July 2009 Week 1
Title:How It Could Have Been;ch 60, Resolved and a New Resolution
Author:petalears
Universe:AU
Rating:PG
Summary:Inu no Taishou visits the school
Quote:Even hundredfold grief is divisible by love. - Jareb Teague
Resolved and a New Resolution
Inu no Taishou put Hiroto down and told him to return to his place as he had something of importance to sort out with The Tiger. He also said that he expected the class to stay well behaved until the assistant came to take charge; knowing that they would not disobey the Lord of the West. The two adults left and went to The Tiger’s office where they were first served with refreshments. Inu no Taishou then informed the tutor that he had not yet seen his son, although he knew him to be with the eldest of his human brothers. Yori had also told the Western Lord most respectfully that Inuyasha was unwilling to speak with his father, because he was afraid that his father would take the word of another adult over his.
Perhaps The Tiger would be kind enough to explain what had happened to make Inuyasha so secretive, especially from one he knew loved him unconditionally. Inu no Taishou wanted all of the facts, he had never required special treatment or favouritism concerning his offspring, but he did require that they all be treated equally. There was no prevarication from The Tiger and he told his Lord in succinct terms all that he knew had happened. He truthfully answered that he had thought Inuyasha was acting in a jealous fashion over his younger brother who had made friends with Xing-fu, despite a mutual dislike of the older boys.
Inuyasha had made various requests to separate them, but had not given any justifiable reasons which had only added to the implication that his judgement was only based on that dislike. The Tiger had thought that Inuyasha’s humanity made him act differently to a full youkai, and had tried to take that into account, especially during the good natured rivalry during sparring. However Inuyasha hadn’t seemed to be bothered about any of that. But The Tiger then had to say about the latest incidents where the rivalry had seemed to escalate, the damage to Xing-fu’s property and the rebellion against fair discipline by Inuyasha.
Then the note had come to light and The Tiger had realised that there was probably more to this than met the eye and had sent word to Inuyasha that he was going to talk to him, only to find the boy missing and Inu no Taishou arriving. Did The Tiger know who had written the note? Yes, the brushwork of each pupil was distinctive; the brush too had a stray hair that always left a faint mark. Did The Tiger still have the damaged items in his keeping?" He did, anything like that was essential proof to be given to the parent of the wrongdoer. Would The Tiger consent to allow Inu no Taishou in to Inuyasha’s room to search? That too was of course permitted.
It was not long before all of the notes that Inuyasha had squirreled away in his drawer were found and both The Tiger and Inu no Taishou were horrified and greatly angered at the seeming persecution of the unassuming hanyou. It was obvious by the things written in some of the notes that Inuyasha had been on the receiving end of vicious words for some time, in fact at least since Hiroto had started school quite a few years before. Now Inu no Taishou’s youngest son’s penitent words came to mind, Hiroto was sorry for saying something nasty to Inuyasha that very morning, was this nasty calligraphy the work of his own son?
At least here The Tiger could reassure the angry father, it was not Hiroto and he dared to venture that anything the younger had said would not have caused Inuyasha to run away, at least not from that alone. Their mission complete in Inuyasha’s room, both The Tiger and Inu no Taishou were better prepared to find out the truth from the pupils. They entered the schoolroom and waited for the assistant to leave before speaking. In fact before anything else, Hiroto was rushing back towards his father crying afresh, and telling him that Inuyasha was gone, and it was all his fault. That meant Inu no Taishou had to reassure him and the others that the young hanyou was found safe and sound, before sending his son back to his seat once more.
The news was calming but the look on the adults’ face was anything but. Inu no Taishou looked around at the earnest faces, these were all children that he had come to know, and in the main like, as he did their parents. He knew that they weren’t bad children, but they were young enough to be swayed, and this had happened when their friendship of Inuyasha had been manipulated. However they did look concerned and that was all to the good. After a while of this, Inu no Taishou had decided how to tackle the problem and called Kouga over to him. The wolf cub obeyed instantly, although the Western Lord could tell by his scent he was very nervous.
"Kouga, do you recognise these things?" Inu no Taishou asked, as he carefully showed the boy the damaged items that The Tiger had kept safe and wrapped in cloth.
"Yes, they’re Xing’s."
"Do you know what happened to them?"
