August 2010 Week 1
Title:How It Could Have Been; ch 72, Jealousy
Authour:petalears
Universe:AU
Rating:PG
Summary:An occasion for jealousy.
Quote:Love risks degenerating into obsession; friendship is never anything but sharing.
-Elie Wiesel
Jealousy
A few months after the new school and home arrangements had been made, Inuyasha was beginning to show definite signs of improvement. The Palace healer had taken on board the recommendations of his colleague and could honestly report that the boy was thriving. Along with that, Sesshoumaru could say that Inuyasha’s youkai was happier than it had been for a few years; all in all it was all good news. When Inuyasha went to visit his human siblings, he stayed at his mother’s farm and the others came to visit him there, although an advisory had been given to Yori. It would be better to limit the visits to just siblings and the immediate nieces and nephews who knew Inuyasha well already.
So when Makoto passed away a month after Inuyasha’s return to the Palace, everyone stayed in the one place; and although the occasion was sad for all of them, the farm was large enough to accommodate the siblings. Inuyasha grieved for the gentle, but firm and understanding man who had been willing to treat him equally as his son when he married the boy’s mother. His memories of his stepfather took him back to the days before there were any other children and for once as he comforted his brothers and sister, he finally felt that he was the eldest again.
Now that Makoto had passed away, the farm and land belonged to Inuyasha; his siblings owning that which had been gifted on the occasions of their marriages. However there were stipulations in place that should any of that land no longer be required, it too would become part of Inuyasha’s estate at a fair price to the family that it belonged too. The General did not want pockets of land belonging to non family members and eventually it would all revert back to his son. Inu no Taishou was farsighted, his hanyou son would not always be accepted and he would meet prejudice, but he would be someone to respect, a landowner with rents and income from the taxes on his land.
But now this was all at some distant place in the future and for the time being someone would have to be found to manage the farm on Inuyasha’s behalf. Therefore six months after Makoto died, Inu no Taishou called a meeting of Yori, Sora and Chouko and their spouses. He proposed that they choose a capable member of the family who would be willing to live on and run the farm; the position would be rent free and any profit after half had gone to Inuyasha, would be shared equally between the other three siblings, with an extra percentage being given to the manager.
Ultimately the responsibility would fall to Inu no Taishou’s own manager at the Palace, but the siblings were also to choose someone who would keep an interested and informed eye and would liaise between human and youkai. This too would be a paid position and they would need the best person in both jobs until Inuyasha was able to take over. Neither would be hereditary unless the heir was willing and the best one for the job. Inuyasha’s siblings understood what was being asked of them and to start with they agreed that the quiet and unassuming Sora was the best to keep the accounts and a watchful eye on the tenant of the farm.
Thus the farm became a business until the rightful owner could make the decisions for himself. Whenever Inuyasha visited, he was always welcomed by his sister and brothers though; no one else was in evidence, unless his nieces and nephews too came to see him. But it was soon apparent that Inuyasha was not comfortable at the farm yet; it was too big and full of recent unhappy memories, so instead, he was made welcome at Yori’s home where the same arrangement was met for his visits.
Sesshoumaru was in charge of overseeing Inuyasha by checking his youkai regularly, making sure it wasn’t under abnormal strain; none of the pup’s family or healers wanted to ignore the warnings they’d been given. Especially for the successful training of Inuyasha’s youkai, the pup had to be willing and able to give his full time and attention, and that required him being whole physically and mentally. Inuyasha though continued to thrive, far more settled now than he had ever been and the cheerful ways and sunny disposition he had had when he was very young, gradually returned, making everyone realise just how much it had been missing.
Of course there were still the odd few grey clouds; a few months later Ryou was born, another son with full crests on his body, and identical to Sesshoumaru in every way. The boy had been eagerly awaited by his siblings and all had their turn at holding the new pup which helped with the recognition of sight and scent that was so important to their species. It wasn’t long before everyone knew that Ryou not only resembled his older brother in looks, but he was like him in temperament; a quiet and serious babe whose golden eyes looked gravely out on the world.
Inuyasha was enchanted as he always was with the latest new arrival and long after the novelty had worn off for the younger two, Ryou still held the hanyou’s interest. It was obvious too that Inuyasha was a source of fascination for the pup; Ryou would watch the smiles and laughing eyes with avid interest, his second brother was the only one of his new family that was so uninhibited with his expressions. The amused parents indulged the little hanyou and his new brother, Inuyasha was old enough to know how not to hurt the baby; he had after all, had almost sole care of his disadvantaged sister years before.
