Disclaimer: InuYasha and all its characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi

The Demon's Child

A six-year-old Inuyasha watched the village children play. He sat against a wall with his knees drawn up to his chest. His amber eyes followed the ball they played with.

Once, the ball rolled towards him. The children looked at the ball, and then at him. They looked like if he was some kind of disease and that they could be infected if they got too close. Inuyasha was used to looks like that, though he didn't understand why he got them. In the end, one of the children decided to be brave and get the ball.

It was a boy, several years older than himself. Inuyasha looked at him as he approached. The boy's eyes narrowed. "What are you looking at, freak?" Inuyasha had heard this comment several times before. He was used to getting rude comments like that, but he had decided to ignore them. He couldn't do anything about them anyway. The boy picked up the ball and went back to the other children.

Inuyasha wanted to play with the children too, but they never let him. He couldn't understand what made them hate him so much. He hadn't done anything! Everyone avoided him. The adults were even worse than the children. They looked at him as he was some kind of monster.

Inuyasha had given this a lot of thought. He knew he looked different. His hair, his eyes and his ears. No one else in the village had ears like that, and the only ones with white hair were the elders. Even his eyes stood out; golden with vertical pupils, like a cat. Maybe he was a monster. Was that the reason no one wanted to play with him? Was he a monster?

He frowned. He had asked his mother about his ears, eyes and hair before. Why didn't he look like everybody else? "You look like your father, Inuyasha, and your father was a great man," she had said. "Be proud of yourself." She had smiled at him. "Some day, you'll be great too."

Inuyasha doubted it. No one liked him. How could he be great? He was a freak, as the child from earlier had pointed out.

The children continued to play. Inuyasha continued watching.

Izayoi saw her son, Inuyasha, leaning against a wall. He was watching some of the other children in the village play. He had a pensive look, but his eyes were filled with doubt and depression. Her heart ached when she saw him like that, excluded from the fun. He was a lonely child. She often saw him like that, sitting in a corner with a pensive look. He was too serious for a child his age.

It wasn't fair that her child should be looked down at like this. He hadn't done anything wrong. He could not help the way he was born. She knew she couldn't make the children like him, but they could at least stop looking at him as if he was garbage.

Later that evening, when Inuyasha was sleeping, Izayoi went to Katsu, the head of the village. "You wished to see me, Izayoi-san," he said with a cold voice. The villagers didn't like her either, but at least they didn't treat her like crap.

"Yes, Katsu-sama," she replied. "I wanted to talk about Inuyasha." When he heard Inuyasha's name, Katsu narrowed his eyes.

"Speak."

"I know you don't like him because of his rise, and I know I can't change how you feel," she started. "But please, can you make the villagers stop treating him so badly?"

"Why?" Katsu replied, as if it meant nothing to him.

"He is so sad and depressed all the time, and I don't want that for him," Izayoi explained.

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I though perhaps you could talk to the villagers and make them leave him lone. He doesn't deserve to be treated like a monster."

"But he is one," Katsu said overbearing.

"No, he's not! He is just a child!" Izayoi said.

"A demon's child," Katsu stated.

"But he is human too!" Izayoi knew where this was going. She began to feel despairingly.

"It was your choice to be with that thing," he said, referring to her beloved Inu no Taishō. "Now you must face the consequences. Be glad we're allowing you to stay in the village at all."

"Please, don't take it out on Inuyasha," Izayoi begged, but hope had left her.

"If you have nothing more to say, then leave," Katsu said harshly and with that, Izayoi was brought out without accomplishing anything.

Tears appeared in her eyes. What was I hoping on achieving anyway? she thought. She should have known better. The villagers were never going to accept Inuyasha. It was a fools hope.

She wiped away her tears before entering the little hut she and Inuyasha shared in the outskirts of the village. Inside, Inuyasha blinked sleepily. "Where have you been?" he asked. She tried to smile. "Just out for a small walk." Inuyasha was too tired to say anything more, and fell asleep once again. Izayoi leaned over him and stroked his cheek.

