The Taisho fire

Bachelor's party

I do love this moment where father and sons try to redefine what their relationship is supposed to be.

He wondered, not for the first time, how Gwen's evening was going. Her last message mentioned shopping, spa massages and a karaoke evening. Towa had insisted, of course, and dragged along some cousins, daughters and great-granddaughter from InuYasha's side. Needless to say that Gwen would be pampered to death. The phone had blinked a few times since then, but the screen was getting a little blurry as night slowly spread its wings over the landscape.

Tōga's bachelor's party consisted of his two sons and himself, and a damn yōkai liquor that was threatening to vanquish him. But the man was stubborn, and if Sesshōmaru's cheeks seemed strangely tinted pink, he would not surrender. Not yet. The various teenagers and adults, hanyō and full yōkai that had accompanied them in a few physical challenges – mainly at the dōjō – were now gone, leaving the three of them with a few bottles.

It started without cheer, like the separation of sexes during the Regency era. Until enough sake was poured, and even his eldest son started to loosen. His stiff posture was sagged slightly while InuYasha was already half-sprawled upon the tatami mats. Tōga smiled indulgently at his second born, marvelling that, even though he looked to be in his sixties, he still had the chance to meet him.

The discrepancy between their respective outward appearance and their behaviour had his mind reeling. Sesshōmaru, looking like a young adult, had the poise of an emperor. InuYasha, with laugh lines around his eyes, was a far cry from the wise sensei Japan adored. And he, looking ten years older than the nine-century-old yōkai, had no idea how to fit in between.

Fortunately, InuYasha could talk for hours. As he unravelled his story and how he came to mate the miko Kagome, Sesshōmaru's concomitants hums punctuated the crazy tale of the Shikon no tama.

"Wait, wait...", Tōga frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You fought your brother in the middle of my carcass ?"

The idea of him, resting in his true form in the netherworld was strange to his human mind.

"Oh yeah, it wasn't the first or the last time !" the hanyō exclaimed, unnerved by the memory as he jumped to a crouch so canine that Tōga almost laughed. How was it that, even with half-human blood, his yōkai behaviours showed much more than those of his brother's ?

"InuYasha took my arm with Tessaiga," Sesshōmaru commented as if he was talking about the weather. Sake sprayed from his mouth onto tatami mats, but Tōga was too shocked to care about the mess.

"He did WHAT ?"

Sesshōmaru levelled him with a flat look; apparently, royalty didn't shrug.

"I tried to kill him and his wench," the daiyōkai responded.

"You did WHAT ?" Tōga bellowed, clubbing the silver-haired inuyōkai over the head. Or attempting to, because his hand only swatted a few silky strands out of place. Sesshōmaru's growl sobered him instantly, and he realised just how dangerous the animal he'd just tried to hit was. Had he been sober, Tōga never would have dared. Fortunately, his firstborn seemed in a forgiving mood, for he took another gulp of sake and chose, instead, to glare daggers at his assailant.

The scene threw InuYasha into a laughing fit before his father cuffed the back of his head.

"Ow ! Papa !"

"You deserve it. Both of you," Tōga thundered.

To think his sons had tried to kill one another...

"You hit like a girl", InuYasha pouted.

The attempt at levity went way over his head, and the former great dog general stood, fury wrapping around him like a cap. His ire was so great that even Sesshōmaru shrank upon his zabuton, flummoxed by the volatile temper of his sire.

"I can't believe it !" he ranted, digging a trench into the mats. He was beyond himself with anger, shock replaced by rightful wrath as the contemplated his offspring. "What could have brought you to such bloodshed ! You were of my BLOOD, both of you ! HOW COULD YOU ?"

Like pups being scolded for a mistake, both pair of eyes settled on the mats. Until something seemed to snap, and an oppressive amount of yōki rose from Sesshōmaru. InuYasha gasped as his brother's lithe figure unravelled from the ground, graceful and dangerous. His energy smouldered his own father's with the pressure of a mountain. Golden eyes fixed upon Tōga's face, glacial pools that betrayed a lifetime of resentment.

"Jealousy and anger," he spat. "Two hundred years of abandonment, for you bequeathing Tessaiga to him, for feeling cast out. For you getting killed in the name of another family, one that your preferred to us. For leaving me behind. For your... schemes."

Tōga's heart stilled, icy needles plunging in his guts at the utter devastation he could see in his son's eyes. For once, Sesshōmaru was unguarded, and the depth of his pain was staggering. InuYasha struggled to his feet, breaking the staring contest between father and son.

"You left us with no instructions, Dad ! It was... such a mess."

Tōga suddenly sagged, defeated by the harsh reality of what had been in his absence. He wasn't this man anymore, the Inu no Taishō. But his soul still resided within, and it mourned for his sons.

"I..."

The words refused to pass his lips, caught in his throat. There they were, from tipsy to drunk, three grown men that could not communicate properly. Tears prickled at his eyes and he swore that, in this life, he would do better.

"Gomen, my sons," his voice cracked. "Forgive me. It was my hope to have you as siblings."

"Papa."

InuYasha dragged him in a bear hug, and Tōga squeezed the life out of his second born with the desperation of a man lost at sea. Another hand, younger in appearance, landed upon his shoulder. Entranced by those lethal claws that choose to bestow comfort, Tōga lifted his eyes to meet those of a son he had once misunderstood too badly.

"I hated you, for a time," Sesshōmaru confessed. Inwardly, Tōga flinched. Outwardly, he allowed InuYasha to push him away to face the greatest trial of his past life. For once, the daiyōkai seemed at loss of words. The three men sat, tension filling the lavish room again. For once, InuYasha was silent; they both awaited Sesshōmaru's words with bated breath. The daiyōkai did not disappoint. "I hated you for dying, for abandoning us..."

The words trailed, and his wild energy suddenly settled and retreated. The room froze and Tōga's breath caught. Given how tense his shoulders were, how the air itself seemed to still, he expected his firstborn to go for the kill. Golden eyes sought his, filled with guilt.

"And I hated myself for not coming with you that day."

Tōga shuddered, his whole body rebelling against the very notion of Sesshōmaru feeling responsible for his own death. No child should have to live through this. His son's look was blank, his mind barricaded behind layers upon layers of protections, but Tōga didn't need Gwen's sight to understand how badly Sesshōmaru had been hurting.

"I would have died either way, Son. My wounds were... too dire."

Apology or forgiveness ?