A/N:
Okay, I HAVE to get this idea/story out of my head because it's been bothering me for weeks! I'll update this story when I can...
WARNING:
To the readers of my other stories, this will be really different because I paired up Sesshomaru with one of my Original Characters. Sometimes I think Sesshomaru is such a character that I imagine him to end up with a demoness instead of most stories where he changes and ends up loving a human, and following in his father's footsteps. In this story, I want to keep him the way he is, and NOT challenge his pride too much by giving him a demoness he needs to TAME instead! :D
This is aimed for those who prefer that Rin and Sesshomaru are better off with parent-child relationship. (Which I have nothing against, actually. Lol)
BUT READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!
Prologue
Yuriko ran as fast as her long legs could carry her. She bounded through the forest gracefully, her demon speed blurring everything around her. Long locks of auburn hair trailed behind her lithe figure.
"This is a terrible idea, my lady! You could be punished and your parents would worry! We've been running for hours and Kami knows we're lost already!" A small, crow youkai was latched onto her mistress' hair tightly, afraid to let go.
"Hana, I will NOT go back to the castle knowing that I'll be forced to meet someone who'll force me to change who I am! I like myself!" She suddenly leaped over a large boulder and above the treetops. The moonlight fell fully upon her and made her downy, blue tails glow slightly. Nine fluffy tails, to be exact.
Yuriko landed on the ground and ran faster. Hana composed herself feeling only concern for her Mistress. "Change is GOOD! You know you have responsibilities and you cannot just abandon them! Is this something you learned from the humans also?!"
Yuriko rolled her eyes at her retainer. It was so hard being judged because of how she grew up. Not only Hana, but the rest of the people at the North including her parents believed that there was something wrong with the way she is.
Suddenly she smelled something… odd. There were scents of humans and some demons nearby. Normally this would scare her, but since the scent of blood was missing, she spurred on faster. Friendly entities, perhaps? She was curious, so she followed the scent until…
OOMPH!
She crashed onto something soft and warm, and fell forward on top of a…
"WHAT THE HELL! WHO ARE YOU?!" The man was knocked on the ground, and she ended up lying on top of him. She rubbed her aching nose that collided on his chest and blinked at the weird guy.
He smelled like… a human AND demon. A hanyou?!
"Inuyasha! Are you alright?!" A young girl with dark raven hair ran towards them, and stared wide-eyed at the beautiful demoness sitting on top of Inuyasha.
Yuriko, however, was distracted. She smiled adorably, fangs slightly protruding, and grabbed Inuyasha's ears not-too-gently. Kawaii!
Inuyasha blushed and grabbed her wrists. "HEY! QUIT IT!"
Chapter One – The Mentor
"Lord Sesshomaru, Welcome to our palace." Lord Hiro, a kitsune Taiyokai bowed in front of him, and the regal demoness who held his arm did the same. They expected the Lord of the West and received him in the throne room.
Sesshomaru stood tall and proud among them. He nodded curtly in response. His long silver hair billowed behind him and his presence intimidated most of the demon servants and guards in the room.
Lord Hiro, however was unaffected. He gazed at the young Lord in front of him, and was reminded of his great rival, the late Inutaisho. The boy had striking resemblance to his father, and not only that but he is also becoming extremely powerful… he had more or less surpassed his predecessor.
"And what do you want from me, my father's enemy?" Sesshomaru asked coldly. If they were planning on trying to assassinate him on the spot, they chose the wrong demon to fuck with. He experimentally stretched his claws, making it known to everyone in the room that he had no qualms about going on a killing spree, on another demon Lord's territory.
Many demons in the room shifted uneasily and took a step back.
Lord Hiro sighed and addressed his servants. "Leave us."
Some of them looked at their master warily before obeying.
Once the door closed, Sesshomaru spoke. "I see that you care about your subjects' lives."
Hiro smiled slightly. "I do. But the reason I asked them to leave is not because I am afraid for their lives. After all, it would be below for a noble demon like you to hurt them for no reason."
Sesshomaru elegantly tucked his hair behind an ear with a clawed finger. "Asking your guards to leave you is careless on your part. How are you so sure I will not lay a hand on you? After all, my father's enemy is also mine."
The Lady Kitsune tightened her grip on Lord Hiro.
The Lord shook his orange mane. "You can try to kill me, but you must first hear me out. Then you can decide whether you want to continue your century long dispute with my clan. I asked my vassals to leave because of the necessary privacy I need about a… favor I want to ask of you."
"A favor?" Sesshomaru repeated, almost derisively.
Lord Hiro nodded. "And if all ends well, you shall have the alliance of the North and my help in achieving your goal to build a great empire."
The Lord of the West stared at Hiro blankly. The noble kitsunes were a proud race… and stubborn. They are loyal only to their kind. For them to ask a dog demon for help, and more so the son of their enemy, it boggled his mind. He was wary of this favor. This maybe a trap… yet he will hear him out.
"Speak, then. But I give you no assurance on whether I will do this favor."
Lord Hiro took a deep breath. "I want you to become my daughter's mentor."
Sesshomaru blinked slowly as he processed what the Kitsune Taiyoukai just said. His face started to contort into a snarl. "Me? A mentor? Are you mocking me, Lord Sesshomaru of the West to be a mentor for some demoness-"
Hiro raised a hand, stifling his anger at the way Sesshomaru had called his daughter 'some demoness.' "Let me finish. Yes, a mentor. Someone who could teach her what it means to be a great demon and also prepare her for becoming a ruler someday. But most importantly… someone who will flush out her inane human beliefs and qualities she has right now, before it is too late."
Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows. A demoness with human beliefs and qualities?