Inuyasha was out early than morning. The sun was barely up. He didn't want anyone to see him. They picked at him, and Inuyasha just wanted to be left alone.

The other kids normally just ignored him, or stared at him with digust. Sometimes, the older children would chase him and bully him. Fortunately, Inuyasha was fast, so they usually didn't catch him. Other times, when they caught him of guard, he didn't have time to run. Either way, Inuyasha preferred being alone, where no one could pester him.

Inuyasha walked towards the forest nearby the village. His mother had told him not to go too far. In the forest there could be monsters who would do terrible things to him. Inuyasha didn't want to meet the monsters, so he listened to his mother and didn't go too far.

He was headed towards his favourite spot, a special tree. It was taller than the other trees and bigger as well. Since it was so tall, you could see it from the village. He often came here, to be alone and to think.

Inuyasha arrived. He laid a hand on the tree and started to climb. His hands had unusual sharp and strong nails, almost like claws, and he used them to drag himself up. He never climbed to the top though. He knew it could easily break, so he stopped when the branches became too thin for him to dare to climb any further. He sat down on his favourite branch, looking down.

He loved to sit up here and watch. From the top of this tree he could see everything. The village, the river and the rest of this gigantic forest. He used to watch the village children play. Here, they couldn't glance at him with their judging eyes. When the older children chased him, he used to climb up here. None of the other children were able to climb this tree, so when he was up here they couldn't get him. Then they would call him a freak and shout other terrible things at him, but in the end they would give up and go back to the village.

As the sun rose, the villagers were starting to wake up. Children were now running around in the village. Inuyasha looked at them with a bitter glance. They were playing the game from yesterday, the one with the ball. They were laughing and having fun while he sat up in a tree, alone. He hated them. They picked on him for no reason and treated him badly. But at the same time, he envied them. He wanted to be one of them. He wanted to be like them and play with them.

He looked away. As if they would ever let me be one of them, he thought even more bitter. They would never except him. To them he was and would remain a freak.

When Inuyasha was younger, he didn't understand all the expressions and comments both the adults and the other children gave him. Now he knew better. He wasn't that naïve any more. He knew that the glances he got were either hateful or disgusted. He understood most of the comments he was given, like freak, monster and abomination.

He remembered an incident from when he was younger. Inuyasha had been out late one evening. The sun was down and it was dark outside. His mother was in the garden at the other side of the river. Some of the other grown-ups were playing a game. They kicked a yellow ball to one another. Inuyasha had looked spellbound at the game. He wanted to play with the ball too.

He ran towards them and held up his arms. The man in front of him picked up the ball. "You want it?" he said. Inuyasha nodded. The man smiled scornfully and threw the ball. "Fetch, boy." The others laughed as Inuyasha ran after the ball. The ball bounced over the bridge which led to the garden. Inuyasha picked up the ball. He turned around, but all the people were walking away. Why are they walking away? he thought. Why are they laughing?

"Stupid half-breed," he heard one of them mumble. Inuyasha frowned. "Half-breed?" he said blankly.

Inuyasha looked around and saw his mother sit in the garden. He dropped the ball and ran towards her. He ran into his mother's bosom and she hugged him. He looked confused up at his mother. "What is a half-breed?" he asked.

To his surprise, his mother had started to cry. Inuyasha stared with wonder up at his mother. She cried. Inuyasha had never seen her cry before. Why was she crying? Was it because of what the villager said? He didn't want his mother to cry. Inuyasha put his hand on her cheek and wiped away a tear. Inuyasha remembered how she had smiled at him, even though the tears were still rolling down her cheeks.

"It's late, Inuyasha," she had said. "Time to go to bed."

