Gift of War

Prologue

He sat beside his mother and her friend, staring at the girl who sat squeamishly under his gaze beside the other woman. The mothers were laughing with each other, staring at their children.

"Mother?" Sesshoumaru addressed, wanting to know what was so funny. His mother stared at him and smiled.

"Go play Sesshoumaru." She said softly. Sesshoumaru turned his attention to the younger girl who looked eagerly to her mother. Her mother nodded and she scampered off, Sesshoumaru groaned but still followed the petite six year old.

She was a few years younger than he was, her hair was a soft black and her eyes a pretty blue. She was a human, or she looked and smelled like a human. She giggled, bringing him out of his thoughts as she tagged him and ran as fast as she could. Sesshoumaru easily caught up with her and smirked as he pushed her, only trying to tag her back. She fell and rolled, hitting the ground with a thump. Within seconds Sesshoumaru was being scolded for not being more careful and she was being picked up from the ground and dusted off.

He was waiting for the tears as she stared at her cut up knee and her bruised cheek, but instead she smiled to her mother who was leading her up to the nursery. His mother told him to follow and apologize for pushing her as much as it wasn't his fault. She was so immature and weak, it wasn't his fault she had fallen, stupid human.

The woman left her child in the nursery as he sat beside her, his nine year old body wanting to leave the room. She stared at him with her blue eyes and giggled as he glared at her. He was surprised that she was no longer afraid of him. The nurse was staring at him telling him that he should apologize and that it was not nice to push girls. He only growled at the woman and looked away, pretending that he wasn't listening. Finally the nurse had given up and gone away leaving him alone with the giggling girl.

"Sorry." He muttered under his breath, hoping she wouldn't hear him, but once again she burst out in giggles.

"It's ok." She whispered in a soft voice. "See look." She lifted the bandage and showed him where the scrape had been, but was no longer. "I am tough, I can heal myself."

He only nodded and looked up to see the bruise on her face still there. "What about that?" The girl frowned.

"I have to keep that there, or the nurse will be very angry that she wasted all her time on trying to make me get better." She said before giggling again and jumping off the bed. Without thinking she grabbed his hand and ran down the halls, their footprints hitting the marble at the same time. Sesshoumaru led her out of the palace back to the garden where they raced through the flowers and hid from his father's annoying toad looking retainer.

It was after several hours when her mother called for her, telling her it was time to eat. The young girl stared at Sesshoumaru and laughed again. "Race you." She said, taking off before he could even agree.

He didn't run his fastest, letting her beat him. She cheered, not knowing that he had let her win. The two sat beside each other during supper as their mothers and fathers talked. He listened to the girl whisper and talk in riddles, answering some of her parent's questions when they addressed her. Sesshoumaru couldn't help but stare at the carefree girl. He was jealous of her, she had a family who would include her in stuff that he knew his parents never would, not until he was at least a teen. He could tell she was happy with her family, and he only wished that he could be the same way. He knew he would grow up to learn the arts of war and fighting, while she a mere peasant child who's parents happened to be friends with his parents. She would grow up learning how to run a household and get married off to a man of her father's choice.

After supper she ran off again, Sesshoumaru was ordered to watch her to make sure that she wouldn't get into trouble. His father's soldiers greeted him with a nod and pointed him in the direction of his prey.

He followed his prey to the dojo, watching as she looked at the katanas and shorter daggers. Quickly he hid his aura, but it was too late, slowly she turned around and stared at him with wide eyes. "Do all these belong to you?" she asked innocently.

Sesshoumaru felt a blush come onto his little cheeks as he nodded. She stared at him, her gaze never wavering. Finally he walked up to her and stood beside her, looking over the weapons. "Have you ever used them?" she asked shyly, her gaze still on him.

Once again Sesshoumaru nodded. "But only when I am practicing my stance and blocking. I have never hurt anyone while using them."

Her gaze fell to the ground. "I hate them. They kill and hurt people. I never want to have to use them." Sesshoumaru looked at her now, watching her small frame. She was strong, but she hated the killing. 'She will never know what it's like to have to kill someone' he told himself. "What about you? Will you ever kill or hurt people?"

At first Sesshoumaru didn't know what to tell the girl. He wished that she knew that the world was not a happy place and not many people were as happy as she was. "I will someday. I will have to protect my people. It will be my duty to protect them."

The girl nodded in understanding. "But you would never hurt or kill me right?" She asked gently, a small hopeful smile on her lips. He shook his head.

"Never."

She smiled at him and held out her hand. "Is it a promise?"

He watched the hand, staring at it. Could he promise something like that? His father had told him that he should never promise something that he was unsure he could keep, but how could he hurt her. She is his friend, someone to talk to and play with. They would be friends forever. "It's a promise, but that means you can't hurt me either okay." He said to her half joking, knowing that she could never really hurt him.

"I promise, I won't hurt you."

After that they both heard her name being called so they headed out of the dojo, hand in hand like most friends do. But Things change, people change, everything always changes.