May 2008
Title:How It Could Have Been; ch 68 Unsettled,
Author:petalears
Universe:AU
Rating:PG
Summary:Inuyasha tries to settle at the Palace.
Quote:"I told him that if he does not stop this nonsense immediately, I shall hang him up by his heels and chop him in half." - Alone in the Dark (1982 version)
Unsettled
Inuyasha regained his senses before he and The Lady reached the Palace, but he stayed passive and unquestioning as she carried him back. He felt like a parcel being passed around to everyone; no one had asked him what he wanted or felt; it was as if he wasn’t worth considering. Ripped out of one home and dumped dripping and naked into another, and then beaten and ripped out of that home back to the first; his youkai was just as confused as Inuyasha.
When they reached the Palace, his aunt took him to his own room and told him to bathe before he ate the light meal that would be brought. She would admit to no one though the reason for her order; Inuyasha’s scent was overlaid with the scent of his sister who was almost ready to claim him for herself. Chouko hadn’t yet reached that point in her own mind, but The Lady was very experienced and knew the human female was starting to become very protective and would soon be unwilling to let her brother out of her sight.
Inuyasha’s aunt wanted no female scent other than her own to be present on the boy for any length of time. The pup was not hers by birth and therefore didn’t carry her signature in his blood, but nevertheless he was hers by rights; he was her mate’s son and given to her by his mother and she wasn’t prepared to share him with another female again. And the way she was feeling right now, she didn’t know when she’d be prepared to share him with his father either.
The Lady was about to find out; Inu no Taishou came with Inuyasha’s snack himself and after he placed it on a small table, he approached his mate and snuffled at her neck. But she was not so easily placated;
"I acted for the best My Love; Inuyasha’s rudeness cannot continue, it disrupts and upsets the others too."
"Of course his rude behaviour must stop, but..."
"I will deal with him My Love; you mustn’t distress yourself in your condition."
"Feh! My Mate, this is my fourth pup to birth and I am quite well, thank you; I don’t need you to over react to every little thing."
"How can I not do so My Love? My instincts won’t allow you to suffer in any way; not least by the thoughtless actions of a child. I admit that to scent your blood and tears maddened me, but I didn’t harm my son, I might have frightened him a little I suppose, but he will be alright."
"His scent of fear and alarm almost smothered me My Mate, and now thanks to you and the other males in his life he scents of turmoil and confusion. Leave him for me to deal with, he is my pup now and I am well able to sort out his upsets in his and my own time. What did you say to him anyway?" Her tone warned him that if he wanted to return to her bed, he would have to tell her.
"I told him that if he does not stop this nonsense immediately, I shall hang him up by his heels and chop him in half." He said sheepishly, he had been so angered at the time that he’d not been considerate of his words, or the effect they would have on a frightened pup. Inu no Taishou sighed deprecatingly; "I did not mean to alarm my son, My Love; you know I would never want any child to be in fear of me."
"Words absolutely fail me My Mate, you will be lucky if he trusts you for a while; and I wanted you to take him into dinner this evening. I will keep him with me today but I will require some rest by then and I have no appetite for a meal. I am quite happy to just snack today."
"Do not be concerned, I will come for him then." Inu no Taishou replied and kissed his mate before leaving her. She then called Inuyasha from the bath to come and eat. The young hanyou obediently got out of his bath, and came to stand before her and she indicated that he should eat and then amuse himself for the rest of the afternoon in his room. Before she left him though, she picked him up and put her arms around him, very like Chouko had done and covered him in her own scent.
Inuyasha felt trapped and he picked from the plate of fruit and meat listlessly on and off and then chose a picture puzzle to piece together, breaking off every now and then to stare out of his window. He thought how much his world had changed; he was no longer able to stay for long with his human family and had to be on his best behaviour if he was to be allowed to stay with his youkai one. What was going to happen to him if he failed; would he find he had no home to go to and be thrown out of the pack?
Inside his mind he whimpered at the thought, his instincts which were primarily driven by his youkai were alarmed at the possibility of being without a pack and alone. And this time, his human heart which often rejected his youkai’s darker thoughts, was silenced as it too realised the very real danger that could befall him if he didn’t comply. Inuyasha had a vivid imagination and it wasn’t long before he had frightened himself silly, thinking of various scenarios where he had been abandoned in the wild by everyone he loved.