It wasn't a good memory. Not that he had many good memories. In fact, most of him memories were similar to this one. Though he did still wonder what half-breed meant. He never got a real answer…

Inuyasha had sat there for hours now. He liked sitting up in the tree by himself. He generally liked being alone. But in the end, he had to go back to the village. Even he had to eat. And now he could feel his stomach growl. With a sigh he started to climb down.

Inuyasha and Izayoi were outside that evening. They often used to go on small trips together. They used to spent a lot of time together since neither of them were excepted. Izayoi was tolerated, but she preferred being with her son. She loved to see him smile and laugh as he did so rare.

They walked out on the pier down to the lake and sat down at the end. Izayoi hugged Inuyasha and hold him tight. They often used to sit like this, with Inuyasha in front and Izayoi holding around him. They looked at the sea. The stars mirrored in the water.

Inuyasha was unusually quiet this night. Him being quiet was not abnormal, but Izayoi could tell that something was wrong. "Tell me," she said. "What is it that bothers you, Inuyasha?"

He didn't answer. Izayoi was about to ask again when Inuyasha suddenly said: "My father, what was he like?"

Inuyasha had asked about his father before, but there was something different in his voice this time. Izayoi could see him frown. "Well, he was a very kind man. He was polite, honourable and full of love." The frown between Inuyasha's brows became bigger. That made Izayoi frown herself. "Did someone say anything about him?"

"No."

Izayoi looked at him. He got a guilty expression and changed his answer. "Yes…" He knew he couldn't lie to her.

"And what did they say?" she asked.

Inuyasha hesitated. "They… They said that… he was a monster," he told her. He looked up at her with a worried glance.

"Oh, Inuyasha. Haven't I told you not to listen to what the others said?" Izayoi said strict.

"So it isn't true?" Inuyasha said hopefully.

"No, of course it's not!" she said. "Your father was the kindest man I've ever known." Inuyasha looked relieved, but Izayoi could see that there still was something bothering him. She asked him.

He answered hesitantly. "Why am I different?"

Then it was Izayoi's turn to hesitate. How could she explain that to him? She'd avoided it for so long. She sighed. Maybe it was time for him to know. Maybe it would make it easier for him if he knew. Or maybe it would make everything much worse. Was he ready for it? She didn't know.

"Well…" she started. And stopped. She couldn't do this. She looked down in two curious golden eyes, so alike his father's.

Inuyasha could see that his mother was having a hard time. "You don't need to tell me now," he said. Izayoi looked at her child. He both looked and sounded much older than he actually was. It saddened her.

Neither of them said anything more. They both stared out in the air with the same pensive look.

Inuyasha woke up one day hearing his mother cough. He looked at her. She was pale and he could see sweat trickle down her face. "Mother?" he said, but she didn't reply. I guess she's still asleep, he thought. Maybe I should wake her. He went over to his coughing mother and shook her gently.

Izayoi opened her eyes and saw the worried look to her son. "Mother?" he said. "Are you all right?" She coughed and Inuyasha frowned. "Yes, it's just a cold," she said with a hoarse voice. "Don't worry about it." Inuyasha seemed to calm down. "I'll go out then," he said.

Izayoi closed her eyes after Inuyasha had gone out. She really felt terrible. She had woken up cold sweating with a headache worse than anything she had ever felt before. Her throat hurt and she just couldn't stop coughing. She decided that it was best just to lie down again.

Inuyasha was worried about his mother. He had never seen her like that. Of course, she had been sick before, but there was something different this time. Something with her scent that just wasn't right. Izayoi had said that she was all right, but he wasn't sure he believed her. He could still hear her coughing inside their hut. The frown on his forehead grew bigger.

Days passed and Izayoi didn't seem to get any better. On the contrary, she got worse. It actually became so bad that the local doctor visited. Inuyasha was told to stay outside, but thanks to his remarkable hearing, he was able to hear some of what they said. Inuyasha knew it was bad to eavesdrop, his mother had told him so, but he was too curious and worried to care.

