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"Sesshoumaru, when I get big am I going to grow ears like yours? And then I won't have furry ones like the puppies do?"
Sesshoumaru glanced over the top of the book he was reading and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Of course the hanyou would intrude upon his only break from their father's relentless training to ask him inane questions about his own halfbreed deformities. It was grating enough being forced to put up with Inuyasha's persistent attempts to follow him everywhere-absolutely everywhere-without enduring it when he was exhausted and trying to study.
But damn the whelp's large curious eyes, staring at him like he knew the answer to all of life's questions.
Sesshoumaru sighed and put the book down beside him, shifting where he sat by the fireplace.
"No," he replied tiredly, clawed fingers sweeping through the fine strands that were falling into his eyes. He didn't bother to check if they'd fallen into place again. "You are hanyou; you have mixed blood. You will never look like a youkai, and your ears will not change. Inuyasha, you will never be like me."
Inuyasha just stared at him for a long moment, small fists clenching and unclenching as he seemed to absorb his big brother's words.
Then those bright golden eyes filled with tears.
"...oh," he said finally, his voice cracking, "okay, Sesshoumaru."
Frowning immediately at the display, and a little unnerved if he was completely honest with himself, Sesshoumaru's fingers twitched inside their sleeves. Should he...call for the woman? What if Father walked in and saw this? That would be hardly ideal.
"Inuyasha," he started softly, "you're the son of a daiyoukai, of the Lord of the West. You should be proud of your heritage, however mixed."
"Well I don't care about the stupid west!" Inuyasha shouted back, using his overlong crimson sleeves to scrub at his pink face. The expression that remained was flushed and miserable. "I-I got dumb ears and people laugh at me all the time, but no one laughs at you! Why can't I grow up to be like you?"
Sesshoumaru grit his teeth. "You're hanyou-"
"Well I hate it! And I hate YOU!"
Howling that last at his thunderstruck older brother, Inuyasha spun around and ran from the library, leaving only the lingering scent of salt and dirt behind him.
Well at least he could read in peace now, Sesshoumaru reflected after a few seconds. Inuyasha certainly wouldn't be returning any time soon, not after that parting declaration. Picking up the book again, the young youkai resumed his studies.
But he could see nothing but tear-drenched gold.
It soon became obvious that Sesshoumaru wasn't going to get any studying done. Not with Inuyasha's pitiful sniffling reaching his ears, from wherever the little miscreant was currently hiding. It sounded far too close for his liking.
In fact... Sesshoumaru's eyes flicked toward the fireplace. It was large enough to warm the spacious room, but it also created a portal to the room next to it, which was the dining hall.
It sounded like Inuyasha was in there. The room also only had one door, and if Sesshoumaru wasn't mistaken their father would be meeting with some of the other territory leaders in there soon.
Nothing but trouble, Sesshoumaru thought, and pushed his book aside completely.
Leaning forward on his hands and knees, Sesshoumaru stared over the flickering flames into the dimness of the next room.
"Inuyasha," he called sternly. "Come out of there."
To be honest he didn't expect any sort of positive response to the order, if Inuyasha did indeed now hate him. He supposed he understood it, in a way. He was used to being detested for his high status as the heir to the Western Lands. Being hated and envied was familiar to him. He had grown used to ignoring it. What he had no experience in, however, was dealing with the resentment of his 'shadow'; his exuberant hanyou half-brother.
His eyes on the flames, Sesshoumaru wondered if perhaps he could have handled his question a little better. As vexing as his constant attention was, Inuyasha's high regard for him had never been unwelcome.
"Whatcha want," said Inuyasha from the other side of the fire, his face blotchy from crying and drawn in lines of sullen misery. But he was on his hands and knees staring across the flames to where Sesshoumaru mirrored his position, which was more than he'd expected.
"Father will be in there soon; make yourself scarce."
"Where'm I suppose to go? Everyone's busy," he spat that last like the idea personally offended him. "No one wants to play with me. They all say I smell bad and throw things at me. Mama's not feeling well again, and..." he trailed off momentarily, distracted by his own admission. Sesshoumaru was well aware of Izayoi's fading health, as was most of the castle. She was, in truth, Inuyasha's only champion. Of course he was being bullied by the youkai children. It didn't matter that they were ungainly, clumsy fools with misshappen faces and crooked claws - they were youkai. And Inuyasha was far too trusting still to know that youkai did not mean superior. Not to him. A drop of his blood was worth an entire battlefield of low grade youkai. He just didn't know it yet.
"...you may amuse yourself in here," Sesshoumaru found himself saying reluctantly, "provided you don't disturb me."
Inuyasha's eyes lit up in a way even the firelight could not match. "I can? Really? Okay!"
"Just remember-" Sesshoumaru broke off with a blink as Inuyasha disappeared from the fireplace. "Hn. Energetic brat."
The light pad of rapid footsteps into the library signalled Inuyasha's entry, but what the youkai hadn't prepared himself for was the warm weight of the boy against his chest the moment he turned around where he sat. Staring down at him in utter bewilderment, Sesshoumaru noted the small arms pushed into his hair and wrapped about his neck and the twitching brush of furred ears against the line of his jaw. The hanyou had shoved his damp little face right into his neck.
"Sorry Sesshoumaru," the boy said dutifully, as he was no stranger to his older brother's reaction to such displays of affection. But he also wasn't letting go. It began to occur to Sesshoumaru that the boy was indeed upset, and had no one to assuage his fear of being an outcast. That role, it seemed, had now fallen to him.
Without returning the embrace - that would be far too much - Sesshoumaru lifted one hand and placed his fingertips against one furry ear, where it fluttered like a nervous butterfly against his jaw. It was soft, he noted. And yes, much like the delicate ear of a pup. But not displeasing. Perhaps they were even something that could be looked upon fondly, for no youkai he'd met had such well-formed ears.
"'m ugly."
Sesshoumaru blinked at the statement, then tensed at the sensation of hot tears running over his neck. A feeling not unlike panic rose in him, and he found himself grappling with a sudden instinct to Fix Him.
"You certainly are not," he snapped, even as both his hands ploughed into the bird's nest of Inuyasha's hair, tugging at his bizarre ears and making the boy yowl in protest. "You're my brother. I would have drowned you at birth if you were ugly."
Inuyasha squirmed and made a protesting sound at that, but he went still as Sesshoumaru's fingers continued to explore the curve of his ears, examining the points of them and the slight jaunty sag at the tip of his left ear, which was slightly purpled on the inside from too much rough attention. Children, he thought, disgusted. Laying hands on a child half their size.
"Threaten them with my anger the next time anyone puts their hands on you, Inuyasha. If they persist, you will seek me out." The words were out before he knew what to do with them; certainly he should be lecturing the hanyou on how to defend himself and ignore any foul comments directed at him. He shouldn't be offering to protect the little urchin. But he'd said it, and now it had to be so. Sesshoumaru was a youkai of his word.
Besides, at least he'd have an excuse to avoid their father's training sessions if he was busy threatening children.
Ducked out of sight, Inuyasha never replied. But his arms squeezed tightly, and a rough little tongue swiped over his neck once in gratitude.
Sesshoumaru grimaced. He supposed undying gratitude and affection would have its downsides, wouldn't it.
. . .everyone's got their chains to break. . .