One innocent but careless remark of The Lady however, highlighted a new problem, jealousy. It reared its ugly head when Ryou was a month old. As usual Inuyasha was sitting on the floor by his parents’ feet looking after the baby who had just been fed; the two boys were engrossed in one another. The Western Lady remarked how, apart from the fact that Inuyasha was still the younger, he and Ryou reminded her of the time of the hanyou’s own birth, only in reverse and with Sesshoumaru.
Inuyasha didn’t hear the comment, but his older brother did and was unable to contain a flare of anger which immediately alerted everyone in the room to his displeasure. Sesshoumaru controlled himself instantly and pretended nothing had happened, hoping that everyone else would forget it as well. Inu no Taishou looked thoughtfully at his eldest pup, but didn’t provoke him and merely glanced at his mate who also looked thoughtful. They had already noticed that Sesshoumaru was a bit disgruntled with all of the fuss for the new pup and now he had showed that it was the relationship Inuyasha had with Ryou that was the actual problem.
During the following month Sesshoumaru knew that he was being unreasonable and unfair to Inuyasha; but he didn’t seem to be able to help himself. In fact knowing that he should know better made him furious, and this too he took out on his younger brother. This jealousy would manifest itself in various ways, often the older angry pup would ignore Inuyasha if the boy came to see him; or he would pretend not to hear if his brother called to him, walking away swiftly to vanish from Inuyasha’s sight.
It took quite a long time for the penny to drop with Inuyasha, that his Shu was deliberately keeping out of his way. But it took his brother to snarl at him and pinch his ears hard enough to leave bruising, for Inuyasha to realise that something was very wrong. His gasp of shock and then pain brought Sesshoumaru to his senses and the golden eyes full of pained tears that Inuyasha wouldn’t let fall, rebuked him as nothing else could. Once more angry with himself Sesshoumaru dismissed Inuyasha without the normal comfort he would offer when the boy was hurt.
"Leave me Inuyasha, you are always clamouring for my attention; go and tell Father of my sins and find favour with Mother. Play with the baby or do something useful, but leave me alone." Sesshoumaru turned his back to Inuyasha and listened, waiting for him to go and tell his father who would no doubt come to punish the older boy in some way. But he heard nothing at first until his brother’s voice questioned him.
"Shu...why?"
"You are a fool Inuyasha, that’s why. You never learn do you? Ryou is an Alpha pup, just as the rest of us are, except you...if you can’t see for yourself that if you keep grovelling to the baby, you will be put in your place by another younger brother one day, then you really are an idiot."
"Ryou’s just a baby Shu...I love babies...he likes me..." Inuyasha didn’t understand, he loved his new brother and was never concerned with his true position in the pack. The way the pack worked was still mainly a mystery to Inuyasha in any case; but he did know that at the moment and for some inexplicable reason, Shu was cross with him.
"Go away Inuyasha and stop bothering me with your yapping."
"What’s wrong Shu...what did I do wrong...I don’t like it when you is cross." Inuyasha said quietly, his speech pattern slipping as it still did occasionally if he was under pressure.
"Nothing is wrong; unless you count the fact that you are hanyou. If you were a true youkai you would be Alpha too and would know all these things by instinct, instead of needing everything explained to you." Sesshoumaru said no more, he knew he had gone too far with that comment and waited for Inuyasha to retaliate, but there was no reply and he found to his consternation that the pup had left. This again made his mood worsen and when his father came in to see him half an hour later, Inu no Taishou found a very sulky and guilt ridden pup.
"I suppose Inuyasha has whined to you all about my despicable behaviour Father, I am ready to take whatever you wish as punishment." Sesshoumaru said in a bored tone. His affectation failed to impress his father, although did put him on high alert.
"Suppose you tell me what you did Sesshoumaru, and then I will see if the account tallies."
"I was rude, I insulted his status, his physical makeup and I pinched his ears...and I’ve upset his youkai. Does that cover his grievances?"
"And when did all this happen, My Eldest Son?"