They were talking low. He sharpened his ears. "This is… not… We must… careful… little time…" The doctor stopped and Inuyasha could only hear his mother's coughs. There were a long silence before the doctor started talking again. "May only have… before… Two weeks left…" The doctor paused again, but it didn't matter. Inuyasha had heard enough. He ran out in the forest to his tree and climbed up.

What was it he had heard? He couldn't remember much of it. It was only the last thing the doctor said that remained. Two weeks left… Was his mother going to die? Was that what the doctor meant? Did she only have two weeks left to live? Inuyasha saw the doctor leave the hut. He was too far away to hear his mother coughing, but he could still hear it in his head.

Izayoi was in shock. She couldn't believe her own ears. Two weeks? Top? This couldn't be! What was she going to tell Inuyasha? The doctor looked gloomy at her. "I'm sorry," he said before he left. Izayoi didn't say a word. Even the coughing stopped for a minute. What was she going to do? What about Inuyasha!

As a cue, Inuyasha appeared in the doorway. He looked at his pale mother with a nearly desperate expression. "Mother? Are you going to die?" Tears he had tried to hold back for so long trickled down his cheeks. Izayoi was astonished. Inuyasha never cried, despite how he was treated by the adults and the other children. He could be sad and depressed, but he never cried.

"Inuyasha, haven't I told you not to eavesdrop," Izayoi said and tried not to sound too gloomy. Which only made it worse. Inuyasha started to sob loudly. He clung to his mother and sniffled: "I don't want you to die!" Izayoi didn't now what to say. She was pretty worked up herself. She hugged her kid and tried to calm him down. "It's okay, it's okay, everything is going to be all right," she said and stroke his silver hair. Eventually, Inuyasha fell asleep.

The following days, Inuyasha was more depressed than usual. Izayoi was barely awake nowadays. Inuyasha sat beside her all the time, terrified to miss anything. He wanted to be with her. In addition he had made it his task to take care of her, since no one else would. He fed her and made her medicine. When he was younger, Izayoi had learned him a lot about herbs, and he knew how to make potions that would ease pain and limit coughing.

That were the only times he left his mother's side – to find herbs for her medicine. Once, when he was about to enter the hut after gathering these herbs, a group of village children approached. The one who led the group stepped forward.

"Hey, freak!" he shouted. "Heard 'bout your mommy!" Inuyasha growled quietly. The boy continued and the other children around him laughed. "Who's gonna protect you know?"

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted and surprised himself. He never replied when they taunted him. He never let them get to him. But this he just couldn't take. They were not going to make fun of his mother's death.

The boy grinned. "She's probably happy that she's getting away from you." The children were surrounding him. He boy who was teasing him closed in. "Freak."

"Shut up, shut up!" Inuyasha screamed. He was struggling to hold back his tears. No way he was going to let them see him cry. The older boy pushed him so he fell over.

"Sure that's why you filthy father left, to get away from you!" he continued. The other kids were laughing louder and louder.

Inuyasha could feel it boil inside him. He couldn't see clearly. "That's not true," he snapped. He got up and the other children actually backed away. Without thinking he swung his clawed hand towards the boy. There was a glimpse of yellow light and the boy screamed. Inuyasha saw the blood flood from his arm. The other children were running away. The boy screamed: "Freaking monster!" and with his arm tight to his chest he ran away as well.

Inuyasha was left alone at the site. What had happened? He couldn't remember it all. It happened so fast, it was like a blur. He ran in to the hut were his mother lay sick.

Izayoi was awake when her boy came in. She instantly saw something was wrong. "Are you okay?" she asked worried in between the coughing. Inuyasha shook his head, unable to say anything. "Come here," she said and opened her arms. He walked over to her like if he was in a trance. "Tell me, what is wrong?"

Inuyasha sniffled. "There were these children, and they were making fun of you and father, and- then I- I-" He stopped as the sentence turned into a sob. "I don't know what hap-happened, and there we-we-were blood everywhe-where! I hu-hurt that boy," Inuyasha sobbed.

