Because I Love You

By Crumpled Piece of Paper

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Chapter One
Kisara

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It was the middle of the night, and all was quiet in the forest surrounding the castle, though inside it was a different story entirely. Down a long hall, one to the left, twice to the right, candlelight flickered against the walls, and hurried orders were barked out.

"You, hot water, pronto!"

"Get out of the way Sesshoumaru!"

"But I-"

"Not now son! Go wait in the hall!"

"We need some warm clothes, quickly now!"

"You're going to have to move faster then that!"

"It's all right Lady Taisho, Just relax, everything's going fine."

The last voice belonged to an old birthing woman, a sheep youkai, who was trying to soothe the laboring woman. She was the wife of their lord, Taisho, and was in the process of delivering his second child. Unfortunately, things were not as smooth as her first time around, luckily though, she had her husband right beside her, talking to her constantly.

It took some time, but eventually they were able to move Sachiru from her place on the bed into a tub of warm water. This would make the birth easier on both mother and child. The woman's bright blue eyes opened for one of the first times since her contractions began. She looked at Taisho and gave a weak smile before scrunching her face up again in pain. He gave her a small kiss on her forehead and held her hand tightly.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, a five-year-old Sesshoumaru leaned against the wall with his ear pressed against the side of the room, a bit worried. He didn't know exactly what was happening; he just knew that his mother was in pain, and that there was a lot of fuss. His parents had been telling him for awhile now he'd soon have a sibling around, he knew it was in his mother's stomach, though he still had no idea how it got there.

He winced as his mother cried out for probably the hundredth time that night, and sank to the floor. He stayed there for awhile, and didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he felt someone shaking him. Groggily he opened his eyes and sat up to see his father's smiling face. His father looked much like him, save for a few key differences. His father kept his long hair tied into a ponytail, and the stripes across his face were darker, thicker and jagged, where as Sesshoumaru's were thin, straight and nearly magenta in color. The moons on both their foreheads were identical, true signs of their place in the hierarchy of demon society.

Sesshoumaru gave him a questioning look, and then noticed everything was quiet.

"Father," He asked worriedly, "what happened?"

His father just gave his son a light smile and stood from his crouch. "Come here, Sesshoumaru."

The Inu lord walked back into the room Sesshoumaru had been kicked out of a few hours earlier. All but three maids were still around, the three that were still around were dismissed from the room by Taisho with a wave of his hand. The Lady of the lands was resting on the bed, her long silver-blue hair spread about her in silky waves.

As her husband and son entered the room, her glittering blue eyes looked to them, filled with happiness, but also much exhaustion. She extended an hand to the young prince, and he took it eagerly, scrambling up the side of the bed to sit beside her. Taisho took a place on the end, his face also flooded with happiness and pride. It was only now Sesshoumaru noticed the bundle in his mother's arms.

He looked to her for permission, of which she gave a light nod and a smile. The child moved back a few folds of fabric to gaze upon the chubby face of his newborn sister. She blinked up at him with large blue eyes, clearly seeing him. Already she had a few strands of light silver hair, and she had no markings on her face, same as her mother. She freed one chubby hand from the blankets. Filled with wonder, the five year old prince took her hand, a smile creeping over his features.

"Mother, what's her name?"

The Lady looked over at her husband. They'd been debating over names for some time, finally each coming down to one name each. The look in Taisho's eyes told her that she'd won this little feud. It didn't bother him much, he'd been able to name Sesshoumaru after all.

The Lady ran her free hand through her young son's hair before replying, "Kisara. Her name is Kisara."

Taisho stood by his wife's side now, planting a small kiss on his beloved's forehead. It seemed their family was complete. Taisho had his heir, And his wife had her daughter to carry on her secret. All in all, life was good for the family, however, in a few years, things would only get worse.

One Year Later

Lady of the West, Sachiru, was having a rough day. Her husband, Taisho, was off to converse with the Lord of the South, and most of the housemaids had the day off. What does all of this add up to? Her children were driving her insane.

Sesshoumaru, her eldest at six, was running around the house, tipping things over and generally reaking havoc. Her daughter, Kisara at just one year, was latched onto his back, her hands each gripping a handful of Sesshoumaru's long hair. And while the prince was having a hell of a time getting her off, Kisara was having a ball, squealing with delight

Sachiru got up from her place in the library, this was one day she was not going to get any relaxation. Opening the door she knew immediately her children had been outside. Muddy foot prints and handprints lined the hallway, along with a few flowers, the roots still attached. A potted plant had been spilled out over the floor. With a slight growl she followed the trail. It lead back outside. To the pond. It was summer, and the pond that was in the courtyard was suffering water loss. The pond fish had been moved to a bigger location, but the plants had died. With no roots to hold the earth, mud was abundant. And like all children, hers were drawn to it.