"They were broken by Inuyasha." Was the answer, but Kouga spoke quietly, he was not happy at having to say this.
"Did anyone see my son touch any of these, let alone break them?"
"No Sir."
"Has Inuyasha been in the habit of ruining someone else’s belongings?"
"I’ve never seen him do anything like it before, no Sir."
"Has anyone else anything to say that can help here, did anyone see Inuyasha destroy Xing-fu’s things?" He looked around, but no one spoke, although most were shaking their heads. "Very well, Kouga come here again and take a scent of the pen; take your time. Does anything strike you as strange?" Inu no Taishou watched and waited until the light dawned on Kouga as to what the Inu was wanting.
"There is no trace of Inuyasha’s scent, only The Tiger’s and Xing’s."
"See if you can scent whether or not Inuyasha touched anything here please Kouga."
"No, he didn’t. He has never touched anything here." This time the answer was quicker and more certain."
"Then I would like to know just how Inuyasha committed this crime and why you have all been so quick to forget his nature." He waited to let the answer sink into the boys’ heads and then he sent Kouga to sit down again while he cleared the desk and put out some of the notes that he’d found. He only put out the ones the boys would understand and then he called Kouga back to him and asked him to choose one that he would like applied to him. All Kouga could do was look away in shame and then Inu no Taishou asked all of the boys to come and choose a word or phrase that they would like to be known as. None of them accepted.
"These were found in Inuyasha’s drawer, there are more that are worse than these and he has been receiving them for several years. If you are in any doubt as to who sent them you can look around, you will come to the conclusion easily and I will defy him to lie now and say that he is not the one who also destroyed Xing-fu’s belongings." Inu no Taishou heard the whispers as the name became known, Xing-fu’s expression gave him away. The boy’s face was red, his scent proclaimed his guilt and shame, apart from anger at having been exposed in this way.
"Why did you do all of this Xing-fu, what had Inuyasha ever done to you that you would be so horrible to him?"
"He’s a hanyou, he is nothing but an animal, his mother is a whore, he was rude about my mother, and he called her a murderer. I hate him for that..." The cub almost spat out before he recalled who he was talking to; but Inu no Taishou could tell the boy was upset too.
"You are merely repeating words you do not understand Xing-fu; I know you have heard them from others, but they are incorrect and not to be repeated by any here, unless you want to know how wrathful I can be. But you feel you have the right to persecute my hanyou son and use my other son to belittle his brother on the strength of an accusation? You are wrong."
"I didn’t use Hiroto, he is my friend and my mother is not a murderer."
"Do you know what murder is, boy?"
"Yes, it means killing someone on purpose."
"Your mother deliberately killed your hanyou brother didn’t she, he was not some animal; that makes what she did murder. She may have felt justified, but she still ended the life of a young boy. Inuyasha did not lie, and when you provoked him, he only stated the fact, and it is about time you opened your eyes to the truth of the matter." Inu no Taishou ignored the boy staring at him, the youth was unused to such an adult manner being used towards him, but the Lord wasn’t finished yet; his voice was quiet but powerful and he used it to instill his sense of anger.
"I think there has been a great miscarriage of justice and a great deal of complacency surrounding my son; none of you questioned that it was out of character for Inuyasha to behave so badly. You are people who should know better, even your tutor The Tiger has many things to think on too. I truly hope this is not how you will act when you come to rule Kouga, condemning someone on such flimsy evidence, or doing nothing to make certain of what you think are facts. In fact the rest of you should also learn from this in case any of you find yourself on the receiving end. I am leaving now; you may continue your lessons." And he started to go out of the room. Hiroto ran to him calling for him and so Inu no Taishou stopped.
"Take me with you to see Inuyasha, Papa; please..."
"No Hiroto, Inuyasha doesn’t need you right now; your actions will have caused him more pain than you know. You will stay here for now and work hard, make me proud of you and erase the disappointment you have caused me over this issue." Inu no Taishou however gave his weeping son a cuddle to make sure that his harsh words didn’t permanently sting and do damage to his youngest. He knew that Hiroto was ashamed, but he would have to face some of the consequences, Inu no Taishou would not play favourites either and excuse his son on the grounds of family or youth.