Izayoi lifted her son's hand. It was covered in blood, she realised with horror. And was it just her imagination, or was his claws longer than last time she saw them? She remembered his father's hands. They had had claws like that as well. Izayoi took the sleeve of her kimono and wiped the blood away from his hands. How was she ever going to insure her son's safety?

Izayoi knew she hadn't much time left. Her entire body hurt and the coughing got worse. Not long ago, she had discovered blood on her hand after a fit of coughing. Inuyasha knew it too. He sat by her side most of the day and cared for her.

I will have to tell him, she thought one day. Soon, she would be gone, and then there would be no one left to tell. She had to let him know the truth about himself.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked when he saw his mother's pensive look.

She hesitated. "Inuyasha… There is something I need to talk to you about." Inuyasha looked curious at her. There were worry in his eyes as well.

"It's about your father," she said, not sure about how she was going to tell him this. Inuyasha remained quiet. His face was a bit more serious now. Izayoi continued: "You see, your father wasn't like other men." She had to stop to cough. The silence ruled while Izayoi gathered courage. This was much harder than she'd expected.

It the end, she couldn't delay it any more. "Your father was a demon. That's the reason why you're different. You're a half-demon," she said, all at once. She didn't dare to stop in case she was to lose all the courage she'd gathered. Now she looked at her son.

Inuyasha was shocked. "A half-demon?" he exclaimed and she nodded. His mother's confession shocked him, but deep inside, he knew it was the truth. It explained everything. Why he looked like he did, why he could hear and smell things other could not and why everyone treated him like a monster. He was one.

"How could that be?" he said, mostly to himself. A part of him wanted to deny it, but that would be only fooling himself. He knew that, but it was still hard to take it all in. A half-demon?

Then another thought hit him. "What happened to father?" he asked. Weren't demons supposed to be strong? Why had he died?

The question was an open one, but Izayoi knew exactly what he meant. "There weren't many that approved to my decision of marrying a demon – if anyone at all. Therefore, there were a lot of uproar when you were born. There were men out there that wanted to – to kill us. Your father died protecting us."

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," she continued and tears appeared in her eyes. "This is not the life I wanted for you. Accepted among neither humans nor demons." Izayoi pushed Inuyasha closer to her chest with the little strength she got. "Everything your father and I wished for was for you to be happy."

They lay like that for a long time. Izayoi could feel her strength fading. She hadn't much time left now. She looked down at her son. "I love you so much," she whispered. Inuyasha's eyes met hers, his eyes filled with tears as well. "I love you too," he cried.

"Be strong," Izayoi said before she closed her eyes. "I will," Inuyasha sobbed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Then she stopped moving. The coughing stopped as well.

"Mother?" Inuyasha said, but there were no answer. He shock her gently. "Mother?" She still didn't respond. He shock her harder. "Mother!" But his mother was gone. Inuyasha clung to her chest and started to cry loudly. She was gone.

Mariko was out early. She carried a basket of cloths she was going to wash. She headed toward her usual spot by the river.

Mariko went past the small houses in the outskirts of the village and like everybody else, she avoided the last one. The one that belonged to Izayoi and that abomination of hers. No one came near it. Mariko was no exeption.

When she passed the hut, something occurred to her. It was unusually quiet. She stopped and looked at the hut. No coughing. She wondered why, but she had her suspicions. Mariko hesitated, but in the end her curiosity won. She opened the door to the hut.

Inside she found the kid clinging to his mother. When he heard the door squeak he turned around and two golden eyes met hers. To her surprise, his eyes were filled with grief. She never thought that thing could show so much emotion. Weren't demons supposed to be emotionless monsters? Whenever she had seen the boy, he had never shown emotion, except perhaps some bitterness. Now, his eyes where filled with so much sorrow and pain that she almost felt sorry for him.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked the woman who stood in the doorway. A month ago, he would probably been surprised that someone would even approach the hut. Now, with a village woman inside his home, he couldn't care less. He just wanted to be left alone.