"About half an hour ago, just long enough for him to inform you, for you to comfort him and tell him what a terrible older brother he has and that he will be better off with his youngest brother, and for you to decide what to do with me." Sesshoumaru ranted childishly, which was most unlike him and the father could hear the guilt, his son was already berating himself in his mind. It was also obvious to him what had caused the unprovoked outburst, but straightening Sesshoumaru out would have to wait.
"I have not seen Inuyasha all morning Sesshoumaru; I have heard nothing of this matter till now. I came to confer with you as to an appropriate date for Ryou to be presented. Now I must find Inuyasha and you will have to wait."
"You deceived This Sesshoumaru, Father?"
"Reconsider your words My Son; I think you will find I did no such thing. You spoke first; now I must go and see what damage you have caused." Inu no Taishou said with barely contained anger, although he ignored the pompous speech; he knew that it was his son’s way of dealing with his feelings.
"I will look for him Papa...it is for me to apologise." Sesshoumaru said in a more subdued and less autocratic voice.
"You will stay here Pup, until you remember how your words and deeds, more than anyone else’s, affect your brother. He is not to blame for his humanity and yet it seems you cannot forget it when you get angry or upset. Inuyasha is not some lesser being just because he is hanyou, no matter what others including your friends think."
"I don’t think..."
"Yes you do, beneath your deep love of your brother, you still feel he is inferior. It would not take much for you to hate him at times."
"No, I could never hate Inuyasha Papa; never, you wound me with such accusations." Sesshoumaru was most upset with his father, even to the point of tears glazing his eyes. But Inu no Taishou didn’t retract his words; with someone like Sesshoumaru, love and hate could become two sides of the same coin. Unfortunately, bigotry was rife in the circles that his eldest son was beginning to associate with more and more, and Inu no Taishou couldn’t limit his son’s exposure to such thoughts. It was part of the world that he was born to as the heir to the Western Lands; thankfully though the boy was still far too young to be out of parental influence yet.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha had left his brother’s presence and decided to make for his human home, where he knew he could find someone who would help him make sense of his feelings. His heart was hurt when he thought over what Sesshoumaru had said and none of it made sense to him. He knew Sesshoumaru loved him and yet he seemed to be ashamed of him too, he knew some found it difficult to like what he was, he remembered the times before when he’d had trouble because he was hanyou, but never did he think Shu would be among them.
On his way to the Yori’s home, Inuyasha came to the conclusion that he had been mistaken, he must have been. Oh, he knew what his brother had said, but he couldn’t have meant it, he just couldn’t. He thought of nothing else until he was spotted by Kaoru; she immediately rushed over to him to give him a hug, it was not Inuyasha’s normal day for a visit so it stood to reason he had something on his mind. As Kaoru took the pup inside to make him refreshments, Inuyasha’s guard called on both Chouko and Sora to let them know their brother was home, before alerting Inu no Taishou and then returning to his post.
The men however were all at work until the evening but it didn’t matter, Cho was the one that Inuyasha needed the most and she came over while Kaoru made tea and both women sat and chatted quietly while their brother worked out what he wanted to ask. It didn’t take long until Inuyasha was spilling the beans about Sesshoumaru’s unusual behaviour. Both Cho and Kaoru had had enough experience dealing with the little hanyou to know that he could tell if they were angry and he usually thought it was directed at him, so they had learned to control their reactions around him.
But both were incensed at the youkai prince, especially when the damp smudges on the boy’s otherwise dusty cheeks told their own story about how affected the child had been, and even though Inuyasha didn’t seem angry himself. In fact it was Inuyasha’s calm while speaking of Sesshoumaru that tempered the women’s ire and made them try to think more objectively. They were both mothers and grandmothers, who had lived through and dealt with their offspring’s growing up and it helped to remember that Sesshoumaru was still only adolescent even if he was centuries older than them.
It was only when Inuyasha assured them that his brother was actually upset and angry, and they remembered that he would know this because of the bond he shared with the older boy, that they began to see beyond the immediate reasons for the bullying. So they helped Inuyasha to see that his brother was acting as he was because he was scared that he was losing his bonded brother’s affections to the new baby. He was jealous of the attention Ryou was receiving from Inuyasha, who now spent much of his time caring for the pup and obviously not enough with the proud older brother.
"Basically Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru misses you and is trying to punish you for his hurt. Jealousy is very ugly and you should try to reassure your brother that you haven’t stopped loving him, just because you have a new sibling to cherish."