Lord Hiro swallowed uncomfortably and closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them, his resolve visible. "I will not go into many details, but I will tell you what there is to know. When my daughter, Yuriko, was born a hundred and fifty years ago, she was abducted. She disappeared in the birthing room, and my mate was still unconscious from a drug the perpetrator had given to her. Had I known this would happen, I never would've left the North to aid in the war those panther demon tribes started." His hands fisted to the side while the Lady lowered her head.
"We searched high and low, and everywhere for years, but it was futile. We could not find our daughter. We believed that she is alive however."
Lord Hiro's hard expression suddenly softened. "80 years later, an elderly human woman who is soon to die because of old age, came to us in this castle. She brought a child kitsune with her. The child, who barely reached my knee in height, eyes the same lavender color as her mother and curly red hair, we knew exactly who she was."
His demeanor suddenly became colder, his pupils narrowing into slits. "The old human was none other than the one who took our daughter away from us. She raised our daughter as her own, in a faraway village with other humans. Because demons age slower than humans, in her 80 years of life she only managed to raise an infant to a child. In Demon Culture, when a child reaches a certain age, they are trained and taught to hunt. She missed those and instead learned frivolous human duties such as cooking, farming and cleaning." His face contorted in disgust.
"It's been seventy years since Yuriko was returned to us, and yet she still acts like a human! Her Demon instincts are almost nonexistent, and her past mentors failed her. The worse is that Yuriko let herself be controlled by her emotions. A common, human weakness. A demon must never succumb to emotions lest it becomes his destruction. This problem will prevent her from controlling her own true form."
Sesshomaru listened to him with his usual stoic mask. "She did not go through her first transformation yet?"
Lord Hiro shook his head. "I am asking you to straighten her out. And return our daughter."
For a moment, silence filled the room until Sesshomaru spoke. "Is it wise of you to entrust your daughter's safety to me?"
"My mate thought that I was crazy as well for asking this of you, but I think I have many valid reasons to believe that you are the perfect mentor for her." He smiled knowingly, but the Lord of the West waited for him to continue.
"I am well aware of the fact that you used to travel with a human child, before you left her in a village a few months ago, after you defeated Naraku. So that reassures me that you feel some compassion in your heart, and you would not judge my daughter because of the way she is. You are a full demon with some knowledge with humans, and maybe to some extent you would be patient and be able to understand her. Despite having a mortal child travelling with you, you still managed to invoke fear from the other demons and become more powerful than ever. You set a great example to Yuriko. And lastly, you are more than capable of protecting my daughter from those who seek to destroy her. And trust me, there are many." Lord Hiro's eyes suddenly darkened.
"The girl seems to be more trouble than she's worth." Sesshomaru tried to think about the prospect of building his empire faster and the West gaining a new ally. It wasn't necessary, but it was beneficial. But was it worth having an apprentice?
"Actually, she is. Yuriko is a Nine Tailed Demon Fox."
Sesshomaru's eyes widened marginally. "That is a myth."
Lord Hiro's chest puffed up slightly. He couldn't help but swell with pride, knowing that he fathered one of the rare demons. "Was believed to be a myth, Lord Sesshomaru. It is said from the past of the Kitsunes, that once in a few millennia, a demon fox with nine tails is born from our clan. Since it had been so long, and those who had seen their existence died from the many wars across the history, it turned into a myth. But once you see her, you'll know for yourself."
"…and since we got her back, we are very protective of her. And it takes a lot to entrust our precious daughter to you, Lord of the West. Will you take her under your Wing and help her, in exchange for us giving you the resources to achieve your goal of conquest and expanding your empire?"
Sesshomaru felt nothing but curiosity. He had yet to meet a rare breed of a demon. Is she powerful despite her acquired human qualities? What sets her different from the others?
"Perhaps, you would like to meet Yuriko before making your decision?"
Both male turned to look at Lady Kayo, who spoke for the first time. She smiled softly.
Lord Hiro nodded. "Yes, that would be a good idea."
But before Sesshomaru could voice out his response, the door opened, and a servant fell on his knees.
"Milord! I cannot find Yuriko-hime ANYWHERE! I have searched the castle and the grounds…"
"WHAT!" Hiro's angry voice boomed out.
"Oh my." Lady Kayo covered her mouth.
"THE GUARDS! SEND THEM TO SEARCH FOR HER IMMEDIATELY!" The girl was not allowed to leave the grounds unprotected. It was stupid and dangerous!
The servant stood up quickly. "I- yes – yes of course!"
"That will be unnecessary."
The Lord and Lady of the North gazed at Sesshomaru in surprise.
"I will find this troublesome child of yours for myself." Sesshomaru caught her faint scent in the castle as well as remnants of her youkai that could only belong to a demoness her age. It would be no trouble for him to trace her.
Lord Hiro's jaw dropped almost comically. "You accept? Becoming my daughter's mentor?"
"First I will find her. And from that point on I will decide whether she is worth the effort." Sesshomaru turned to leave.
The Lord of the North closed his eyes and smiled. "When you find her… tell Yuriko that she is banished from the North until she returns here fully capable of controlling her demon."
Lady Kayo gasped and glared at Hiro. "No!"
Lord Hiro gazed at her softly but with defiance. "It must be this way. She missed her first demon ceremonial hunt as a child when she went missing. This will serve as her test."
Just a term:
Demon Ceremonial Hunt – When a demon child is left alone in a forest for a few days to hunt and expected to return with a game, be it a boar or a weak demon. Unbeknownst to the child, he is protected from real harm.
Not much of a chapter, but I had fun writing it! Let me know what you think!