Claims: I claim the characters I made up, the epigrams/sayings/ poems at the beginning of each chapter, and the storyline.
WARNING:
The following content has all bad words replaced by –BEEP— and is meant to be heartwarming. Because it's about Sessho-Maru and Inu-Yasha's childhood, the story is not accurate, and it's composed mostly on some of the stuff I made up, but does have some InuYasha facts, and I have altered some specific events to meet the plot's needs. Also, some of the characters sometimes may act…a bit weird. Not only that, the chapters are likely to be long. If you do not like any of the above, I suggest you do not read this story. Continue if you are a least a bit interested.
Chapter 1 The Beginning--The falling snow are tears of despair.Young Sessho-Maru watched as the snowflakes gently fell. They reminded him of tears. And speaking of them, he was nearly in tears himself. After his mother has been killed in such a way that would be too terrible to describe, his father had abandoned him for some human princess. A human! Just the thought of it made his blood boil and cry out in frustration. "Okay," he told himself, "Calm down." After all, a good demon always stays calm and cool, never losing their tempers like those pathetic humans. That just proves you're weak. Yet the scene of his mother's death would always haunt him. He had no one to comfort him and was a bit lonely, but never understood these feelings because he never learned about love. Sessho-Maru reprimanded himself. No time to be weak. All those hunting and behavior skills his parents had taught him were for him to become a strong demon. Independently. He had to learn to cope by himself. Experience is the best teacher, they'd always say. Right now, he was quite content. He had his clothes, the fluffy boa his mother had gave him, enough food, a shelter, and, of course, his claws. After eating the leg of a lamb he had killed earlier, he curled up in his scarf and prepared for sleep, for he had nothing better to do.
Sessho-Maru woke up to a smell. It was the smell of …deer! He rarely had seen deer, not to mention catching one himself, and it was usually his father who brought it home for him, or that humans got it first…and because it was the middle of winter! He started to get suspicious. Deer was out of season during this time and place, so why was it here now? Nonetheless, Sessho-Maru's mouth would not stop watering. Maybe he'll just go investigate. If it wasn't a trap, then he could use the practice and he'd have fresh deer meat. If it was, he'd just leave it alone. Seeing that the odds weren't that high, he draped the boa on his shoulder and silently crept outside of the cave he was staying in. Outside, the snow that had mounted up the night before was blindingly white. Sessho-Maru treaded carefully through the snow, sniffing out the destination of the deer, yet keeping his guard up. His hair blended perfectly into the snow as well as most of his clothing. He had to be as less conspicuous as possible. Soon he had tracked it from deep within the woods. As he stalked closer, he could hear a chittering and scampering sound, coming closer each moment. Sessho-Maru quickly turned around to see what it was. It was a squirrel. He tried desperately not to flush from embarrassment. He was startled of a squirrel. Attempting to put it in the past (which was about 5 seconds ago), he continued his hunt. Closer and closer, Sessho-Maru could hear it thrashing for a while, then silence. Now, he heard a bit of chewing and ripping. Obviously, the deer was dead and being eaten by something else, but Sessho-Maru was curious. The smell of that creature seemed…familiar. He quickened his pace as he sped quietly to where the deer lay and where HE was…
Sessho-Maru peeked from behind a bare tree near the clearing. A humongous white dog was busy ripping pieces from the deer, sending blood flying everywhere, chewing, and then swallowing the whole chunk, bones and all. This large canine was none other than Inu no Taisho, his father. "Father," Sessho-Maru said as he approached him. Inu No Taisho tensed before seeing who it was.
"Ah, Sessho-Maru," he said, "you've grown since last I saw you! (Which was about a couple of months ago) Why don't you stop standing there and come join me."
"Yes, Father," Sessho-Maru replied as he changed into his dog form and trotted to his father's side. Just to tell you, Sessho-Maru was actually really cute as a puppy. He had floppy ears, bright, adorable little eyes, and his little, fluffy tail wagged as his father tossed some meat to him. It had been soooooo long since he had some and it tasted sooooooo good! And soon, all, his worries vanished. Inu no Taisho laughed as he watched his son devour the whole slab in one second flat.