It was a greatly humbled class that settled down to lessons now; a shocked Xing-fu was going to find out for himself how much it hurt to be ostracised, as nobody looked at him or gave him a kindly word. He was now a proven liar and it would be hard to make headway with the group who had been fooled by him, and his tutor was very curt when he told him that he would have to re do his work by himself. Hiroto though could only cry for the rest of the day, he had hurt both his brother and his father and wasn’t to be allowed yet to try and make amends that would ease his conscience. He couldn’t concentrate on anything and Kouga was feeling thoroughly ashamed of his lack of leadership.
But the one who condemned himself the most was The Tiger who had ignored all he’d known of the small hanyou and believed he’d become a liar and mean spirited in the face of circumstantial evidence. He too was thinking on the apology he would make to Inuyasha and the promise that he would never allow such a thing to happen again. First and foremost though he was a teacher, and the Lord had told him to continue the class’s lessons; although no one was in the frame of mind to take in much for the rest of the day.
When Inu no Taishou left Yori and Kaoru’s house after not having seen the little hanyou, Inuyasha was given some hot tea and a biscuit to calm him down. He’d not long finished it and was sitting comfortably on Kaoru’s lap, leaning against her, when he felt Sesshoumaru’s aura approaching. He stayed snuggled up to her when the Taiyoukai entered the house at Yori’s welcome, slightly unsure and surprised that his brother was here. Sesshoumaru eyes gleamed in the darkened interior of the farmhouse and a hint of red flashed over them as he heard the tiny whimper from Inuyasha and scented the uncertainty in his brother.
Inuyasha had never been afraid of or unnerved by Sesshoumaru, even when the big brother was angry; the boy had always stood his ground. To see his pup brother withdraw, instead of rush to him as usual made his blood begin to boil and he looked around to see what had upset Inuyasha. The turmoil of the younger boy had been strong enough to call to Sesshoumaru’s youkai from a great distance, and was enough for his youkai to be so shaken, that he’d had to answer and protect the pup from the danger he was in. But it seemed there was no danger as such, although there was no mistaking the apprehension; did that mean that Inuyasha felt he was in trouble, trouble enough to warrant a beating?"
Sesshoumaru noted that the humans were not afraid and were just protecting and comforting the child; the woman giving off a definite maternal scent as she held the pup tightly. So he ignored them completely and concentrated on Inuyasha, eventually gaining eye contact and swallowing the growl that was born from seeing that Inuyasha’s eyes were reddened by his grief. Yori moved forward and asked for a word, distracting the youkai from his brother momentarily.
"You know what ails my...our brother?"
"Not all of it, he turned up here today with his rabbit and out of school. He came here on his own; he hasn’t said what troubles him and has remained close to Kaoru who also has not let him out of her sight or indeed her arms." Yori said, and Sesshoumaru recognised Kaoru’s actions as the instinct of a mother. Yori continued; "Your father knows he is here, but Inuyasha didn’t want to speak to him. The Lord didn’t force the issue, but surmised the problem came from school and went to find out what had happened from the teacher.
Sesshoumaru nodded and then did something he rarely did anymore; he got down onto his knees and held out his arms to the pup and ‘woofed’ quietly. He saw Inuyasha’s eyes widen for a moment until he got down from Kaoru’s lap and flung himself into his brother’s embrace. Sesshoumaru’s tail went round the boy covering him from sight and finally Inuyasha broke down and said in stuttering words;
"They all hate me Shu and I didn’t do it, I promise I didn’t do it and Hiro wouldn’t smell me telling the truth, cos I’ve got dirty blood and The Tiger said I was ‘bellious and disobedient and I shouted at him and now I am in trouble again. Shu I didn’t mean it, I really didn’t. No one believes me, no one listens..." It was the final straw and Inuyasha gave way to his deep sorrow, once he felt that Shu wasn’t going to desert him, unlike Hiroto had done.
Sesshoumaru tightened his tail and growled comfortingly at the pup, not allowing his anger at Hiroto’s words reach Inuyasha, nor seeming to see Kaoru who also had tears in her eyes and her arms held as if she too wanted to claim the pup. By now Inuyasha was coughing and choking as he hiccupped through sobbing, his heart felt like it was breaking and he was well on his way to making himself ill. Yori went to fetch a cup of water and offered it to Sesshoumaru saying that Inuyasha needed to drink it; the youkai agreed, knowing that it contained herbs to help calm the boy down.
