brother’s eye level. The boys stared at each other and Sesshoumaru pulled Inuyasha’s head back to expose the boy’s throat and belly to his lengthened fangs. At first Inuyasha fought against the inevitable, but Sesshoumaru growled and grumbled forcefully and finally the pup’s youkai submitted without the older brother resorting to putting his fangs to the younger throat.
Inuyasha went limp in his brother’s grasp and, as his youkai accepted his brother’s authority once more and receded, he was left exhausted and relieved. He also felt incredibly sheepish as he looked once more into his brother’s golden again but stern eyes; Sesshoumaru wasn’t going to give an inch until Inuyasha spoke.
"Shu?"
"Yes Inuyasha, do you have something you want to say to me?"
"I’ll go and clean up..."
"Is that all?"
"I’m sorry I was rude?"
"That too; the rest you will have time to think about as you clean and tidy. I will help you collect your toys."
"Shu...? Shu....I want my Mama, Shuuuu." Inuyasha wailed and Sesshoumaru held him close and snuffled the top of his head.
"I know you do Pup, I know; but that’s not possible..."
"Shuuu, Shuuu..."
"I am here Little Brother, you are safe with me."
Author:petalears
Universe:Alternate
Rating:PG
Summary:Inuyasha needs help
Quote:"They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm." - Dorothy Parker
Frustrations
The gardens were laid out neat and tidy, the layouts and colours designed to instil calm with pleasant strolls and for meditation. Gentle grassy swells and paths led the walker to hidden woods and groves, ornamental ponds with shining fish or naturally appearing pools in sunlit dappled glades. Peace and solitude could be had in many directions for the wanderer, without fear of any danger suddenly shattering the tranquillity.
Inuyasha’s rooms at the Palace were part of the Royal Suite and his shoji opened onto the private area of these gardens, well away from the noisy sparring courtyards and children’s’ playgrounds. He was allowed to walk on the sweet scented grass, listen to the bubbling streams and falls along the waterways. He would come to no harm; his discreet guard was always close by in case of need and everyone hoped the little boy’s soul would be eased by the quiet contemplation encouraged by the area.
Inuyasha was a good boy; he was normally a respectful and polite child and a happily obedient pup, both by nature and by nurture. Neither of his sets of parents would have tolerated rudeness in behaviour, or coarseness of speech; after all he was a born a Prince from both his mother and father. But however well he’d been brought up, he soon proved he knew all the wrong words and how to use them, one day after he had started school again. Inuyasha soon got fed up with the whispers and stares from his classmates all whom knew that he had lost his mother.
A week into his schooling Inuyasha stood up in class and upturned his table, tipping his ink and paper all over the floor in disgust at the constant feeling of eyes watching him. Then standing with his fists clenched tight, he told them all using language worthy of his father’s barracks, that they were ‘annoying’ him. The Tiger led Inuyasha out of the class to his own private suite where he sat the boy down and made him a cup of tea. Then he called to the guard to take charge of the class while he took Inuyasha back to the Palace.
The Tiger did not berate Inuyasha for his colourful language or for the disruption of his class; nor did he punish the pup, in fact he didn’t speak much at all. Being a youkai he was able to tell that Inuyasha was far from repentant, there was no shame in his scent, just anger. This though was understandable, grief often transformed into anger for youkai and human alike, but it was not good in school and The Tiger recommended that Inuyasha was not yet ready to return.
When Inuyasha was asked by his father privately what had upset him so much in school, the pup got another chance to let loose a tirade of swearing abuse, about people spying on him all of the time and whispering behind his back. Like his tutor however, Inu no Taishou recognised that there was no reasoning with Inuyasha for the time being, but he couldn’t be allowed to rant to his heart’s content in the public areas of the Palace. So he was confined to his own rooms alone where no one would disturb him and with instructions to walk in the gardens to cool his temper.
To be fair to Inuyasha, he did try to calm down but he found it difficult, his youkai was very close to the surface and was enjoying his sense of freedom. He had allowed the youkai to help him deal with his mother’s death in the natural way all youkai did to cope with trauma, physical or mental. Because of Tessaiga, Inuyasha was in no danger of being overwhelmed, but he wasn’t trying to control himself either and his youkai was still powerful. His growing anger stopped him from thinking too hard which was a bonus, but Inuyasha also found he enjoyed the strength he had, the power over others.