Inuyasha was so absorbed that he didn’t notice his father come to collect him and when the older Inu touched his shoulder, the pup jumped with shock, his hands flew to his head and clamped down on his hair. When he saw his son’s huge frightened eyes, Inu no Taishou realised just what damage his precipitous actions on the previous day had caused. Nevertheless he couldn’t allow one pup, however beloved, to disrupt the entire household, but he softened his tone to tell Inuyasha to come to dinner as soon as he was dressed for the evening meal.
Inuyasha was the last to enter the dining hall and sit down, but his ears were flat against his head and he was subdued, so Inu no Taishou knew this was not because he was being defiant. Soon it was also obvious that the pup was picking up the prickly sensation of the other two irate offspring, Michiko and Hiroto were still annoyed with their brother. After answering Inuyasha’s question about the older brother, telling him that Sesshoumaru was away for perhaps two weeks, Inu no Taishou tried to disperse the tension with his important news.
"I want all of you to be most considerate of your mother from now on; she is going to have another pup and I want you all to be alert as to how you can help, the pup is another boy." Inu no Taishou was pleased with the response from his other pups, they were excited and asking all sorts of questions and the dinner time went by quickly. Inuyasha too was happy and although he didn’t join in with as many questions, his aura was lively and his father was satisfied.
After the meal the pups were all left together to amuse themselves while their father had gone to check on his mate. Of course the topic of conversation was the new pup; as Michiko was only ten when her brother was born it was very nearly as novel an experience for her as for Hiroto. Whereas Inuyasha had had six younger siblings so far, this new one was his seventh, but he was just as excited as he’d been before.
"I wonder what markings our brother will have; we know he will have white hair and golden eyes."
"He won’t be your brother Inuyasha; Mama is not your mama, so he will only be half of your brother. You are not our brother either; Mama won’t want a horrid boy that makes her bleed like you did anyway. So we will have to wait and see what our brother looks like, won’t we Hiro?" Michiko said, her anger at what had been happening finally being able to have outlet. Hiroto and Inuyasha just stared at her, stunned; Michiko was normally so calm, very like Sesshoumaru, but she was furious with Inuyasha and also had a long memory.
Hiroto looked between his siblings and with a last glance at Inuyasha he turned to follow Michiko, leaving the young hanyou hurt and bewildered, alone in the room. He was still mulling over his sister’s words when his father came in and went to sit down before calling Inuyasha over to join him.
"I am not even going to ask what you have done now to upset Michiko, Inuyasha; I can feel her aura is angry even now. What am I to do with you? I want all of my children to be happy, but you obviously cannot find peace here with the frame of mind you are in. Do you wish to stay with your human family or perhaps I can arrange to send you to stay with one of your school companions?" Inu no Taishou was sad and Inuyasha didn’t know what to do either, but he didn’t want to be sent away.
"I don’t know what I did Papa, I don’t know; but please don’t send me away...I will be good."
"I only ask that you do as you are told and be polite Inuyasha, in the manner that you were brought up. Very well you have one more chance, but do not force me to act on my threat. I do understand your grief, but not your continuing disruptions; my patience has limits." He gave Inuyasha a hug and left and once again the child was left alone with his confused thoughts. The pup recognised of course that his father wouldn’t really harm him and that he’d been angry the day before, but it seemed that there was still some threat hanging over his head.
As it happened no one came near him again until it was bedtime and he made his own way to his rooms unsure and unknowing of what tomorrow would bring. That night he thought long and hard, coming to the erroneous conclusion that he was no longer welcome in either of his homes, but if he changed his ways he would be allowed to stay in the Palace. Inuyasha finally went to sleep after he determined to be as obedient as he could.
He started in the morning as he meant to go on and his ears were lowered on his head for most of the day. Anything he was asked to do was instantly done, all questions were answered politely and respectfully and when someone said something or wished for something, he made sure that he fulfilled the need even when it wasn’t necessary for him to do so. Inuyasha did all of this quietly and without fuss and his father was pleased with him, feeling grateful that his second son had at last taken his admonitions to heart.
As the week progressed it proved that the pup had listened to not only his father but his stepfather, human brother and youkai siblings. His behaviour was more than impeccable and he seemed only too willing to please, but this brought trouble to him instead of peace. Inuyasha’s willingness to put himself out to be obedient brought the other two pups’ instinctive natures to the fore, Hiroto was a natural Alpha and Michiko was also strong and was shaping up to be an Alpha Bitch like her mother.