"You smelled deer and traced it all the way here, eh?" Inu no Taisho asked. Sessho-Maru nodded vigorously with his mouth full from another piece and gulped.
"Sessho-Maru," his father suddenly solemnly said, "I have an important announcement." At this, Sessho-Maru quickly drew himself up, straight and alert, his ears barely twitching, and the big dog couldn't help but laugh, but then regained his composure. "You know the human wife I have?"
Sessho-Maru's dog brow furrowed and he spat. Inu no Taisho ignored this and continued. "Well, she's having a baby and it's due around tomorrow!" he said with a cheerfulness that was NOT like him. What did that woman do to his father?!
"Sooo…" Sessho-Maru drawled out, not liking this one bit.
"So I'm bringing you along! Anyways, Izayoi has never seen you before and would like to! Plus, you get to see the new baby!" he declaimed. Sessho-Maru felt faint. He did NOT want to be stuck in a place full of humans, not to mention see the baby, which was the last thing he'd want to do! How could his father do this to him? How could he stand the smell?!
As if reading his mind and upon seeing his son's expression (he chuckled mentally at the look of his son's face; it was hilarious!), Inu no Taisho answered rather pensively, "You'll understand when you learn to love someone you care about." Sessho-Maru didn't get it.
"What the –BEEP— (I told you it was a bit inappropriate, but I don't swear, so I'll replace them with beeps) is this 'love'? And why would you want to stay near those –BEEP— humans?"
Inu No Taisho sighed hopelessly, shaking his head. His son was so stubborn! "Didn't he hear what I just said?" he thought. "Really, young demons these days." Then, he turned around to face Sessho-Maru. "We're leaving right now. Come along, Sessho-Maru. The palace is a bit far." He then ran off (but not too fast so Sessho-Maru could catch up). Sessho-Maru quickly ran after him, and to any passerby, they were just a large and small blur. "Catching up with running, eh, Sessho-Maru?" Inu No Taisho said proudly. "Yes," Sessho-Maru panted, "I've been practicing." All of a sudden, Inu No Taisho stopped, causing Sessho-Maru to collide into him. The colossal dog demon sniffed the air cautiously. "I smell trouble," he growled.
"What are we going to do then, Father?" Sessho-Maru asked.
"Let's go investigate," his father replied, smiling mischievously with a twinkle was in his eye. Soon they started running again, at a faster pace, until a strong smell of smoke and fire suddenly hit them. A fire? And what was burning—
"NOOO!" Inu No Taisho roared (screaming does not sound right…), and with a sudden burst of speed, dashed ahead. Sessho-Maru struggled to keep up, but started tiring and was quickly lagging behind. When he reached the destination, he saw that it was pretty much in cinders now. He tried to sniff his father's scent, but the thick smoke made it difficult and started gagging him. When he thought he would pass out, he saw a shadowed silhouette. "Father…?" he gasped meekly before falling unconscious.
Inu no Taisho knew that Izayoi's palace was being burned when he smelled its scent mixed in with the smoke. This was no ordinary fire. It was caused by a demon. He swore to himself that he would find and kill this fiend. In the meantime, he should be searching for Izayoi. He then heard a cough and moan and headed towards that direction. There, he found Izayoi and her maid. They were alive, but barely. After adjusting them upon his back, he turned to look for Sessho-Maru. Because his sense of smell was keener than his son's, he was able to find him more easily. The young demon just said, "Father…?" before collapsing. Inu no Taisho placed him on his back next to Izayoi, and darted off.