Although his outburst at school had been unplanned, Inuyasha hadn’t failed to notice the effect he’d had on his fellow pupils. They had initially been shocked at his violent movement and his disrespect to interrupt the class in front of their tutor, but there had also been definite admiration and awe from his peers. Inuyasha’s youkai had enjoyed the sense of power, even as the hanyou had shaken with anger. But his walks in the garden were not so satisfactory; the calm was mind numbing to the youkai, whereas it was softening to the hanyou.
There were too many places in the gardens where Inuyasha could almost feel his mother’s presence, or noticed things she would have liked. His youkai though didn’t like the waves of sadness coursing through his body; the hanyou’s heart needed the strength of the youkai for protection or the boy would lose his power again and that would never do. The youkai too missed his mother, but he had grieved, his howl had been long and sorrowful, so now he would help his half human heart to heal.
Anger, power, physical strength and destruction were all good aids and by the time Inuyasha reached one of the glades his self control was almost in tatters and he proceeded to shred the boles of any trees within reach of his claws. This was satisfying, it stopped his thoughts from running on and he liked the result of his strength shown in the deep grooves devastating the tree trunks and the flow of the trees’ life sap as it oozed and ran down the paler wood.
Inuyasha could feel Sesshoumaru’s concern and attempts to calm him through his bond, but he was not going to stop, why should he, his youkai was just as strong as his brother’s on one side? Why should he automatically obey Shu just because he was older than Inuyasha? However ripping at the trees had taken out some of the stress Inuyasha was under and he came back through the winding paths towards the Palace and his room again. The gardens though had not had the desired effect; they were too perfect, too planned, whereas Inuyasha preferred the wilder nature of the woodlands and his youkai hated the peace.
By the time Inuyasha had reached his rooms again and noticed that a meal had been laid during his absence, his blood was growing hot again and came to a peak. He was suddenly in a fine temper and threw his dinner to the floor and when that wasn’t enough, he grabbed his toys and flung them one at a time at the shoji doors making holes in the paper. He didn’t realise that he had begun to breathe heavily either or what the frustrated yell that burst from him was all about. All he knew was that part of him wanted to wreck and destroy and part of him just wanted everything back to normal where he could go and rest happy and contented in his Mama’s arms.
In Inu no Taishou’s study Sesshoumaru was remonstrating with his father. He was concerned about Inuyasha’s aura and the upset in their bond, besides not understanding his younger brother’s uncharacteristic temper tantrums.
"You will only weaken Inuyasha more by ignoring his need for discipline Father; you would never have let me get away with such behaviour."
"Inuyasha isn’t weak My Sesshoumaru; never equate his differences to weakness, unless you want to be shown up a fool."
"Well that makes it worse then; if it wasn’t weakness that caused his rudeness...you wouldn’t have put up with me doing anything like he is." Sesshoumaru repeated.
"You would have me punish Inuyasha because he grieves for his mother Sesshoumaru?"
"Of course not, but Izayoi died over a month ago...he seems to just be...I don’t know, out of control. His youkai is very near the surface and he is pushing me away. It’s almost as if he is rebelling about being my Beta at times."
"He is...rebelling I mean. Inuyasha’s youkai is very strong as it comes from me. There will be times when he rebels or objects, especially as he grows older."
"I thought the aim was for him to calm down in the gardens, to be on his own to think about his deplorable behaviour...it doesn’t seem to be working very well." Sesshoumaru huffed, annoyed that his father wasn’t taking the older son’s concerns very seriously. It was at this point that they heard the crash of Inuyasha’s dinner and the ripping of the shoji screens as the boy’s aura spiked on their senses. Sesshoumaru merely raised his eyebrow at his father and Inu no Taishou sighed.
"I didn’t really think that it would work, the pup being on his own with nobody to fight against, but I hoped."
"He needs a sharp spanking and putting back in his place and that’s what he’d get if it was up to me." The older boy said pompously.
"Then it’s as well he is not in your charge My Son...for you do not understand." Inu no Taishou was well aware that Sesshoumaru was motivated by pique from Inuyasha not heeding his brother’s youkai to calm down. But Sesshoumaru was correct, Inuyasha couldn’t keep going the way he was; something had to be done. Meantime the father would try to enlighten the elder son.
"Do you remember when the cats started the war and it triggered your first transformation to your true form My Son?"
