Sesshoumaru watched as Kagura disintegrated into dust, taken away by the wind she represented. He was silent and solemn as she disappeared, remembering the last words she had said to him.
"Take care of our son…"
Son? Sesshoumaru asked himself. He was quiet as he thought about it. If it were true, the child could be no more than a few months old… if even that. Kagura had seemed to disappear for a while, but Sesshoumaru would never have guessed her reasons. Not that he would have cared. But the notion that he, Sesshoumaru, had a child, was absurd! The sorceress must have tricked him. Then again.. It was certainly possible.
"Jaken," Sesshoumaru said as he turned around, calling the imp to him. He looked at Rin before returning his gaze to his servant. "Take care of Rin."
"Y-yes, m'Lord.. But where are you going?"
"To find something." Giving no further explanation, and not expecting to be asked one, Sesshoumaru took flight. He followed Kagura's scent, what was left of it. But soon he picked up a trail. Nothing could escape the inuyoukai's sense of smell. Soon, he came across a small shack in the forest. It reeked of humans, but there was no one around. As he ventured away from the house, Kagura's scent grew stronger, but slowly became mixed with another scent: his own. They blended together in a completely new smell. With it came the crying of a child. Sesshoumaru found the place quickly; a hollowed out area in a rather large tree.
Inside was an infant - human in appearance but obviously not in blood. The child had a tuft of black hair and the same pointed ears of demons, but his eyes were quite unusual. They were not Sesshoumaru's gold, nor were they the fierce red of Kagura's. They were in between… almost amber in color. As Sesshoumaru approached, emotionless, the child stopped crying. He could not have been but a few months in age, but he was perceptive. Sesshoumaru reached out towards him, but a strong gust of wind seemed to blow between the two, until the child calmed.
Well, now he knew the truth. But what to do with the child? He certainly could not, and would not, care for it. It would be better off to leave it to the wilds. Sesshoumaru began to walk away, but another gust of wind pushed against him, as if taking him back to the tree. As Sesshoumaru looked at the boy, the smell of a human came to his nose. The inu yokai looked around, and heard the rustling of leaves.
"Who's there?" a voice called out. With a final glance towards his son, Sesshoumaru jumped into the trees, disappearing from sight as a middle-aged woman walked out of the brush. She had obviously heard Sesshoumaru's flight, and came straight to the tree. She heard the child crying, and peered in.
"Oh dear! What are you doing there, little one?" Immediately the woman put down the bundles she had been carrying and lifted the baby from its nest. "Did someone leave you here? Ah, not to worry," she said. Then she saw his ears, and knew he was youkai. Gasping, she started to place him back in the tree. As she did so, Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes.
Show me. Show me that foolish compassion that you humans seem to prize. Prove me wrong that humans cannot accept demons.
In truth, he did not believe the child should live. A child without parents is a miserable one, doomed to failure. But at the same time, he truly was his son, and Sesshoumaru could not just stand by while he was abandoned. Damn that Rin. She was beginning to soften him.
After several moments, the woman took the child again. "Demon or not… you are alone. But I'll raise you, and I'll raise you as a human, Katsurou." Sesshoumaru watched silently as she walked back to the small house.
Katsurou. Sesshoumaru cared not for the name. But he would likely never see the brat again, so it did not matter in the least to the demon. He jumped down from the tree, not sure why he hid in the first place. He, Sesshoumaru, would never hide. The youkai began to leave, until he smelled another demon around. Take care of our son. Katsurou. Sesshoumaru turned around in time to see a snake demon drop from a tree near the house. In one swift move, he unsheathed Tokijin and stabbed it, resulting in the demon letting out a gurgling hiss.
"What!" it cried, as it stared up at the dog demon.
"Leave this place. I will not tell you again."
"You! I know you!" the snake was obviously afraid.
"This place is my territory. I do not allow other demons near it. For your own safety I would advise you and all others to stay away." It was probably a gesture that was not necessary. Katsurou, at least to other demons, smelled enough of the well-feared Sesshoumaru to discourage any lesser demons coming by. A strong wind picked up again, circling the house, before dying down.
Sesshoumaru was not Katsurou's only protection.
"Katsurou! Hurry back!" his mother called out as Katsu left the house. He raised a hand in farewell, not turning to look, as he walked deeper into the forest. However, once he heard the door shut, he stole a glance behind him, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he smiled.
It had been over a decade, just over two in fact, since his mother had found him in the trunk of a tree. Katsurou had stopped aging somewhere around seventeen, but his mother had continued to grow old. His mother, slightly stooped and with graying hair, was still the same person though that he had known all his life. True that it had only been a few years since he stopped aging, and it would not be for several more before anyone else found that his years were far more than his looks, but he could feel the difference.