Her hands on her hips, The Lady's flashing eyes looked upon two mud balls screaming and rolling around together, one in happiness, the other in pain as his hair was ripped out. All this came to a dead halt, however as they saw their mother standing above them, like an angry goddess.

Sesshoumaru hunched back, knowing that he was in trouble. The naïve Kisara, however, waved a muddy hand at her mother. "Hi Mommy!" She said with a smile. Sesshoumaru's golden eyes (being the only thing to show through the mud) gave her an odd look. Kisara's bright blue eyes looked back at him, wondering why he was starting at her.

With a slight grimace, the lady squelched over to her children, she, however, misjudged the slipperiness of said mud, and in seemingly slow motion, did a wicked face plant. Kisara squealed happily, and even Sesshoumaru couldn't fight the giggles. Sachiru gave an exasperated look to the sky, searching for an answer of some kind.

She squelched back into the house, a child under each arm. Not even bothering to say hello to Taisho, who had just returned and was staring at her oddly, she shoved Sesshoumaru and Kisara into his arms.

"Clean your kids." She huffed, marching off to the separate, more secluded springs behind her and Taisho's room.

The Lord looked down at the muddy kids with a light smile. He had a good sense of humor, and saw the comedy in all of this, no doubt he would tease Sachiru afterwards, but for now, well…

"Hi Daddy!" Kisara squeaked, her smile one of the only things that shone through her mud coat.

Later that evening, as the household slept, a light sound of bare feet against highly polished wood stood out against the silence.

Sliding open the rice door, Kisara entered her brother's room. "Sesomawu?" She said, having a hard time pronouncing his name correctly. The dreary form sat up and with a light yawn the boy replied, "What is it Kisara? It's still dark out."

Kisara, who had been standing next to the door, ran over and jumped on the bed, her eyes filled with tears. "I'm scared. Something bad is gonna happen." She whimpered, hugging her brother close, tears pooling in her large eyes. Sesshoumaru gave her a questioning look, obviously irritated. "That's nonsense. Nothings going to happen, it's all in your head."

She looked up at him, "Really?" He nodded, "I'm sure of it; now go on back to bed." It was a good try, but Sesshoumaru knew that nothing was going to get his little sister to leave the room. With a heavy sigh and another yawn, he got up out of bed and closed the door, only to find upon returning, Kisara had already buried herself under the covers and was fast asleep. He followed suit, and soon enough, the house was silent once more.

The rest of the week passed by normally, but a few days into the next week, and something had gone terribly wrong.

Sesshoumaru and Kisara were sitting outside the door to their parent's room, worried expressions apparent on both their faces. Kisara's chubby face was streaked with tears and she was still sobbing, though her tears had long since run out. Sesshoumaru knew that he wasn't allowed to cry, men didn't cry, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. He had to be strong for Kisara. But it was hard, and a knot was stuck in his throat as he fought the tears.

"What's going to happen?" She asked, her speech surprisingly clear for a child her age, gazing up at her brother, her role model, her hero. He always had an answer for her.

"…I..I don't know." He whispered, looking away

Kisara burst into a fresh wave of tears, and Sesshoumaru immediately drew her in close. Their mother, whom they loved beyond all reason, was dead.

The doctor had no reasonable conclusion, he said her could find no evidence of her death, but there she was, As cold and lifeless as a rock. She looked stunning, even in death. Her face was extremely pale, but her sharp features and silver hair were amplified in the cold light of the moon. The children were almost afraid to approach her.

She was placed a top a mountain of sticks, that of which had just been coated with oil. With grieving hearts, the two children watched the flames take their mother into the smoldering depths of the spirit world. Kisara was crying, though she did not sob, the tears just sort of flowed down her face and onto the grass.

Sesshoumaru's eyes were filled with tears as well, but the firm hand of his father on his shoulder prevented them from falling.

Taisho was standing stiff, his golden eyes hard and unblinking as they danced with the light of the fire. He was dressed in his battle attire, two furry cloaks, a thick breastplate with spikes, metal toed boots, and a white kimono with purple markings on the sleeves and shoulders. Kisara and Sesshoumaru both wore simple blue kimonos of the same type, a blue haori, black obi, and blue hakama pants with no shoes, showing that they were too young to be recognized.

The family turned away from the pyre and headed for home. Sachiru's ashes were to be buried under a large Sakura tree in the courtyard, next to the pond.

As they walked, Kisara snuggled deep into her father's arms, asleep with all the trauma and grief, Sesshoumaru walked by his father's left side, a single line of tears running down his cheek.

It was hard to beleive she was not going to be there when he woke up the next morning, that she'd never give him one of her warm smiles, or hold him close when he was afraid. He'd never hear her sing to him again. The pain inside him tore at his heart, and left him feeling as though he'd never smile again. And indeed, it was a very long time before he did...

-Chapter One End-

I've taken out the Review Replies for this story, seeing as how the new respose system is up, and it's become illegal. I don't know yet if this new system is a good thing or not, but until I find out, I'm going to just follow the rules.