Feral Red
A Sesshomaru Fanfic
Prologue
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Mao had been watching the small village of Shinko for some centuries now. She had been witness to its birth at the time she herself was only a cub. However, no longer was she a mere demon cub, who used to create mischief for the villagers; mischief that would soon spark rumors and lore to be passed down for generations to come. Now, Moa was a revered God to the villagers of Shinko; feared and worshiped by the silly, unsuspecting humans. She continually found it quite humorous at their usage of the term "God" to describe her, when she, in fact, was only the child of a tiger demon and his Meneki Neko mate. Quite an odd pair her parents had made but their union did bestow certain abilities upon her many humans would probably deem as the powers of a "God".
Mao had heard the tales told of her from the villagers themselves, though they had no idea they were speaking with the Red Tiger God of Shinko. No, they believed they were speaking with Mao, a friendly yet mysterious healer who traveled from village to village. She would stay in Shinko for some number of days, healing the injured and sick, and then take her leave, as the villagers would wish her goodbye and a safe journey. She would always snicker to herself when they prayed for her to arrive safely at the next village. Oh, how they knew nothing! Every fifty years of so Mao would do this, claiming to be the descendant of the healer, continuing her life's mission. They always believed her.
Such silly, clueless humans.
Nevertheless, even though she found the villagers to be naïve she still protected them. The villagers became like her children. Well, perhaps not like her children, but more like her pets. She kept them safe, sheltered, and almost completely oblivious to the world around their little village. She even fended off the reviled half demon Naraku. However, at the time he was quite a ways less powerful than the demon she had heard tales of years later. Still, holding her own against such a creature was something she did enjoy gloating about every so often.
She was a feline after all. And what was a feline who didn't have just a tiny bit of a superiority complex?
Mao now lay in wait by the shrine the Shinko villagers had erected in her honor. It was small but well taken care of. They did so love to keep the Red Tiger God happy. She did enjoy watching the villagers pray to her from time to time, remarking to herself how many of them were overly selfish in their prayers.
Her ears perked and twitched as she caught the sound of someone moving through the brush that overlay on parts of the path leading to the shrine. Her nose lifted slightly to catch the scent of the on comer. It was a woman and….and a child. They came in to view. Mao recognized the two instantly. Her name was Asuka. She had seen the woman in the forest numerous times several years before. She would come late in the evening and wait for a young man. The young man had been new to the village, only being a traveler sharing his wares to make a living. Almost immediately, the two had started an affair. At first they would meet in the surrounding woods to talk with the other, usually about their hopes and aspirations. Not too long after though, Asuka had succumbed to the traveler's charm and had allowed him her maidenhead. Mao had been audiences to numerous meeting between the two, especially enjoying them go at it like a pair of rabbits. He wasn't a very generous lovers, Mao thought, but Asuka never seemed to complain, too much in love with him to care.
Such a stupid girl.
The entire affair had lasted not even two weeks before he up and left in the middle of the night. He had done it frequently, Mao thought. He certainly knew how to stay and when he needed to leave before the female became too close. The villagers were suspicious about the two but knew after Asuka began showing signs of pregnancy weeks later. Though they disapproved, most of them helped her. That is, until the child was born.
Oh what a beautiful child plain little Asuka had whelped. Mao had watched carefully for the child, since she had been there for the conception she felt she should be near for the birth, if only to come full circle. When she had first laid eyes on the girl child, she had been smitten. The only time in her substantial life where it had ever happened, she thought to herself. The villagers, however, had been wary. The baby had been born with a head full of dark reddish brown curls and wide vividly bright brown eyes. Some of the villagers thought the child to be a bad omen; saying that the child had to be a demon spawn to have such traits. Many of them pushed the theory away. Then the famine started soon after.
Asuka and her child had been blamed for Shinko's misfortune. Mao had been disgusted at their ignorance and had distanced herself from the village. After protecting Shinko for so long she had forgotten how foolish humans could be in times of hardship. With Mao away from the village, demons and marauders had found fortune in raiding the village. Again, the child was to blame for everything.
Watching Asuka walk up to the shrine with now older girl child, Mao knew what was about to happen. Still she watched on.
Asuka walked hand in hand with the little two year old, both of them dressed in the drab brown kimono that she had slaved over to stitch together for them. Asuak was just as plain as the rest of the humans around; black hair and brown eyes. She really did not compare to the toddler beside her, Mao thought. She hadn't seen them in quite some time so she was a bit taken aback at the changes in the girl. Her hair was still a rich reddish brown, just a bit darker at the roots and definitely curlier. Not wildly curly but more of a dramatic wave. But what really drew her attention were the eyes! My, how they had changed. They had been a bright brown when she was but a babe, but now they were a strange shade of yellow with a brown undertone. Mao decided to call it hazel, remembering a conversation a demon had about foreign creatures that had eyes like the child's.