Once Inuyasha had drunk his medicine, Yori opened a door to a more private room, where hopefully the peace and calm would help Inuyasha go to sleep, safe in Sesshoumaru’s care. And indeed he did, he was warm and worn out and Sesshoumaru’s cosy tail smelt familiar with long ago memories he hardly recalled, but he knew this was his bolt hole in times when the world was going wrong. For Sesshoumaru too his youkai was settled again feeling the pup resting peacefully beneath his heart. Inuyasha was still asleep when Sesshoumaru started to growl his warning, but the rumble didn’t disturb the pup who was used to his brother’s sounds, especially the protecting ones.
"Stand down My Pup; there is nothing to fear from me." Inu no Taishou said and Sesshoumaru stopped growling, but didn’t release Inuyasha or waken him.
"You have found out the cause of Inuyasha disturbance Papa?"
"Yes, and I have dealt with it; the child who is at the centre of the problem will no doubt be dealt with severely by his father when I write to him. I need do no more at the moment except to deal with Inuyasha; he needs careful consideration."
"What of Hiro, Inuyasha said that Hiro had insulted him?"
"Words have been tossed around with no idea to their meaning I’m afraid. A cub has heard words from home and reapplied them at the school; Hiro has picked up on them and all any of them know is that it is an insult, but not what the words actually imply." Inu no Taishou lowered his voice as he heard Inuyasha stir and sniff, scenting out his father. Soon the ears perked up and over Sesshoumaru’s tail, followed by tired and still red rimmed eyes, but thankfully for the father, no worry at seeing him. He held out his arms and with no hesitancy this time, Inuyasha went to him.
Papa too made the small hanyou feel happy and safe, his aura was not one of anger but only love and Inuyasha relaxed and for the first time smiled and felt happy again. After the misery of so many weeks culminating in the last few days, he was once again surrounded by those who loved him. His human families and his Papa and Shu and Auntie somewhere in the Palace, now Inuyasha knew that was what he wanted and needed. He needed them close and reachable, therefore he categorically stated that he was not going back to school...never ever.
Author:petalears
Universe:AU
Rating:PG
Summary:Inu no Taishou visits the school
Quote:Even hundredfold grief is divisible by love. - Jareb Teague
Resolved and a New Resolution
Inu no Taishou put Hiroto down and told him to return to his place as he had something of importance to sort out with The Tiger. He also said that he expected the class to stay well behaved until the assistant came to take charge; knowing that they would not disobey the Lord of the West. The two adults left and went to The Tiger’s office where they were first served with refreshments. Inu no Taishou then informed the tutor that he had not yet seen his son, although he knew him to be with the eldest of his human brothers. Yori had also told the Western Lord most respectfully that Inuyasha was unwilling to speak with his father, because he was afraid that his father would take the word of another adult over his.
Perhaps The Tiger would be kind enough to explain what had happened to make Inuyasha so secretive, especially from one he knew loved him unconditionally. Inu no Taishou wanted all of the facts, he had never required special treatment or favouritism concerning his offspring, but he did require that they all be treated equally. There was no prevarication from The Tiger and he told his Lord in succinct terms all that he knew had happened. He truthfully answered that he had thought Inuyasha was acting in a jealous fashion over his younger brother who had made friends with Xing-fu, despite a mutual dislike of the older boys.
Inuyasha had made various requests to separate them, but had not given any justifiable reasons which had only added to the implication that his judgement was only based on that dislike. The Tiger had thought that Inuyasha’s humanity made him act differently to a full youkai, and had tried to take that into account, especially during the good natured rivalry during sparring. However Inuyasha hadn’t seemed to be bothered about any of that. But The Tiger then had to say about the latest incidents where the rivalry had seemed to escalate, the damage to Xing-fu’s property and the rebellion against fair discipline by Inuyasha.
Then the note had come to light and The Tiger had realised that there was probably more to this than met the eye and had sent word to Inuyasha that he was going to talk to him, only to find the boy missing and Inu no Taishou arriving. Did The Tiger know who had written the note? Yes, the brushwork of each pupil was distinctive; the brush too had a stray hair that always left a faint mark. Did The Tiger still have the damaged items in his keeping?" He did, anything like that was essential proof to be given to the parent of the wrongdoer. Would The Tiger consent to allow Inu no Taishou in to Inuyasha’s room to search? That too was of course permitted.