Their youkai noted the unusually submissive behaviour of their Beta brother and started to assert themselves over him. Hiroto and Michiko were not aware of what they were doing; normally Inuyasha could hold his own when they were together, but now he was trying to be so very good and keeping out of trouble. Nobody noticed at first when the orders began, not even Inuyasha; it started when he was reading one afternoon and Hiroto called to him to come and play a game. Inuyasha protested that he was busy, but Hiro was bored and started to growl and fuss, so rather than cause a fight that his father might misunderstand, the hanyou pup gave in.
It set the pattern for the following week and Inuyasha was run ragged trying to keep the peace by obeying his brother and sister’s every whim. Inside though he was fuming, how long was he supposed to do this before he had re-earned the right to stay at the Palace? But no one else knew how insecure and frustrated he was, because he had to keep a cheerful countenance and remember to perk his ears although they tried to sit close to his head. If they crept into Inuyasha’s hair and his father noticed, he would sigh and look saddened, believing that his son was still sulking.
Inuyasha however could not conceal his aura which was indicative of his more and more disturbed state and he often put himself to bed after the evening meal just to escape for some time to himself. Inu no Taishou allowed this, telling the others to leave Inuyasha alone; it was family policy that each one’s personal room was private and if someone retired for the night, they had the right to be left undisturbed. Inuyasha needed the time, he was upset and near to tears with loneliness and his sense of loss.
But he learned to cover his misery with anger, he was becoming a big boy now and big boys didn’t cry. What he really wanted was his mother, she would have understood all that he was going through, she would have put her arms round him and held him close. He loved his father but he didn’t seem to understand him at the moment. Anger was proving to be a good substitute for his grief, but he had to be careful, he didn’t want to throw a tantrum and be sent away; so he bottled everything up and became a ticking time bomb.
Meanwhile Sesshoumaru had finished his assignment early, his growing concern over what he could feel from his brother’s youkai made him eager to reach home. As it was, he felt guilt and annoyance that he had to go away during Inuyasha’s time of trial. Even if he too had been cross with the pup’s behaviour, he knew his little brother didn’t mean any insult or harm; he knew that it was grief that motivated the boy’s outbursts. Sesshoumaru travelled home in his quickest form, in a radiant ball of youki.
The older brother was expecting Inuyasha to come running to greet him; the pup’s youkai would be calling out for him in the same way that his was calling for the little brother. However when he arrived he couldn’t see Inuyasha anywhere and went in search of him. He greeted his parents and siblings, even the unborn one he greeted by laying his hand over his mother’s womb and sending a tiny jolt of his signature youki to the new one. Then Sesshoumaru asked after Inuyasha and Inu no Taishou told him that the boy was in his room, he hadn’t come out all day and they had left him to his peace.
Sesshoumaru went to knock on the door to Inuyasha’s private rooms but there was no answer so he entered and found the suite empty. There was no sign of struggle and the window was open but the pup’s scent was a few hours old. Sesshoumaru searched the gardens in case the pup had got waylaid by something that had piqued his interest but the hanyou was not to be seen. The young Taiyoukai calmly walked back to where his parents were sitting and said;
"Inuyasha is not where he should be My Father; I suggest it would be prudent to find him rather quickly, as tonight there is no moon." There was a hint of disapproval in his eldest son’s voice that made Inu no Taishou’s hackles rise, but the father rose instantly and went to search, as did Sesshoumaru, but the boy was not in the Palace. So with a brief explanation to the Lady, the two males made their way to Chouko’s home to see if Inuyasha was with her. He wasn’t and neither had he been with any of the other humans.
They went back to Inuyasha’s rooms and picked up his scent following it into the garden, his guard had not seen the boy leave, but his scent did lead right to the bottom of the gardens and then they found he had gone over the wall, thankfully unaccompanied by any stranger.
"I swear when I get him back I shall get to the bottom of all this madness once and for all." Inu no Taishou muttered, ready to tear after his troubled son. Sesshoumaru put his hand on his father’s arm though and suggested that he was too close to the problem, and that Inuyasha might respond better at the moment to his bonded brother. It would not take two of them to bring the boy home and Inu no Taishou agreed, as his instincts were warring in him to find his son and stay with his pregnant mate. So he went back to his mate while Sesshoumaru took off in the direction the trail indicated.
