Historical Fan Fiction?!?

"Higorashi-san? You want to take Tradition Japanese Demon Folklore? Not something I would have thought you to be interested in."

"W-well, Sensei, I think I could pass this class, and I do live at a shrine, so of course I'd be interested!"

"Very well then. I might hope that you might be able to contribute to the discussion. Class! Open your new textbooks to page 7. We are going to cover the tale involving The Dog Demon, His Sons, and Forbidden Love. This is the most complete, and most detailed of all of the tales involving demons that we have found to date. The tale involves the Great Dog Demon, his sons InuYasha and Sesshomaru, and a girl named Kagome Higorashi. We will also be putting on a play for the school featuring this same legend."

Hojo turned to Kagome. "Wow, what a coincidence, huh, Higorashi-san."

Kagome didn't hear him. She was inwardly gaping. 'What? Dog Demons?!? You can't be serious! I-I wonder how the legend ends . . . '

"Hojo-san! Since you seem so interested, you may begin the reading."

Kagome was jolted out of her shock, and started to listen as Hojo began reading the text;

Back in the time of the Feudal Lords, there once reigned a powerful Dog Demon. He ruled over the eastern lands, and with an iron claw. His wife was surprising delicate, a human of unsurpassed beauty and gentility. By this mortal wife and lesser female dog demon, the demon dog had two sons. The first was a full youkai, a cruel man named Sesshomaru, to whom he left the tensuiga, a sword that could heal 100 with a single stroke. The younger was a half-youkai by the name of InuYasha, to whom he left the Tetsuiga, a blade capable of defeating 1000 enemies with a single stroke, but required the need to protect a mortal to be wielded. Each of these blades was made from the fang of the great demon.

After the Dog Demon died, the brothers went their separate ways. Sesshomaru set out to find the Tetsuiga, which the brother's father had hidden to protect from theft by Sesshomaru. The only clue as to the whereabouts of the sword were the riddles "Seeing but never seen" and "the right black pearl". InuYasha in the meantime met and fell in love with a priestess named Kikyo. As their love grew, a demon named Oniguro grew jealous, both of the love and of the jewel that Kikyo carried, the Shikon No Tama. He gave his body to evil demons so as to be reborn as someone who could seize Kikyo for his own. He was reborn as Naraku. One day he tricked Kikyo into attacking InuYasha, bespelling him to a tree. She herself died afterwards, taking the Shikon Jewel into the afterlife with her.

So InuYasha slept for fifty years, bound to the tree, while his brother searched and Naraku caused evil in the world. Finally, a girl appeared by the name of Kagome, wearing strange clothes, and looking exactly like the deceased Kikyo. The strange girl unbound InuYasha from the tree, and it was soon revealed that Kagome carried the Shikon No Tama, which had been thought to be lost with Kikyo. Then, due to a mishap, the Shikon Jewel was broken and its shards scattered. It became InuYasha and Kagome's quest to search for the Shikon shards, and reassemble the Shikon Jewel.

As they journeyed, a demon flea, a young fox demon, a priest, and a demon exterminator joined them. During this journey, a hag-witch managed to resurrect the dead priestess Kikyo. This proved to be both a help and a hindrance to the band, as she did battle against Naraku, but also pursued InuYasha so as to kill him, and bring him into the afterlife with her. Also, Sesshomaru, attempting to steal the Tetsuiga, in fact gave InuYasha his Father's gift, which was then required to Sesshomaru from destroying them. This resulted in InuYasha's cleaving Sesshomaru's arm off.

Finally, though, the Jewel was reassembled. During this time, InuYasha and Kagome had fallen in love. Kikyo had fallen long ago in a battle, and Sesshomaru finally had found that his own sword and the Tensuiga were truly worthy of a demon like himself. However, demons, half demons, and humans had fallen for Kagome during their travels, by no fault of Kagome. These pursuers pushed Kagome and InuYasha to return to Kagome's home, taking the Jewel with them, a time in the distant future through a magical well that only worked for the girl and InuYasha. There, they were able to live a quiet life. Their friends, Miroku the priest and Sango the exterminator became wed, and built a shrine beside the tree where InuYasha had been bound for so long, and the well that Kagome and InuYasha had left through. There, they raised a family under the blessing of Shippo, the fox demon.

Kagome sat in a daze as her brain attempted to absorb the ludicrous ideas of the tale. 'InuYasha and me? Kikyo, gone?!? Sesshomaru, content??!?!?!? It sounds like hopeful wishing to me. Like one of those fan stories you read in the Internet!'

"Class, Now that you have heard the tale, I want you to find a description of how it is believed the brothers looked like. Then draw a picture of the brothers. The one closest to the accepted description will get the highest score."

Kagome couldn't have gotten out of the classroom fast enough.