It was not long before all of the notes that Inuyasha had squirreled away in his drawer were found and both The Tiger and Inu no Taishou were horrified and greatly angered at the seeming persecution of the unassuming hanyou. It was obvious by the things written in some of the notes that Inuyasha had been on the receiving end of vicious words for some time, in fact at least since Hiroto had started school quite a few years before. Now Inu no Taishou’s youngest son’s penitent words came to mind, Hiroto was sorry for saying something nasty to Inuyasha that very morning, was this nasty calligraphy the work of his own son?
At least here The Tiger could reassure the angry father, it was not Hiroto and he dared to venture that anything the younger had said would not have caused Inuyasha to run away, at least not from that alone. Their mission complete in Inuyasha’s room, both The Tiger and Inu no Taishou were better prepared to find out the truth from the pupils. They entered the schoolroom and waited for the assistant to leave before speaking. In fact before anything else, Hiroto was rushing back towards his father crying afresh, and telling him that Inuyasha was gone, and it was all his fault. That meant Inu no Taishou had to reassure him and the others that the young hanyou was found safe and sound, before sending his son back to his seat once more.
The news was calming but the look on the adults’ face was anything but. Inu no Taishou looked around at the earnest faces, these were all children that he had come to know, and in the main like, as he did their parents. He knew that they weren’t bad children, but they were young enough to be swayed, and this had happened when their friendship of Inuyasha had been manipulated. However they did look concerned and that was all to the good. After a while of this, Inu no Taishou had decided how to tackle the problem and called Kouga over to him. The wolf cub obeyed instantly, although the Western Lord could tell by his scent he was very nervous.
"Kouga, do you recognise these things?" Inu no Taishou asked, as he carefully showed the boy the damaged items that The Tiger had kept safe and wrapped in cloth.
"Yes, they’re Xing’s."
"Do you know what happened to them?"
"They were broken by Inuyasha." Was the answer, but Kouga spoke quietly, he was not happy at having to say this.
"Did anyone see my son touch any of these, let alone break them?"
"No Sir."
"Has Inuyasha been in the habit of ruining someone else’s belongings?"
"I’ve never seen him do anything like it before, no Sir."
"Has anyone else anything to say that can help here, did anyone see Inuyasha destroy Xing-fu’s things?" He looked around, but no one spoke, although most were shaking their heads. "Very well, Kouga come here again and take a scent of the pen; take your time. Does anything strike you as strange?" Inu no Taishou watched and waited until the light dawned on Kouga as to what the Inu was wanting.
"There is no trace of Inuyasha’s scent, only The Tiger’s and Xing’s."
"See if you can scent whether or not Inuyasha touched anything here please Kouga."
"No, he didn’t. He has never touched anything here." This time the answer was quicker and more certain."
"Then I would like to know just how Inuyasha committed this crime and why you have all been so quick to forget his nature." He waited to let the answer sink into the boys’ heads and then he sent Kouga to sit down again while he cleared the desk and put out some of the notes that he’d found. He only put out the ones the boys would understand and then he called Kouga back to him and asked him to choose one that he would like applied to him. All Kouga could do was look away in shame and then Inu no Taishou asked all of the boys to come and choose a word or phrase that they would like to be known as. None of them accepted.
"These were found in Inuyasha’s drawer, there are more that are worse than these and he has been receiving them for several years. If you are in any doubt as to who sent them you can look around, you will come to the conclusion easily and I will defy him to lie now and say that he is not the one who also destroyed Xing-fu’s belongings." Inu no Taishou heard the whispers as the name became known, Xing-fu’s expression gave him away. The boy’s face was red, his scent proclaimed his guilt and shame, apart from anger at having been exposed in this way.
"Why did you do all of this Xing-fu, what had Inuyasha ever done to you that you would be so horrible to him?"
"He’s a hanyou, he is nothing but an animal, his mother is a whore, he was rude about my mother, and he called her a murderer. I hate him for that..." The cub almost spat out before he recalled who he was talking to; but Inu no Taishou could tell the boy was upset too.