Author:petalears
Universe:AU
Rating:PG
Summary:Inuyasha tries to settle at the Palace.
Quote:"I told him that if he does not stop this nonsense immediately, I shall hang him up by his heels and chop him in half." - Alone in the Dark (1982 version)
Unsettled
Inuyasha regained his senses before he and The Lady reached the Palace, but he stayed passive and unquestioning as she carried him back. He felt like a parcel being passed around to everyone; no one had asked him what he wanted or felt; it was as if he wasn’t worth considering. Ripped out of one home and dumped dripping and naked into another, and then beaten and ripped out of that home back to the first; his youkai was just as confused as Inuyasha.
When they reached the Palace, his aunt took him to his own room and told him to bathe before he ate the light meal that would be brought. She would admit to no one though the reason for her order; Inuyasha’s scent was overlaid with the scent of his sister who was almost ready to claim him for herself. Chouko hadn’t yet reached that point in her own mind, but The Lady was very experienced and knew the human female was starting to become very protective and would soon be unwilling to let her brother out of her sight.
Inuyasha’s aunt wanted no female scent other than her own to be present on the boy for any length of time. The pup was not hers by birth and therefore didn’t carry her signature in his blood, but nevertheless he was hers by rights; he was her mate’s son and given to her by his mother and she wasn’t prepared to share him with another female again. And the way she was feeling right now, she didn’t know when she’d be prepared to share him with his father either.
The Lady was about to find out; Inu no Taishou came with Inuyasha’s snack himself and after he placed it on a small table, he approached his mate and snuffled at her neck. But she was not so easily placated;
"I acted for the best My Love; Inuyasha’s rudeness cannot continue, it disrupts and upsets the others too."
"Of course his rude behaviour must stop, but..."
"I will deal with him My Love; you mustn’t distress yourself in your condition."
"Feh! My Mate, this is my fourth pup to birth and I am quite well, thank you; I don’t need you to over react to every little thing."
"How can I not do so My Love? My instincts won’t allow you to suffer in any way; not least by the thoughtless actions of a child. I admit that to scent your blood and tears maddened me, but I didn’t harm my son, I might have frightened him a little I suppose, but he will be alright."
"His scent of fear and alarm almost smothered me My Mate, and now thanks to you and the other males in his life he scents of turmoil and confusion. Leave him for me to deal with, he is my pup now and I am well able to sort out his upsets in his and my own time. What did you say to him anyway?" Her tone warned him that if he wanted to return to her bed, he would have to tell her.
"I told him that if he does not stop this nonsense immediately, I shall hang him up by his heels and chop him in half." He said sheepishly, he had been so angered at the time that he’d not been considerate of his words, or the effect they would have on a frightened pup. Inu no Taishou sighed deprecatingly; "I did not mean to alarm my son, My Love; you know I would never want any child to be in fear of me."
"Words absolutely fail me My Mate, you will be lucky if he trusts you for a while; and I wanted you to take him into dinner this evening. I will keep him with me today but I will require some rest by then and I have no appetite for a meal. I am quite happy to just snack today."
"Do not be concerned, I will come for him then." Inu no Taishou replied and kissed his mate before leaving her. She then called Inuyasha from the bath to come and eat. The young hanyou obediently got out of his bath, and came to stand before her and she indicated that he should eat and then amuse himself for the rest of the afternoon in his room. Before she left him though, she picked him up and put her arms around him, very like Chouko had done and covered him in her own scent.
Inuyasha felt trapped and he picked from the plate of fruit and meat listlessly on and off and then chose a picture puzzle to piece together, breaking off every now and then to stare out of his window. He thought how much his world had changed; he was no longer able to stay for long with his human family and had to be on his best behaviour if he was to be allowed to stay with his youkai one. What was going to happen to him if he failed; would he find he had no home to go to and be thrown out of the pack?
Inside his mind he whimpered at the thought, his instincts which were primarily driven by his youkai were alarmed at the possibility of being without a pack and alone. And this time, his human heart which often rejected his youkai’s darker thoughts, was silenced as it too realised the very real danger that could befall him if he didn’t comply. Inuyasha had a vivid imagination and it wasn’t long before he had frightened himself silly, thinking of various scenarios where he had been abandoned in the wild by everyone he loved.
