Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, wonderful creations of Rumiko Takahashi. From Inutaisho's POV.
One Day
by Chione
Despite my son's views, I am no fool.
I knew the moment I saw her. In the instant I found myself moving toward her with the knowledge that she, a human noblewoman, was to be my mate, I moved also with the knowledge that she would be my downfall. Not right away, of course, and not for some time but eventually. One day. And I knew, should she ever bear me an heir, the child would be cursed to a life of loneliness and humiliation.
I am a strong, powerful demon. Well-respected. Feared. But I am also very, very selfish.
She became mine. The first of many smears on my armor, on the legend I had become to the people of my lands. With the death of my first mate, it was understood there would be another. No one ever guessed she would be human. But it was my choice.
I chose her. Izayoi. Thin, delicate frame and fair skin, she appeared on the outside as any other human woman. Perhaps better dressed and cared-for, as the only daughter of the region's lord, but essentially, the same.
Except that she was willing to share her bed with a demon. To share her heart, and her wonderful, carefree mind with me.
From the beginning, he caused us trouble. My eldest son, Sesshomaru. Having always been withdrawn, I never expected less. He was definitely his mother's child, and made it clear where he stood on my decisions. I allowed him his freedom, his opinions, and his rebellion. He was, after all, an adolescent by demon standards, and as Izayoi tells me, they can be quite difficult during that stage.
Sesshomaru tolerated Izayoi until his half-brother was born.
My second son, Inuyasha. No more loved, no less loved than his brother. But a hanyou, and thus hated by everyone save myself and his mother. I admit to having doubts, before I held him, while he was still in the womb. What would a hanyou child look like? I only knew what rumors told, they were horrid, twisted creatures of a hideous, violent nature. They were stories everyone knew from birth; hanyous were to be killed. They were filthy, worthless monsters.
Of course, humans often say the same of demons.
But at the time, I wondered. What would my child be?
I should've known he would be perfect.
Inuyasha was born on a warm, spring day; I was grateful to have been about the palace at the time. The servants scrambled around with armfuls of clothe and buckets of water, while a horde of midwives kept me from the actual birthing. The first I knew of my youngest son, was his smell.
He smelled of Izayoi. Slightly wilder, stronger and decidedly male, but still the fresh aroma of the woods after an afternoon rain. Underneath all that, was the one thing to ever make me cry: my own scent. He possessed a perfect blend.
I was permitted to see him, after too many moments waiting and hearing his cries. In the center of our shared bedroom, Izayoi lay cushioned within the hills of blankets and pillows upon which she swore her life to me. And there she rested again, propped up and glowing from an internal happiness that could never be expressed in words. All I could view of our son was the tiny bundle of clothe, and the tips of silken, silvery hair.
My hair, now passed on to him.
She looked up at me, tears in her eyes but not spilling over. I knew she was happy, and the tears confused me. But when she offered me the pup in her arms, I took him and knelt beside her.
I will never understand women and their tears.
Oh, just look at him, Taisho. He's beautiful. she sniffed. Simply beautiful.
For the first time, I stared eye-to-eye with Inuyasha. Like his brother, he inherited my golden eyes, as I from my father. His little mouth opened in a squealing wail, revealing his own set of fangs, barely sticking forth from his gums. From the curved claws on his toes to the small, fluffy ears on his head, he was more than I could've imagined.
His ears. Gods, I'd never seen anything like them! No demon had ears like that, and no human either. But there they were, nestled down in his hair, just two lumps then, but one day would stand proudly atop the head of a powerful demon. Half-human or not.
I would settle for nothing less in my offspring.
I could not contain my grin. Nothing on that day broke through my cloak of happiness, contentment. Nothing has since, and nothing will. That day, everything was worth it.
Blood dried on my fingers, some managed to seep under my claws and would be impossible to get out. The clots were already fully formed, and the skin beginning to re-grow over the gashes.
I'm a fast healer.
The wounds inflicted by my eldest son would fade before nightfall. Even with his poisoned claws, it was not fatal. Not even a scar would remain.
But I could never forget this act. He is my son, my eldest, and heir to the most powerful of my two swords. I would not deny him that. I am a forgiving demon, too much so for my own good, I've been told; still, I forgave him.
He could not help, after all, the way he was raised, and I, regrettably, was part of that. If I had known then. . .
I stared up at the stars. It was no use, thinking on the past. My lands were being threatened by a dragon demon, Ryuukotsusei. I had responsibilities, and could not return to my mate and pup until I dealt with the dragon. I would see Izayoi, and Inuyasha when I returned.
But I am no fool. One day, I would not return to them. One day, Inuyasha will be old enough to understand the things people call him.
I pray, one day, he can forgive my selfishness.
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Kay, well, just wrote this for the heck of it last night. And I already posted Chappy 5 of A Little Fall of Rain, so go read/review that. Please, and review this too! I need feedback!!!
Review, pretty pretty please! Please review!