Katsu had grown into a fine young demon, raised by a human, but still a demon. He had the pointed ears that were so common among demons, and an unnatural beauty. His black hair he wore long but pulled into a ponytail high on his head. His face was the kind that was used to laughter, but could change into a serious, almost ruthless, expression in seconds. He was a master of wind, and could seem to command it with relative ease, yet he had an uncanny sense of smell.
He often hunted and gathered for his mother. As she grew older, she was less capable of doing so, and he often had to find food for himself anyways, as he found once he was older that he could not stomach most human foods. Katsurou ate it to be polite when in the company of humans, but ate very little. Suddenly he heard a noise in the brush beside him. In a flash he pulled out and opened his small fan, waving it towards the sound. Several blades of wind formed and went streaming towards the source, and he smiled. The demon placed the fan back in his sash and went to gather his kill.
The fan had been a gift from father. Apparently it had belonged to his real mother, but he could not remember her. It seemed that, every year, something would appear on the doorstep of their home, something different, like a gift. He rarely saw his father, and could count the number of times he caught a glimpse of him on one finger. Katsurou never heard him speak. But every year, without fail, something new would appear, be it clothes for him or his mother, or heirlooms of some sort.
"Ah! Come to think of it…" Katsurou mused as he collected the two rabbits he had decapitated, "Today should be that day.."
Suddenly Katsurou heard a scream from towards their house. Standing up, his eyes narrowed, ran home, riding on the wind where he could to speed his journey. When he reached the house, he dropped the hares, his eyes wide and his mouth open. "Mother!" he shouted, running to her, forgetting that he had heard sounds of blades being crossed behind the house. He only saw his mother, unconscious, on the front porch. When she did not wake, Katsurou clenched his teeth and ran through the house to the back.
The clashing of blades grew louder, and he began to recognize the scent. When he reached the back, he saw a tall, fair-skinned and silver-haired demon fighting… no, toying, with another demon. "Chichi-ue," Katsurou whispered as Sesshoumaru gained momentum on the ugly ogre. In a rage, Katsurou grabbed his fan and shouted, causing several blades to appear, lacerating the ogre. Sesshoumaru immediately ceased movement, standing there, watching the blood spew from the demon.
Then he calmly sheathed Tokijin and turned his head ever so slightly to Katsurou, who still stood there, breathing hard. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "They are getting more frequent," he said. "But to think that a demon like that is enough to make you so short of breath after a single attack is embarrassing."
Katsurou's narrowed eyes widened as his breathing steadied. Suddenly he broke out into a grin, laughing. The first time he ever heard his father speak, and it was an insult. It was enough to bring him to tears! "Ha! As if. The bloody demon just-" then he stopped. "Oh no, Mother!" Sesshoumaru regarded him emotionlessly as Katsu ran back into the house. They could both smell the stench of death.
Sesshoumaru would never enter into a human residence. It was beneath him. Instead, he waited outside, until Katsu returned, tears streaming down his face. "Humans die. It is a natural thing," Sesshoumaru said coldly.
Katsurou, who had lived with humans all his life, knew the difference between him and all the others, but despite his being a demon, he still lived with a human's heart. He was dumbfounded at his father's words. After all, Sesshoumaru's scent had always been mingled with humans', ever since Katsu could remember. Of course, that human scent was just always of one person.
However, Katsu did as he was told, and Sesshoumaru turned around. "You have nothing tying you down here anymore," he said. Katsu stared in amazement, then suddenly reached up to catch a sword that tossed his way. He caught it deftly, confusion on his face, as he looked at it.
"My father left two swords behind, because he no longer needed them. I have three swords. That one," he said, "is yours. It requires a powerful demon to wield, but not necessarily in power. Do what you want." Believing everything had been said that needed to be said, Sesshoumaru began to walk off.
Katsu blinked a few times. "Ah.. Wait, chichi-ue!" he called, running after him like a child. Sesshoumaru stopped and looked back out of the corner of his eye, causing Katsu to stop. The boy grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah… can't I come with you? I mean.. I've never used a sword before, and could use some tips!"
"Do what you want," Sesshoumaru repeated, and continued to walk away. Katsurou raised an eyebrow, figuring that was about the only response Sesshoumaru would give. Shrugging, Katsu attached the sword to his back so that the hilt could be seen over his left shoulder, and followed him.
"What did you mean, 'this one?'" He asked, in regards to the sword. It was a long time before Sesshoumaru spoke again.
"My mate, Rin," was all he said, and Katsu's eyes widened in understanding before he grinned again. "I'm going to be a big brother!"