Inuyasha was so absorbed that he didn’t notice his father come to collect him and when the older Inu touched his shoulder, the pup jumped with shock, his hands flew to his head and clamped down on his hair. When he saw his son’s huge frightened eyes, Inu no Taishou realised just what damage his precipitous actions on the previous day had caused. Nevertheless he couldn’t allow one pup, however beloved, to disrupt the entire household, but he softened his tone to tell Inuyasha to come to dinner as soon as he was dressed for the evening meal.
Inuyasha was the last to enter the dining hall and sit down, but his ears were flat against his head and he was subdued, so Inu no Taishou knew this was not because he was being defiant. Soon it was also obvious that the pup was picking up the prickly sensation of the other two irate offspring, Michiko and Hiroto were still annoyed with their brother. After answering Inuyasha’s question about the older brother, telling him that Sesshoumaru was away for perhaps two weeks, Inu no Taishou tried to disperse the tension with his important news.
"I want all of you to be most considerate of your mother from now on; she is going to have another pup and I want you all to be alert as to how you can help, the pup is another boy." Inu no Taishou was pleased with the response from his other pups, they were excited and asking all sorts of questions and the dinner time went by quickly. Inuyasha too was happy and although he didn’t join in with as many questions, his aura was lively and his father was satisfied.
After the meal the pups were all left together to amuse themselves while their father had gone to check on his mate. Of course the topic of conversation was the new pup; as Michiko was only ten when her brother was born it was very nearly as novel an experience for her as for Hiroto. Whereas Inuyasha had had six younger siblings so far, this new one was his seventh, but he was just as excited as he’d been before.
"I wonder what markings our brother will have; we know he will have white hair and golden eyes."
"He won’t be your brother Inuyasha; Mama is not your mama, so he will only be half of your brother. You are not our brother either; Mama won’t want a horrid boy that makes her bleed like you did anyway. So we will have to wait and see what our brother looks like, won’t we Hiro?" Michiko said, her anger at what had been happening finally being able to have outlet. Hiroto and Inuyasha just stared at her, stunned; Michiko was normally so calm, very like Sesshoumaru, but she was furious with Inuyasha and also had a long memory.
Hiroto looked between his siblings and with a last glance at Inuyasha he turned to follow Michiko, leaving the young hanyou hurt and bewildered, alone in the room. He was still mulling over his sister’s words when his father came in and went to sit down before calling Inuyasha over to join him.
"I am not even going to ask what you have done now to upset Michiko, Inuyasha; I can feel her aura is angry even now. What am I to do with you? I want all of my children to be happy, but you obviously cannot find peace here with the frame of mind you are in. Do you wish to stay with your human family or perhaps I can arrange to send you to stay with one of your school companions?" Inu no Taishou was sad and Inuyasha didn’t know what to do either, but he didn’t want to be sent away.
"I don’t know what I did Papa, I don’t know; but please don’t send me away...I will be good."
"I only ask that you do as you are told and be polite Inuyasha, in the manner that you were brought up. Very well you have one more chance, but do not force me to act on my threat. I do understand your grief, but not your continuing disruptions; my patience has limits." He gave Inuyasha a hug and left and once again the child was left alone with his confused thoughts. The pup recognised of course that his father wouldn’t really harm him and that he’d been angry the day before, but it seemed that there was still some threat hanging over his head.
As it happened no one came near him again until it was bedtime and he made his own way to his rooms unsure and unknowing of what tomorrow would bring. That night he thought long and hard, coming to the erroneous conclusion that he was no longer welcome in either of his homes, but if he changed his ways he would be allowed to stay in the Palace. Inuyasha finally went to sleep after he determined to be as obedient as he could.
He started in the morning as he meant to go on and his ears were lowered on his head for most of the day. Anything he was asked to do was instantly done, all questions were answered politely and respectfully and when someone said something or wished for something, he made sure that he fulfilled the need even when it wasn’t necessary for him to do so. Inuyasha did all of this quietly and without fuss and his father was pleased with him, feeling grateful that his second son had at last taken his admonitions to heart.
As the week progressed it proved that the pup had listened to not only his father but his stepfather, human brother and youkai siblings. His behaviour was more than impeccable and he seemed only too willing to please, but this brought trouble to him instead of peace. Inuyasha’s willingness to put himself out to be obedient brought the other two pups’ instinctive natures to the fore, Hiroto was a natural Alpha and Michiko was also strong and was shaping up to be an Alpha Bitch like her mother.