"You are merely repeating words you do not understand Xing-fu; I know you have heard them from others, but they are incorrect and not to be repeated by any here, unless you want to know how wrathful I can be. But you feel you have the right to persecute my hanyou son and use my other son to belittle his brother on the strength of an accusation? You are wrong."
"I didn’t use Hiroto, he is my friend and my mother is not a murderer."
"Do you know what murder is, boy?"
"Yes, it means killing someone on purpose."
"Your mother deliberately killed your hanyou brother didn’t she, he was not some animal; that makes what she did murder. She may have felt justified, but she still ended the life of a young boy. Inuyasha did not lie, and when you provoked him, he only stated the fact, and it is about time you opened your eyes to the truth of the matter." Inu no Taishou ignored the boy staring at him, the youth was unused to such an adult manner being used towards him, but the Lord wasn’t finished yet; his voice was quiet but powerful and he used it to instill his sense of anger.
"I think there has been a great miscarriage of justice and a great deal of complacency surrounding my son; none of you questioned that it was out of character for Inuyasha to behave so badly. You are people who should know better, even your tutor The Tiger has many things to think on too. I truly hope this is not how you will act when you come to rule Kouga, condemning someone on such flimsy evidence, or doing nothing to make certain of what you think are facts. In fact the rest of you should also learn from this in case any of you find yourself on the receiving end. I am leaving now; you may continue your lessons." And he started to go out of the room. Hiroto ran to him calling for him and so Inu no Taishou stopped.
"Take me with you to see Inuyasha, Papa; please..."
"No Hiroto, Inuyasha doesn’t need you right now; your actions will have caused him more pain than you know. You will stay here for now and work hard, make me proud of you and erase the disappointment you have caused me over this issue." Inu no Taishou however gave his weeping son a cuddle to make sure that his harsh words didn’t permanently sting and do damage to his youngest. He knew that Hiroto was ashamed, but he would have to face some of the consequences, Inu no Taishou would not play favourites either and excuse his son on the grounds of family or youth.
It was a greatly humbled class that settled down to lessons now; a shocked Xing-fu was going to find out for himself how much it hurt to be ostracised, as nobody looked at him or gave him a kindly word. He was now a proven liar and it would be hard to make headway with the group who had been fooled by him, and his tutor was very curt when he told him that he would have to re do his work by himself. Hiroto though could only cry for the rest of the day, he had hurt both his brother and his father and wasn’t to be allowed yet to try and make amends that would ease his conscience. He couldn’t concentrate on anything and Kouga was feeling thoroughly ashamed of his lack of leadership.
But the one who condemned himself the most was The Tiger who had ignored all he’d known of the small hanyou and believed he’d become a liar and mean spirited in the face of circumstantial evidence. He too was thinking on the apology he would make to Inuyasha and the promise that he would never allow such a thing to happen again. First and foremost though he was a teacher, and the Lord had told him to continue the class’s lessons; although no one was in the frame of mind to take in much for the rest of the day.
When Inu no Taishou left Yori and Kaoru’s house after not having seen the little hanyou, Inuyasha was given some hot tea and a biscuit to calm him down. He’d not long finished it and was sitting comfortably on Kaoru’s lap, leaning against her, when he felt Sesshoumaru’s aura approaching. He stayed snuggled up to her when the Taiyoukai entered the house at Yori’s welcome, slightly unsure and surprised that his brother was here. Sesshoumaru eyes gleamed in the darkened interior of the farmhouse and a hint of red flashed over them as he heard the tiny whimper from Inuyasha and scented the uncertainty in his brother.
Inuyasha had never been afraid of or unnerved by Sesshoumaru, even when the big brother was angry; the boy had always stood his ground. To see his pup brother withdraw, instead of rush to him as usual made his blood begin to boil and he looked around to see what had upset Inuyasha. The turmoil of the younger boy had been strong enough to call to Sesshoumaru’s youkai from a great distance, and was enough for his youkai to be so shaken, that he’d had to answer and protect the pup from the danger he was in. But it seemed there was no danger as such, although there was no mistaking the apprehension; did that mean that Inuyasha felt he was in trouble, trouble enough to warrant a beating?"
