Disclaimer: I don't own or make money from this.

A/N: This is the last chapter in this part of The Old Cherry Tree Arc (yes this is part of a story arc). Think of this as a Prologue to the longer and better Fic that will be Volume 2. Don't worry though, the first chapter of the next part has already been written and will be posted within the week.

The Old Cherry Tree

by Evandar

Chapter 4

"I lied to her," InuYasha repeated. "I told her what she wanted to hear in return for the jewel. There was never anything else between us. Where did you hear this?"

"Your retainer told me that you were in love with her, so I went to find you," Sesshoumaru explained. "I watched as you promised yourself to her."

"I was lying to her!" InuYasha cried. "Dammit! Why aren't you listening to me? I love you."

Acting on impulse, he embraced Sesshoumaru, wrapping his arms around the older demon's neck and resting his head against the furry boa that adorned his brother's shoulder. He tilted his head up and began to nip and lick at the underside of Sesshoumaru's chin submissively.

Sesshoumaru paused, inhaling the scent of his estranged mate, shock written all over his usually cold features. InuYasha had been telling the truth and he had been trying to kill his faithful mate. He wrapped his arm around InuYasha, crushing their bodies together. Sesshoumaru knew that he was shaking, and that InuYasha was crying; he could smell his mate's tears. He rested his cheek gently against his younger brother's forehead and let his tears fall for the first time in fifty years.

.I.S.

"I was not present for the public mating ceremony that took place seventy five years later, but I heard later on that it was a spectacular affair; with a huge banquet and lavish gifts for all that attended.

"InuYasha was still very young, but he was an early bloomer and had started his heat cycle in his mid eighties, so it was all perfectly legal in demon lore. It was thought by many, though, that he was too young, and an unsuitable mate for Sesshoumaru.

"For a while, InuYasha proved his sceptics wrong. They were happily mated for over six hundred years, but in the end, their relationship began to fall apart.

"As a half-breed, InuYasha is infertile; he can neither sire nor bear children. This created a problem; as the mate of an Inutaishou, it was InuYasha's responsibilty to give Sesshoumaru an heir. Determined to stop the growing rift between them, InuYasha left the Western Lands in search of the one thing that could make him a full demon; the Shikon no Tama.

"As soon as I heard of InuYasha's quest, I sought him out. I did not speak to him, instead I simply watched as he used trickery to seduce the priestess Kikyou and persuade her to give the jewel to him.

"But InuYasha was not alone in leaving the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru had grown worried about his mate and, accompanied by Jaken, had gone in search of him. I knew that this could bemy only chance to fulfill my Lord's last request and separate them.

"I went to Sesshoumaru and told him that InuYasha had betrayed him and fallen in love with another. He was furious and threatened to kill me, so I told him to go and see for himself. I do not know what he saw or heard, but he returned ashen-faced and declared that InuYasha was a traitor and no longer his mate. That day, he swore to kill him and end both their lives, but that oath was not fulfilled as just a week later, InuYasha was sealed against the Goshinboku tree and the priestess Kikyou was dead.

"Sesshoumaru visited the place where InuYasha was bound, seemingly forever, just the once. That was the first and only time that I have seen him cry and afterwards he retuned to the Western Lands and revoked my exile. Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru was not as good a ruler after he learned of his mate's suposed infidelity; he shut himself away from the rest of the world and surrounded his heart in ice.

"I was surprised that my plan had worked; with a happily mated couple it would not have done, but their bond must have deteriorated enough by that point for such doubts to be able to slip in.

"Now that I have told my tale; you know what has happened since InuYasha's reawakening, you must be wondering about tonight's events. Don't worry, I will explain them. The pain that InuYasha was experiencing through the Mark tonight was a sign that his mating bond with Sesshoumaru has deteriorated so far that it is about to break. If they do not overcome their differences by sunrise and renew the bond, it will snap and they will both die.

.I.S.

After a while, InuYasha pulled away from his mate and looked up at him curiously.

"Sesshoumaru, the Mark, why is it hurting like this?" he asked. Sesshoumaru sighed softly.

"It is a warning," he explained. "The bond we share is breaking and when it does, we will die. InuYasha...if you consent, I should like to take you as my mate and renew our bond once more."

InuYasha beamed up at them before leaning in close and pressing his lips to his brother's.

"You have my consent," he murmured, pulling away and undoing his haori and the yukata he wore under it, letting them slip from his shoulders to pool on the ground at his feet. "Do I have yours?"

"Of course," Sesshoumaru murmured back as he removed his sash, armour and boa before slipping out of his red and white kimono.

Then, the two brothers embraced again, nuzzling at each others' necks and sinking their teeth into the old scars that were their mating Marks, claiming one another once more.

.I.S.

Kagome stood at the edge of the village with her companions, a worried expression on her face. The sun had risen and they had no way of knowing if InuYasha was alive or not.

"Come on," Miroku said suddenly, breaking the silence that had surrounded them since the end of Myoga's tale. "We'd better look for him."

With that he set off for the forest, soon joined by the others.

"Do you think that he's alive?" Kagome asked.

"I hope so," Miroku replied softly. "I really do hope so."

END