Their youkai noted the unusually submissive behaviour of their Beta brother and started to assert themselves over him. Hiroto and Michiko were not aware of what they were doing; normally Inuyasha could hold his own when they were together, but now he was trying to be so very good and keeping out of trouble. Nobody noticed at first when the orders began, not even Inuyasha; it started when he was reading one afternoon and Hiroto called to him to come and play a game. Inuyasha protested that he was busy, but Hiro was bored and started to growl and fuss, so rather than cause a fight that his father might misunderstand, the hanyou pup gave in.
It set the pattern for the following week and Inuyasha was run ragged trying to keep the peace by obeying his brother and sister’s every whim. Inside though he was fuming, how long was he supposed to do this before he had re-earned the right to stay at the Palace? But no one else knew how insecure and frustrated he was, because he had to keep a cheerful countenance and remember to perk his ears although they tried to sit close to his head. If they crept into Inuyasha’s hair and his father noticed, he would sigh and look saddened, believing that his son was still sulking.
Inuyasha however could not conceal his aura which was indicative of his more and more disturbed state and he often put himself to bed after the evening meal just to escape for some time to himself. Inu no Taishou allowed this, telling the others to leave Inuyasha alone; it was family policy that each one’s personal room was private and if someone retired for the night, they had the right to be left undisturbed. Inuyasha needed the time, he was upset and near to tears with loneliness and his sense of loss.
But he learned to cover his misery with anger, he was becoming a big boy now and big boys didn’t cry. What he really wanted was his mother, she would have understood all that he was going through, she would have put her arms round him and held him close. He loved his father but he didn’t seem to understand him at the moment. Anger was proving to be a good substitute for his grief, but he had to be careful, he didn’t want to throw a tantrum and be sent away; so he bottled everything up and became a ticking time bomb.
Meanwhile Sesshoumaru had finished his assignment early, his growing concern over what he could feel from his brother’s youkai made him eager to reach home. As it was, he felt guilt and annoyance that he had to go away during Inuyasha’s time of trial. Even if he too had been cross with the pup’s behaviour, he knew his little brother didn’t mean any insult or harm; he knew that it was grief that motivated the boy’s outbursts. Sesshoumaru travelled home in his quickest form, in a radiant ball of youki.
The older brother was expecting Inuyasha to come running to greet him; the pup’s youkai would be calling out for him in the same way that his was calling for the little brother. However when he arrived he couldn’t see Inuyasha anywhere and went in search of him. He greeted his parents and siblings, even the unborn one he greeted by laying his hand over his mother’s womb and sending a tiny jolt of his signature youki to the new one. Then Sesshoumaru asked after Inuyasha and Inu no Taishou told him that the boy was in his room, he hadn’t come out all day and they had left him to his peace.
Sesshoumaru went to knock on the door to Inuyasha’s private rooms but there was no answer so he entered and found the suite empty. There was no sign of struggle and the window was open but the pup’s scent was a few hours old. Sesshoumaru searched the gardens in case the pup had got waylaid by something that had piqued his interest but the hanyou was not to be seen. The young Taiyoukai calmly walked back to where his parents were sitting and said;
"Inuyasha is not where he should be My Father; I suggest it would be prudent to find him rather quickly, as tonight there is no moon." There was a hint of disapproval in his eldest son’s voice that made Inu no Taishou’s hackles rise, but the father rose instantly and went to search, as did Sesshoumaru, but the boy was not in the Palace. So with a brief explanation to the Lady, the two males made their way to Chouko’s home to see if Inuyasha was with her. He wasn’t and neither had he been with any of the other humans.
They went back to Inuyasha’s rooms and picked up his scent following it into the garden, his guard had not seen the boy leave, but his scent did lead right to the bottom of the gardens and then they found he had gone over the wall, thankfully unaccompanied by any stranger.
"I swear when I get him back I shall get to the bottom of all this madness once and for all." Inu no Taishou muttered, ready to tear after his troubled son. Sesshoumaru put his hand on his father’s arm though and suggested that he was too close to the problem, and that Inuyasha might respond better at the moment to his bonded brother. It would not take two of them to bring the boy home and Inu no Taishou agreed, as his instincts were warring in him to find his son and stay with his pregnant mate. So he went back to his mate while Sesshoumaru took off in the direction the trail indicated.