Written: 20 December 2007
Posted: 20
December 2007, rev. 0
Category: Drama.
Type:
Ficlet, 414 words.
Summary: InuYasha's turn to
contemplate his public image.
Disclaimer: The characters
and story of InuYasha are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, et
al. Used without permission. This work is for entertainment only, and
no profit is intended.
Dumb Little Pup
by Murahsaki-chan
Idiots. They think my brain's as rough as my speech.
I'm not royalty of the West. My mother wasn't a princess, and my brother's always hated me. I come from two family lines known for their quick wits and thoughtfulness. Stands to reason that I'd come out impulsive, thoughtless, empty-headed. I just survived on luck, and my pretty silver locks took down all those demons.
Too bad my parents weren't bright enough to think of things like having me taught to read and write, play the flute and draw. Waka? What's that? I don't recall my history tutor mentioning anything about poems. Although come to think of it, the Chinese tutor was pretty big on the whole culture bag.
Oh, manners and courtesy? Nah, no use for that in a prince's house. Not like there's a bunch of prickly, arrogant, egotistical, territorial bastards running around, all of them just looking for something to get offended about. And besides, even if I had been exposed to all that, I wouldn't notice that it made me an even bigger target than I already was. Your average peasant-in-the-street tends to think "mannersarrogant dangerous bastard." The next thing he thinks has something to do with status and ransom. Being as simple-minded as I am, and all, I wouldn't drop the princely conduct routine like a double-strength stinkbomb.
And as for my brother? He's just not bright enough to figure out that I'm his insurance: even the lords that hate him down to his dewclaws aren't going to be cheery at the prospect of a hanyou ruling them instead.
Do you know how hard it is to take on one of the country's ablest fighters and not give away that you aren't really fighting for your life? And making each other look like we're really goin' at it, without ever actually planning it out? Yeah, I'm dumb, Sesshomaru's not quite savvy enough about politics, and every other youkai in Nihon loves the both of us to death.
Let 'em see what they want to see. It's no skin off my nose.
After all, I'm such a dumb little pup.
Owari Hanyou
Waka—Japanese
poem form, consisting of five lines, with a syllable count of
5-7-5-7-7 for the five lines.
Youkai—Usually translated
as demon, but perhaps more like "spirit-being"
