Intervention; Thy Name Is Bakusen'O! || lunamist » vonlane

Chapter 12

Inuyasha simply couldn't believe his eyes. Nor could he believe that he was still in the middle of a city instead of a wooded field. "How is this possible?" Somehow the awe of what lay before him trumped his instinctual mistrust of his brother.

"I would say it was magic, but that would only be a small part of the story. In truth, most of what you see before you is made possible only by the power of money," Sesshomaru answered, a slight smile etching its way across his face at the obvious joy Inuyasha was taking in the gardens the DaiYoukai had spent a small fortune to create.

Wrinkling his nose in distaste, Inuyasha had never liked the idea of money, mostly because he'd never had any. Not that it really bothered him, after all, an extra coin or two wouldn't have saved him from any of the physical and mental beat-downs he'd been through in his life. Throwing a quick glance over in Sesshomaru's direction, Inuyasha had to wonder exactly how his brother had become so wealthy. With that in mind, he asked, "What is it you do . . . exactly?"

"Hmm, exactly? Are you certain you wish to know this, little brother?"

"-Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, "most likely you just whacked the heads off a bunch of rich folks and took all their gold."

Eyes still on his brother, Inuyasha inwardly cringed at the sadistic smirk twisting the DaiYoukai's face. Unfortunately that cringe only worsened when Sesshomaru answered, "Perhaps other body parts were involved as well, but I suppose you are not far off, at least in how some of my fortune was amassed."

Unable to suppress the shiver running through his body, nor the sudden cold seeping into his veins, Inuyasha swallowed a painful lump of saliva. At times, it was all too easy to forget what his brother was. Sesshomaru was beautiful beyond words, but that beauty hid nothing but pain if one wasn't careful, or if one was a half-breed brother the bastard simply decided to hate. Lost in his thoughts, Inuyasha jumped when he felt a clawed hand grip his shoulder. "There is much about this Sesshomaru's life which you do not understand, but rest assured, I am a most legitimate businessman. There is no need to concern yourself over the means used to obtain what you now enjoy."

"You tellin' me you've never killed somebody to get what you want?"

"Do not be foolish, of course this Sesshomaru has killed. I am the leader of all the Asian Lands, do not think this title comes from showing mercy to those whom do not deserve it."

Bowing his head low, Inuyasha felt the breeze shift his long, silvery-white locks of hair, casting a large section of it over his shoulder. Honestly, he didn't even want to begin thinking about what his brother did or how he went about doing it. Besides, Kouga was right, Inuyasha desperately wanted to believe Sesshomaru had changed; that his brother wanted him to stick around; that Sesshomaru didn't hate him and had no further desire to cause him any pain.

Seeing his little brother so pensive, Sesshomaru began wondering if Inuyasha truly had a problem with the idea of using violence to retain control and order over the Youkai world. True, he was a Hanyou, but the DaiYoukai had seen Inuyasha slaughter his fair share of Youkai in defense of both himself and his human friends. "Does it truly bother you to know such a thing?"

Slowly, Inuyasha shook his head. "No, not really. I mean, I don't really like the idea of torture and all, but sometimes there just ain't no other way, especially when it comes to Youkai. Sometimes, I think violence is all they respect."

Sliding his hand from Inuyasha's shoulder, Sesshomaru ran his fingers through the length of his brother's hair, loving the soft cotton feel of it against his skin. To a human, the pride swelling within the DaiYoukai's heart would have seemed cruel, but for the Lord of the West, Inuyasha's words were both pleasing and reassuring. To be certain, Sesshomaru had plans for his little Hanyou brother and those plans would be difficult enough as it was, let alone if Inuyasha allowed his human blood to claim some type of moral high ground which was both impractical and out of place in Youkai society. Pleased and oddly sedate, Sesshomaru didn't even realize the soothing calm his Youkai was emitting until he felt Inuyasha lean into his chest; the Hanyou's body relaxed and pliant within his touch. Leaning forwards, Sesshomaru couldn't help but gently rub his face along the edge of one of Inuyasha's ears. "Does this area please you, little brother?"