Sesshoumaru noted that the humans were not afraid and were just protecting and comforting the child; the woman giving off a definite maternal scent as she held the pup tightly. So he ignored them completely and concentrated on Inuyasha, eventually gaining eye contact and swallowing the growl that was born from seeing that Inuyasha’s eyes were reddened by his grief. Yori moved forward and asked for a word, distracting the youkai from his brother momentarily.
"You know what ails my...our brother?"
"Not all of it, he turned up here today with his rabbit and out of school. He came here on his own; he hasn’t said what troubles him and has remained close to Kaoru who also has not let him out of her sight or indeed her arms." Yori said, and Sesshoumaru recognised Kaoru’s actions as the instinct of a mother. Yori continued; "Your father knows he is here, but Inuyasha didn’t want to speak to him. The Lord didn’t force the issue, but surmised the problem came from school and went to find out what had happened from the teacher.
Sesshoumaru nodded and then did something he rarely did anymore; he got down onto his knees and held out his arms to the pup and ‘woofed’ quietly. He saw Inuyasha’s eyes widen for a moment until he got down from Kaoru’s lap and flung himself into his brother’s embrace. Sesshoumaru’s tail went round the boy covering him from sight and finally Inuyasha broke down and said in stuttering words;
"They all hate me Shu and I didn’t do it, I promise I didn’t do it and Hiro wouldn’t smell me telling the truth, cos I’ve got dirty blood and The Tiger said I was ‘bellious and disobedient and I shouted at him and now I am in trouble again. Shu I didn’t mean it, I really didn’t. No one believes me, no one listens..." It was the final straw and Inuyasha gave way to his deep sorrow, once he felt that Shu wasn’t going to desert him, unlike Hiroto had done.
Sesshoumaru tightened his tail and growled comfortingly at the pup, not allowing his anger at Hiroto’s words reach Inuyasha, nor seeming to see Kaoru who also had tears in her eyes and her arms held as if she too wanted to claim the pup. By now Inuyasha was coughing and choking as he hiccupped through sobbing, his heart felt like it was breaking and he was well on his way to making himself ill. Yori went to fetch a cup of water and offered it to Sesshoumaru saying that Inuyasha needed to drink it; the youkai agreed, knowing that it contained herbs to help calm the boy down.
Once Inuyasha had drunk his medicine, Yori opened a door to a more private room, where hopefully the peace and calm would help Inuyasha go to sleep, safe in Sesshoumaru’s care. And indeed he did, he was warm and worn out and Sesshoumaru’s cosy tail smelt familiar with long ago memories he hardly recalled, but he knew this was his bolt hole in times when the world was going wrong. For Sesshoumaru too his youkai was settled again feeling the pup resting peacefully beneath his heart. Inuyasha was still asleep when Sesshoumaru started to growl his warning, but the rumble didn’t disturb the pup who was used to his brother’s sounds, especially the protecting ones.
"Stand down My Pup; there is nothing to fear from me." Inu no Taishou said and Sesshoumaru stopped growling, but didn’t release Inuyasha or waken him.
"You have found out the cause of Inuyasha disturbance Papa?"
"Yes, and I have dealt with it; the child who is at the centre of the problem will no doubt be dealt with severely by his father when I write to him. I need do no more at the moment except to deal with Inuyasha; he needs careful consideration."
"What of Hiro, Inuyasha said that Hiro had insulted him?"
"Words have been tossed around with no idea to their meaning I’m afraid. A cub has heard words from home and reapplied them at the school; Hiro has picked up on them and all any of them know is that it is an insult, but not what the words actually imply." Inu no Taishou lowered his voice as he heard Inuyasha stir and sniff, scenting out his father. Soon the ears perked up and over Sesshoumaru’s tail, followed by tired and still red rimmed eyes, but thankfully for the father, no worry at seeing him. He held out his arms and with no hesitancy this time, Inuyasha went to him.
Papa too made the small hanyou feel happy and safe, his aura was not one of anger but only love and Inuyasha relaxed and for the first time smiled and felt happy again. After the misery of so many weeks culminating in the last few days, he was once again surrounded by those who loved him. His human families and his Papa and Shu and Auntie somewhere in the Palace, now Inuyasha knew that was what he wanted and needed. He needed them close and reachable, therefore he categorically stated that he was not going back to school...never ever.