Mariko looked past the kid and at the pale figure lying on the futon. She was obviously dead. Her skin was too pale for a living being and Mariko could see that she was not breathing. "She is dead," Mariko said to herself as much as to the boy.

"Don't you think I know that!" the kid shouted angry, but Mariko could see the tears appearing in his amber eyes. Once again Mariko was taken by surprise. Tears? That thing could actually cry?

"You will have to bury her, you know," Mariko said after regaining the ability to speak. "Or she will start to rot." The boy didn't reply. He probably wanted to be left alone. So Mariko left. She was starting to feel uncomfortable anyway.

After washing the cloths, the reason she was by the hut in the first place, she went to the headman's house. She had to inform Katsu about the demise of Izayoi.

"Katsu-sama," she greeted and bowed.

"Mariko-san," he replied with an acknowledging nod.

"Izayoi is dead," she said simply.

The headman didn't flinch. "So the demon-lover is dead," he said without any emotion. He didn't care at all. "Yes, Katsu-sama." It got quiet.

The silence remained until Katsu dismissed Mariko. When she was about to walk out the door she turned around and looked at Katsu one last time. "What are you going to do about the child?" She just had to ask.

"Well, I see no reason for it to stay here," he said with an evil smirk. With that said, Mariko bowed once again and left.

Mariko couldn't say she was surprised. She had actually excepted something like this. With Izayoi dead, there was no reason for the kid to stay. Katsu was right. No one would accept him or take care of him. It was best for everyone if he just left the village. She sighed and shook her head. Poor thing.

Inuyasha knew she was right, the village woman who was there some moments ago. He would have to bury her.

He looked at his mother. He wasn't sure if he was ready to accept the fact that she was… was… dead. Inuyasha let out a single sob. She was dead. He loosened the grip around her. He would have to bury her. He knew that. With his sensitive nose, he could already smell changes in her scent.

Inuyasha kissed her forehead one last time before he covered her in a blanket. Then he started to cry again. It wasn't fair! Why did she have to die? Mother, why did you have to leave me? He was alone. His mother had been the only one he knew, the only one who cared for him. And now she was gone. He was all alone.

Inuyasha lifted up his mother with power a six-years-old child should not have. But then again, he was not just any other child. He carried her outside.

"Look! It's the half-breed!" a villager shouted when he spotted Inuyasha. People started to notice him. They began shouting at him.

"Abomination!"

"Get out of here, you don't belong here!"

"Filthy half-breed!"

"Monster!"

Inuyasha didn't care. Not even when they threw stuff at him. His only concern was his mother.

Then he heard his name. "Inuyasha!" He turned around in surprise. Except his mother, no one had ever used his name. He discovered the man who had said name. It was the head of the village, Inuyasha realised. He was staring at Inuyasha with a cool glance.

"I see you're leaving the village," he said with a voice as cool as his eyes. Inuyasha didn't reply and Katsu continued. "Do not bother coming back. You are not wanted here." With that said he left, leaving the other villager to continue the shouting. Inuyasha turned around and left the village, the only home he had ever known, knowing that he would never return.

Inuyasha sat by his mother's grave. It was quiet. No crying. He had run out of tears a long time ago. Now he was just sitting by her grave, grieving in silence.

He was not going to cry. Not any more. Not ever again. He would be strong. Like his mother had told him to. I will be strong.

He was going to make them proud. He would become strong, like his father. Crying was a weakness. He would not cry.

Inuyasha looked up in the sky. I miss you, mother. But I know you're out there and that you can see me. Just wait, I'll make you proud. I'll be strong.

Inuyasha rose. With one last look on his mother's grave, he turned around and walked away. Out in a foreign world, searching for a place for him to belong.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, even though it's a kind of depressing story.. Review!