"Shu knows I love him Cho; why would he act so...so..."
"Childish, is that the word?"
"Yes, I s’pose; but Shu is all grown up."
"No he isn’t Inuyasha; and jealousy isn’t rational or limited to children...pups, but it is immature and based on very real fear."
"Fear, why is Shu afraid."
"He may feel that his special bond with you is being broken and that you would rather play with the new baby than spend time with him."
"That’s just silly Cho."
"Yes, it is to you, but not to Sesshoumaru; he is hurt and has tried to hurt you back by being scornful, and that is very childish."
"Oh..."
"What did your father say about all this?"
"I haven’t told Papa...I think I’ll try and talk to Shu again."
"Very well, but if he tries to hurt you again, I shall have a word with your Papa." Cho said firmly and looked over Inuyasha’s head to wink at Kaoru who had already opened the door to let Inu no Taishou into the kitchen. He unmasked his aura and Inuyasha instantly turned around and ran to his Papa who picked him up and inspected him carefully, taking note of the sensitive, still slightly bruised ears and the dirty face.
"How would you have me punish your brother for harming you Inuyasha; with just my slipper or should I choose a cane?" Inu no Taishou was serious, but was very pleased with the look of horror on his little son’s face.
"No Papa please...Shu is sad already, I can feel him; I don’t want him to hurt anymore, he is already very sorry."
"Very well Pup, your answer pleases me greatly, but your sisters have my assurance that Sesshoumaru has had his chance, there will not be another without serious repercussion. Are you ready to come home?"
"Yes Papa, I want to see Shu." Inuyasha didn’t seem to have taken lasting harm from his brother’s insensitivity, but the words had gone deep and down to a subconscious place where the pup’s youkai sometimes brooded. As he got older, he understood more and the youkai would soon be tired of getting sneered at. But as yet the hanyou boy was loved and cosseted, and so far content in the main.
"You are growing up Inuyasha." Papa said, and after saying goodbye and thank you to the two women, he carried his pup back home to the Palace, high on his shoulders. When they arrived, The Lady also wanted to check that the boy was not still in pain or upset and only after she had washed his face and made him eat and drink did she allow him out of her sight to find his older brother who was confined to his room.
Authour:petalears
Universe:AU
Rating:PG
Summary:An occasion for jealousy.
Quote:Love risks degenerating into obsession; friendship is never anything but sharing.
-Elie Wiesel
Jealousy
A few months after the new school and home arrangements had been made, Inuyasha was beginning to show definite signs of improvement. The Palace healer had taken on board the recommendations of his colleague and could honestly report that the boy was thriving. Along with that, Sesshoumaru could say that Inuyasha’s youkai was happier than it had been for a few years; all in all it was all good news. When Inuyasha went to visit his human siblings, he stayed at his mother’s farm and the others came to visit him there, although an advisory had been given to Yori. It would be better to limit the visits to just siblings and the immediate nieces and nephews who knew Inuyasha well already.
So when Makoto passed away a month after Inuyasha’s return to the Palace, everyone stayed in the one place; and although the occasion was sad for all of them, the farm was large enough to accommodate the siblings. Inuyasha grieved for the gentle, but firm and understanding man who had been willing to treat him equally as his son when he married the boy’s mother. His memories of his stepfather took him back to the days before there were any other children and for once as he comforted his brothers and sister, he finally felt that he was the eldest again.
Now that Makoto had passed away, the farm and land belonged to Inuyasha; his siblings owning that which had been gifted on the occasions of their marriages. However there were stipulations in place that should any of that land no longer be required, it too would become part of Inuyasha’s estate at a fair price to the family that it belonged too. The General did not want pockets of land belonging to non family members and eventually it would all revert back to his son. Inu no Taishou was farsighted, his hanyou son would not always be accepted and he would meet prejudice, but he would be someone to respect, a landowner with rents and income from the taxes on his land.
But now this was all at some distant place in the future and for the time being someone would have to be found to manage the farm on Inuyasha’s behalf. Therefore six months after Makoto died, Inu no Taishou called a meeting of Yori, Sora and Chouko and their spouses. He proposed that they choose a capable member of the family who would be willing to live on and run the farm; the position would be rent free and any profit after half had gone to Inuyasha, would be shared equally between the other three siblings, with an extra percentage being given to the manager.