Looking at the mother once again, Mao noticed that Asuka carried with her a length of rope. What could she be planning to do with that? She thought. But she got her answer when Asuka knelt in front of the shrine and sat her daughter in front of one of the posts. With shaking hands she took the rope and began wrapping it around the toddlers middle, making sure it was snug but not uncomfortable. The entire time she was doing this she was murmuring soothing words to the child to keep her calm and distracted. She smiled up at her mother, probably thinking it was all a game.
"Play!" she cried up to her mother. She giggled loudly as Asuka assured her they were only playing. But the entire time, Mao could see the tears streaking down her face. She almost felt bad for the woman. But, then she remembered that this woman had chosen to give up her only daughter to avoid being cast out of her own village.
Such a stupid, stupid human.
Asuka then took the other end of the rope and wound it around the post, tying tightly so that it would not come undone by constant tugging. She was assuring that her daughter would be unable to follow her back to Shinko once she left. The child had to stay so that it could be presented to the Red Tiger God as tribute. The villagers hoped that in sacrificing a demon child to the youkai they would be freed of the misfortune that had fallen upon them. The entire scene was like watching someone tie up an unwanted dog out in the middle of nowhere for it to die on its own. Mao's temper began to boil over.
Standing up Asuka backed away from the child. Instantly she stood on unsteady legs and tried to follow. She walked forward until the rope pulled and she went falling in to the dirt. Her big hazel eyes looked back, not understanding what was happening. When she looked at her mother, she held up her arms and gurgled for her. Asuka, growing more hysterical, shook her head as if to deny what she was doing. Covering her mouth to stifle a sob, the weak woman turned away and ran from the shrine and her daughter not once looking back.
The baby, seeing her mother leave her behind, broke into frenzied tears, desperately trying to crawl through the dirt to follow. Mao leapt from the brush with a roar and went to the child. Turning, she saw that Asuka was looking at her with horror. She stumbled backwards on the path and fell in silent fear as she watched the magnificent Mao, an incredibly large solid red tigress with black stripes running along her body, walk towards her screaming daughter. Immediately, she leapt up and started back for the village again. Mao knew that Asuak would tell those idiots in Shinko she had seen the Red Tiger God take her daughter and should now be appeased with them. They would be relieved at the news and believe that their misfortune would soon end.
With Asuka no longer in sight, Mao went to the still crying child. The two year olds' tears in instantly stopped as she stared wide-eyed up at the giant cat. She had no idea how to react to it. Mao chuckled at her own humor as she lifted her paw in the customary beckoning of the cat for the toddler to approach her. She looked back at the trail again, her eyes searching for her mother. They stayed like that for nearly an hour, the child watching the trail while Mao's paw stayed lifted in beckoning. She knew the infant was trying to understand in her small mind if her mother would return. But it seemed to sink in that she wasn't. She began her screams all over again; this time she looked to Mao for comfort, arms outstretched and needing some kind of contact.
Shifting in to her true human form, Mao knelt in front of the child and lifter her into her arms, cutting the rope away with her sharpened nails. She smiled warmly down at the clinging bundle in her arms and felt a strange tugging at her heart. The toddler was visibly calmer as she grabbed a fist full of the new woman's fiery red hair. Such an innocent little gesture made her feel something…something so profound it almost brought tears to her eyes. She leaned down and placed a kiss on the child's forehead.
"I just realized…" she spoke to the child, "I never learned you name little cub." She laughed. The toddler giggled at the sound of Mao's throaty laugh and continued to play with the mass of colorful hair in her hand. "Mmm, Riko…Yes. I'll call you Riko, sweet one." The lightly tapped the child's nose. Riko broke into a fit of giggles.
Squeezing Riko tightly to her chest, Mao turned away disappearing into the forest for the last time, deciding that she had lost faith in this village. She would leave it now to fend for itself.
It would be a blood bath. But one that she wasn't going to lose sleep over.
A/n: So this is a side story that I'm looking at writing, but I'm not sure about it. I'm intending to not let it get to big with only one villain and conflict. but there will be rival love and all that join and snaz. but I'd feel more comfortable if i got some encouragement from people that think it might be a interesting story. so, comment and tell me what you think of this little teaser.