"Of course I do, Papa." Sesshoumaru said and Inu no Taishou was heartened by the softer ‘Papa’ over the less personal ‘Father’; it meant that his son realised he had been harsh over Inuyasha’s plight.
"At first you were afraid, remember?"
"I don’t remember fear..."
"You do My Child; and it was only natural. The sudden surge of youkai and then your body starts to reshape. It is uncomfortable and even painful at times and you had no prior experience. But do you remember how you felt in your true form?
"I remember most things." In truth Sesshoumaru didn’t have complete recall of the first time but he knew how he felt subsequently; and his father smiled, understanding his pup. There was no point in telling his eldest that he remembered very clearly the time when Sesshoumaru had been a small and cute, ungainly puppy, with huge paws and laughing eyes. A proud, happy little pup, whose ears used to stand pricked to attention very like Inuyasha’s did until he got older and the weight of fur caused them to hang down somewhat.
Sesshoumaru had only been about sixty years old, which was far earlier than normal for a first transformation; but the cat war had caused enough stress to the boy that his youkai had taken over. In fact neither of his full blooded siblings had yet had it happen nor would be expected to for many years yet. Now though Sesshoumaru thought over the feeling of freedom his true form gave him and imagined he was soaring through the skies with his parents. He easily pictured the three, large and graceful Inu Youkai, with his father and himself either side of his more delicate mother; while his father was fondly recalling the smaller rambunctious puppy.
"The power to soar high above the earth, the strength in our limbs and hearts to roam the skies, the beauty that causes others to gasp in awe as we pass and the knowledge that we are unbeatable. The ability and desire to shed our restraint, to give in to our lusts for life and death, to feel no remorse when things fall beneath our claws, to answer to none but ourselves; this is what it means to be completely free, to be Inu Youkai." Inu no Taishou said quietly, but his words were powerful nonetheless and Sesshoumaru was transfixed.
"And yet we are civilised, in preference we put on our restraints until such times as they are needed. We are not savages as some are, and rejoice in our peace and prosperity; yet all the while there is a part of us that yearns for the wild storms that rage and sing at times in our blood. You will find one day that much of that longing can be assuaged by mating flights." Inu no Taishou deliberately lightened the mood making the boy blush, because he could feel Sesshoumaru’s youkai start to rise as a result of that inherent desire for power in his singing blood.
However now that Sesshoumaru had been reminded of the delights of transformation it was time to bring him to back down to earth.
"Inuyasha will never know this joy, this complete freedom; he will never be able to transform as we do."
"Impossible Father...you cannot mean it; he is too young yet for him to..."
"I am sorry Sesshoumaru, your brother will never be able to spar and soar with you as Inu Youkai; he is hanyou. Being half human his body will never have the strength to change shape and as you know, if he had access to his full potential, he would die."
"I thought with training...as he ages..."
"It will never be enough."
"He will never know the freedom...he will never race me and the others across the skies?" Sesshoumaru was shocked, immediately horrified at the thought of Inuyasha being trapped to the earth.
"Inuyasha has other strengths that we lack; try to remember that Sesshoumaru. However at the moment, his youkai instinctively wants that freedom and is frustrated and the stress over his mother is the trigger for his imbalance now. If he could have transformed, he would have done at this point."
"I am going to go to him now Papa; he shouldn’t be left on his own, he doesn’t understand what is happening."
"As long as you understand him, you may go Sesshoumaru; you may subdue his youkai with your own, as long as you are careful...it is you also he is rebelling against." Inu no Taishou had no doubts that Sesshoumaru would deal with Inuyasha properly, the bond they shared would be invaluable. Although the father knew what was happening with the younger pup in an intellectual way, he wasn’t wholly sure how to deal with the boy. Whereas Inuyasha’s youkai would respond to his bonded brother, and the father trusted that his eldest would win the pup over.
In his room Inuyasha was waiting, his youkai boiling beneath the surface, was growling in anticipation; he knew he would be punished for his destructive behaviour and he was aggressively ready. To his surprise it was Sesshoumaru who entered his room; Inuyasha had been expecting his father, knowing that he had caused actual damage. But Sesshoumaru merely noted where his brother was and then surveyed the mess; his anger rising because he hated disarray and waste but when he felt his younger brother’s disturbed and angry aura, his own immediately cooled.