Ultimately the responsibility would fall to Inu no Taishou’s own manager at the Palace, but the siblings were also to choose someone who would keep an interested and informed eye and would liaise between human and youkai. This too would be a paid position and they would need the best person in both jobs until Inuyasha was able to take over. Neither would be hereditary unless the heir was willing and the best one for the job. Inuyasha’s siblings understood what was being asked of them and to start with they agreed that the quiet and unassuming Sora was the best to keep the accounts and a watchful eye on the tenant of the farm.
Thus the farm became a business until the rightful owner could make the decisions for himself. Whenever Inuyasha visited, he was always welcomed by his sister and brothers though; no one else was in evidence, unless his nieces and nephews too came to see him. But it was soon apparent that Inuyasha was not comfortable at the farm yet; it was too big and full of recent unhappy memories, so instead, he was made welcome at Yori’s home where the same arrangement was met for his visits.
Sesshoumaru was in charge of overseeing Inuyasha by checking his youkai regularly, making sure it wasn’t under abnormal strain; none of the pup’s family or healers wanted to ignore the warnings they’d been given. Especially for the successful training of Inuyasha’s youkai, the pup had to be willing and able to give his full time and attention, and that required him being whole physically and mentally. Inuyasha though continued to thrive, far more settled now than he had ever been and the cheerful ways and sunny disposition he had had when he was very young, gradually returned, making everyone realise just how much it had been missing.
Of course there were still the odd few grey clouds; a few months later Ryou was born, another son with full crests on his body, and identical to Sesshoumaru in every way. The boy had been eagerly awaited by his siblings and all had their turn at holding the new pup which helped with the recognition of sight and scent that was so important to their species. It wasn’t long before everyone knew that Ryou not only resembled his older brother in looks, but he was like him in temperament; a quiet and serious babe whose golden eyes looked gravely out on the world.
Inuyasha was enchanted as he always was with the latest new arrival and long after the novelty had worn off for the younger two, Ryou still held the hanyou’s interest. It was obvious too that Inuyasha was a source of fascination for the pup; Ryou would watch the smiles and laughing eyes with avid interest, his second brother was the only one of his new family that was so uninhibited with his expressions. The amused parents indulged the little hanyou and his new brother, Inuyasha was old enough to know how not to hurt the baby; he had after all, had almost sole care of his disadvantaged sister years before.
One innocent but careless remark of The Lady however, highlighted a new problem, jealousy. It reared its ugly head when Ryou was a month old. As usual Inuyasha was sitting on the floor by his parents’ feet looking after the baby who had just been fed; the two boys were engrossed in one another. The Western Lady remarked how, apart from the fact that Inuyasha was still the younger, he and Ryou reminded her of the time of the hanyou’s own birth, only in reverse and with Sesshoumaru.
Inuyasha didn’t hear the comment, but his older brother did and was unable to contain a flare of anger which immediately alerted everyone in the room to his displeasure. Sesshoumaru controlled himself instantly and pretended nothing had happened, hoping that everyone else would forget it as well. Inu no Taishou looked thoughtfully at his eldest pup, but didn’t provoke him and merely glanced at his mate who also looked thoughtful. They had already noticed that Sesshoumaru was a bit disgruntled with all of the fuss for the new pup and now he had showed that it was the relationship Inuyasha had with Ryou that was the actual problem.
During the following month Sesshoumaru knew that he was being unreasonable and unfair to Inuyasha; but he didn’t seem to be able to help himself. In fact knowing that he should know better made him furious, and this too he took out on his younger brother. This jealousy would manifest itself in various ways, often the older angry pup would ignore Inuyasha if the boy came to see him; or he would pretend not to hear if his brother called to him, walking away swiftly to vanish from Inuyasha’s sight.
It took quite a long time for the penny to drop with Inuyasha, that his Shu was deliberately keeping out of his way. But it took his brother to snarl at him and pinch his ears hard enough to leave bruising, for Inuyasha to realise that something was very wrong. His gasp of shock and then pain brought Sesshoumaru to his senses and the golden eyes full of pained tears that Inuyasha wouldn’t let fall, rebuked him as nothing else could. Once more angry with himself Sesshoumaru dismissed Inuyasha without the normal comfort he would offer when the boy was hurt.
"Leave me Inuyasha, you are always clamouring for my attention; go and tell Father of my sins and find favour with Mother. Play with the baby or do something useful, but leave me alone." Sesshoumaru turned his back to Inuyasha and listened, waiting for him to go and tell his father who would no doubt come to punish the older boy in some way. But he heard nothing at first until his brother’s voice questioned him.
"Shu...why?"
"You are a fool Inuyasha, that’s why. You never learn do you? Ryou is an Alpha pup, just as the rest of us are, except you...if you can’t see for yourself that if you keep grovelling to the baby, you will be put in your place by another younger brother one day, then you really are an idiot."
"Ryou’s just a baby Shu...I love babies...he likes me..." Inuyasha didn’t understand, he loved his new brother and was never concerned with his true position in the pack. The way the pack worked was still mainly a mystery to Inuyasha in any case; but he did know that at the moment and for some inexplicable reason, Shu was cross with him.
"Go away Inuyasha and stop bothering me with your yapping."
"What’s wrong Shu...what did I do wrong...I don’t like it when you is cross." Inuyasha said quietly, his speech pattern slipping as it still did occasionally if he was under pressure.
"Nothing is wrong; unless you count the fact that you are hanyou. If you were a true youkai you would be Alpha too and would know all these things by instinct, instead of needing everything explained to you." Sesshoumaru said no more, he knew he had gone too far with that comment and waited for Inuyasha to retaliate, but there was no reply and he found to his consternation that the pup had left. This again made his mood worsen and when his father came in to see him half an hour later, Inu no Taishou found a very sulky and guilt ridden pup.
"I suppose Inuyasha has whined to you all about my despicable behaviour Father, I am ready to take whatever you wish as punishment." Sesshoumaru said in a bored tone. His affectation failed to impress his father, although did put him on high alert.
"Suppose you tell me what you did Sesshoumaru, and then I will see if the account tallies."
"I was rude, I insulted his status, his physical makeup and I pinched his ears...and I’ve upset his youkai. Does that cover his grievances?"
"And when did all this happen, My Eldest Son?"
"About half an hour ago, just long enough for him to inform you, for you to comfort him and tell him what a terrible older brother he has and that he will be better off with his youngest brother, and for you to decide what to do with me." Sesshoumaru ranted childishly, which was most unlike him and the father could hear the guilt, his son was already berating himself in his mind. It was also obvious to him what had caused the unprovoked outburst, but straightening Sesshoumaru out would have to wait.
"I have not seen Inuyasha all morning Sesshoumaru; I have heard nothing of this matter till now. I came to confer with you as to an appropriate date for Ryou to be presented. Now I must find Inuyasha and you will have to wait."
"You deceived This Sesshoumaru, Father?"
"Reconsider your words My Son; I think you will find I did no such thing. You spoke first; now I must go and see what damage you have caused." Inu no Taishou said with barely contained anger, although he ignored the pompous speech; he knew that it was his son’s way of dealing with his feelings.
"I will look for him Papa...it is for me to apologise." Sesshoumaru said in a more subdued and less autocratic voice.
"You will stay here Pup, until you remember how your words and deeds, more than anyone else’s, affect your brother. He is not to blame for his humanity and yet it seems you cannot forget it when you get angry or upset. Inuyasha is not some lesser being just because he is hanyou, no matter what others including your friends think."
"I don’t think..."
"Yes you do, beneath your deep love of your brother, you still feel he is inferior. It would not take much for you to hate him at times."
"No, I could never hate Inuyasha Papa; never, you wound me with such accusations." Sesshoumaru was most upset with his father, even to the point of tears glazing his eyes. But Inu no Taishou didn’t retract his words; with someone like Sesshoumaru, love and hate could become two sides of the same coin. Unfortunately, bigotry was rife in the circles that his eldest son was beginning to associate with more and more, and Inu no Taishou couldn’t limit his son’s exposure to such thoughts. It was part of the world that he was born to as the heir to the Western Lands; thankfully though the boy was still far too young to be out of parental influence yet.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha had left his brother’s presence and decided to make for his human home, where he knew he could find someone who would help him make sense of his feelings. His heart was hurt when he thought over what Sesshoumaru had said and none of it made sense to him. He knew Sesshoumaru loved him and yet he seemed to be ashamed of him too, he knew some found it difficult to like what he was, he remembered the times before when he’d had trouble because he was hanyou, but never did he think Shu would be among them.