The pup’s eyes were glowing with a red tinge to the amber and the scowl on his face and defensive posture was very telling. Sesshoumaru went to sit down on his knees and beckoned his brother to come to him but Inuyasha shook his head, refusing him, much to the older boy’s great surprise.
"I want you to come here Inuyasha, I will not take no for an answer."
"Why should I do what you tell me? I don’t want you here."
"You know I am your Alpha as well as Papa, therefore you should be obedient when I tell you what to do."
"I don’t want to listen to you... you’re gonna give me a spanking aren’t you?"
"I admit that I think you deserve one, but Papa says no; however he has given me the task of helping you see sense."
"Feh! I ain’t doing what you want; Papa said you can’t smack me, so go away and leave me alone." Inuyasha said; interspersing his slang speech with some of his new less refined words. Inuyasha was obviously gleeful; as he saw it, his father had given him the upper hand over his brother. Sesshoumaru was incensed at the boy’s coarse language, and his palms itched to get hold of him, but strangely enough he did understand now that he could feel Inuyasha’s inner turmoil. The boy was not normally rude and disrespectful like this and he adored his older brother.
But a challenge however youthful or under whatever circumstances, couldn’t just be ignored. Sesshoumaru knew that Inuyasha didn’t really want to be ignored either, he needed to be put back into his place of security; the brash behaviour was a plea for a reaction. But the older brother would try reason before force.
"Stop being vulgar Inuyasha or Mama will wash your mouth out with soap."
"She ain’t my Mama and you can’t keep telling me what to do." Inuyasha was getting stroppy.
"You will come over here Inuyasha and you will be clearing this mess and collecting your toys from the garden. If you are good about it, I will let you keep them instead of putting them away for seven days." Sesshoumaru was icily calm until Inuyasha replied in the negative using the foulest language yet, when he nearly grabbed the boy to put over his knee. Only the knowledge of his father’s anger and disappointment should he do so stopped him. Spanking the pup was out, but Inu no Taishou had given Sesshoumaru permission to subdue Inuyasha; that left one way only and the older brother grinned, he would enjoy this.
Inuyasha saw the smile on his brother’s face and knew it boded ill for him; he realised that he had pushed Sesshoumaru too far and now he was in even more trouble. He backed away even further into his corner while Sesshoumaru walked steadily towards him.
"Papa said you mustn’t...I’ll tell him you hit me...go away Shu." Inuyasha was not quite so loud now, Sesshoumaru noticed; he was not so sure of his position. That was all to the good.
"If I spanked you Inuyasha, Papa would hear you from here, believe me; but although I have no doubt you will suffer that fate again one day at my hands, it is not today...I gave Papa my word."
"Well...well, go away then..." Inuyasha was getting unnerved, his youkai was reacting to the closeness of its Alpha, making the boy jumpy and then apprehensive. Sesshoumaru’s eyes had turned red and his youki was buffeting against Inuyasha, keeping him in one place, unable to move. The child’s eyes were huge in his round face and Inuyasha kept them on his brother, not liking the beautiful sinister smile.
Then with speed Inuyasha could never hope to rival, he was grabbed by the scruff and held up at his brother’s eye level. The boys stared at each other and Sesshoumaru pulled Inuyasha’s head back to expose the boy’s throat and belly to his lengthened fangs. At first Inuyasha fought against the inevitable, but Sesshoumaru growled and grumbled forcefully and finally the pup’s youkai submitted without the older brother resorting to putting his fangs to the younger throat.
Inuyasha went limp in his brother’s grasp and, as his youkai accepted his brother’s authority once more and receded, he was left exhausted and relieved. He also felt incredibly sheepish as he looked once more into his brother’s golden again but stern eyes; Sesshoumaru wasn’t going to give an inch until Inuyasha spoke.
"Shu?"
"Yes Inuyasha, do you have something you want to say to me?"
"I’ll go and clean up..."
"Is that all?"
"I’m sorry I was rude?"
"That too; the rest you will have time to think about as you clean and tidy. I will help you collect your toys."
"Shu...? Shu....I want my Mama, Shuuuu." Inuyasha wailed and Sesshoumaru held him close and snuffled the top of his head.
"I know you do Pup, I know; but that’s not possible..."
"Shuuu, Shuuu..."
"I am here Little Brother, you are safe with me."