On his way to the Yori’s home, Inuyasha came to the conclusion that he had been mistaken, he must have been. Oh, he knew what his brother had said, but he couldn’t have meant it, he just couldn’t. He thought of nothing else until he was spotted by Kaoru; she immediately rushed over to him to give him a hug, it was not Inuyasha’s normal day for a visit so it stood to reason he had something on his mind. As Kaoru took the pup inside to make him refreshments, Inuyasha’s guard called on both Chouko and Sora to let them know their brother was home, before alerting Inu no Taishou and then returning to his post.
The men however were all at work until the evening but it didn’t matter, Cho was the one that Inuyasha needed the most and she came over while Kaoru made tea and both women sat and chatted quietly while their brother worked out what he wanted to ask. It didn’t take long until Inuyasha was spilling the beans about Sesshoumaru’s unusual behaviour. Both Cho and Kaoru had had enough experience dealing with the little hanyou to know that he could tell if they were angry and he usually thought it was directed at him, so they had learned to control their reactions around him.
But both were incensed at the youkai prince, especially when the damp smudges on the boy’s otherwise dusty cheeks told their own story about how affected the child had been, and even though Inuyasha didn’t seem angry himself. In fact it was Inuyasha’s calm while speaking of Sesshoumaru that tempered the women’s ire and made them try to think more objectively. They were both mothers and grandmothers, who had lived through and dealt with their offspring’s growing up and it helped to remember that Sesshoumaru was still only adolescent even if he was centuries older than them.
It was only when Inuyasha assured them that his brother was actually upset and angry, and they remembered that he would know this because of the bond he shared with the older boy, that they began to see beyond the immediate reasons for the bullying. So they helped Inuyasha to see that his brother was acting as he was because he was scared that he was losing his bonded brother’s affections to the new baby. He was jealous of the attention Ryou was receiving from Inuyasha, who now spent much of his time caring for the pup and obviously not enough with the proud older brother.
"Basically Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru misses you and is trying to punish you for his hurt. Jealousy is very ugly and you should try to reassure your brother that you haven’t stopped loving him, just because you have a new sibling to cherish."
"Shu knows I love him Cho; why would he act so...so..."
"Childish, is that the word?"
"Yes, I s’pose; but Shu is all grown up."
"No he isn’t Inuyasha; and jealousy isn’t rational or limited to children...pups, but it is immature and based on very real fear."
"Fear, why is Shu afraid."
"He may feel that his special bond with you is being broken and that you would rather play with the new baby than spend time with him."
"That’s just silly Cho."
"Yes, it is to you, but not to Sesshoumaru; he is hurt and has tried to hurt you back by being scornful, and that is very childish."
"Oh..."
"What did your father say about all this?"
"I haven’t told Papa...I think I’ll try and talk to Shu again."
"Very well, but if he tries to hurt you again, I shall have a word with your Papa." Cho said firmly and looked over Inuyasha’s head to wink at Kaoru who had already opened the door to let Inu no Taishou into the kitchen. He unmasked his aura and Inuyasha instantly turned around and ran to his Papa who picked him up and inspected him carefully, taking note of the sensitive, still slightly bruised ears and the dirty face.
"How would you have me punish your brother for harming you Inuyasha; with just my slipper or should I choose a cane?" Inu no Taishou was serious, but was very pleased with the look of horror on his little son’s face.
"No Papa please...Shu is sad already, I can feel him; I don’t want him to hurt anymore, he is already very sorry."
"Very well Pup, your answer pleases me greatly, but your sisters have my assurance that Sesshoumaru has had his chance, there will not be another without serious repercussion. Are you ready to come home?"
"Yes Papa, I want to see Shu." Inuyasha didn’t seem to have taken lasting harm from his brother’s insensitivity, but the words had gone deep and down to a subconscious place where the pup’s youkai sometimes brooded. As he got older, he understood more and the youkai would soon be tired of getting sneered at. But as yet the hanyou boy was loved and cosseted, and so far content in the main.
"You are growing up Inuyasha." Papa said, and after saying goodbye and thank you to the two women, he carried his pup back home to the Palace, high on his shoulders. When they arrived, The Lady also wanted to check that the boy was not still in pain or upset and only after she had washed his face and made him eat and drink did she allow him out of her sight to find his older brother who was confined to his room.