Sessho-Maru woke up to four smells. One was nice, like lavenders; another one was an awful stench, his father, and faint signs of the smoke. "…Wha…?" he said sleepily, until he noticed the two humans beside him. "Agh!" Now he was wide awake. Inching away from the sleeping women, he saw his father in his human-like form, sleeping uncomfortably close to the prettier one of the two women. Her hair was the color of ebony, and, even though singed by the fire, was still shiny and smooth. Even her face, which was burned and marred from the fire, still held its original beauty. Gradually, Inu no Taisho stirred. He blinked once and stared at his wife lovingly and protectively, (Sessho-Maru thought he was going to barf) then turned to face his son. "Sessho-Maru," he said gravely. "Watch over Izayoi (he said her name tenderly as Sessho-Maru's eyebrow twitched in annoyance) for me while I'm gone and until I get back."
"Wait!" Sessho-Maru said as Inu No Taisho was about to leave the cave (they were in a cave). "Where are you going?"
"To slaughter the bastard who dared hurt my beloved Izayoi. (Sessho-Maru was very irked now that his father, Lord of the Western Lands, was getting mushy over this insignificant human!)" Inu no Taisho declared before he marched off. (He was blind to the fact that the demon probably wasn't targeting her in the first place…)
"Oh great." Sessho-Maru thought sarcastically. "Father has left me with these two worthless humans."
Swish! Crash! Inu No Taisho ran like he never before (the fastest he'd ever ran was when he was 15 in demon years; 357 years in human age, and was escaping the jaws of an alligator demon who'd tried to eat him). He had tracked its scent past this forest. He'd better reserve his energy for that
—BEEP— demon, for it was close. Surely it would sense him now…
The giant dog demon crashed past the forest and entered an arid valley. A humongous dragon-like demon stood in the middle of it. "Oh,"sneered the dragon, "have you come to see me for something, Lord of the Western Lands?"
"How dare you harm my beloved Izayoi and destroy her beloved palace! Not to mention her beloved servants and her beloved hair and my beloved fur!" Inu no Taisho screeched into the poor dragon demon's face. (He had a sweat drop from Inu No Taisho's excessive use of the word "beloved")
"Heh heh heh," the demon chuckled ominously. (He actually was a bit rattled by Inu no Taisho's outburst) "Do you honestly know who you're talking to?"
"Not a clue." Inu No Taisho said so honestly that the demon anime fell. After regaining his position, he stated, "I am Ryukotsusei, Lord of the Southern Lands! I have plotted to defeat you for your lands!"
"Heh heh," Ryukotsusei thought, "soon our two lands shall combine to form the Southwestern Lands, which I will be its sole ruler!"
"Are you ready?" he hissed. Inu No Taisho cracked his knuckles and transformed. Crack!X253.5 minutes. (Ryukotsusei has a tear drop)
"Let's get started, then, Ryukotsusei," he responded. "Prepare to die!"
"I'll send those words right back at you!" Ryukotsusei replied as the two Lords lunged at one another.
Izayoi moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her face felt burned and it pained her greatly. As she looked around her, she noticed that she was in a dank cave and her faithful maid, Suzuki, was, luckily, sleeping beside her. Near the cave entrance sat a little boy with long, silky white hair, golden eyes, pointed ears, a blue crescent moon on his forehead, …unusually long nails, and a disgusted expression plastered all over his face. Over all, he looked quite like Inu no Taisho. "He must be Inu No Taisho's son," she thought. "He's handsome, but his face is a bit feminine."
Sessho-Maru saw that Izayoi was awake. "So you are finally awake," he said. Izayoi smiled warmly at him, causing him to shift uncomfortably.
"Where is your father?" she asked.
"Went off to kill the demon that hurt his 'beloved (that word again!) Izayoi'!" he said detestably. Izayoi laughed softly, her voice sounding like tinkling bells.
Finally, the maid Suzuki stirred. "Mistress?" she mumbled, then sat up quickly. That's when she noticed Sessho-Maru. "AHHHHHHH! A demon! Someone! Anyone! HEELLPP! He's captured us and will eat us ALLLIIVVEEEEEE!" she screamed. Sessho-Maru had to plug his ears; her scream was deafening! People (or at least demons) could hear her from miles away.
"Suzuki…" Izayoi began.
"Mistress! We must get out of here, quickly! I'll distract him!" she said as she took her mistress's wrist and plucked a damp rock from a pile. "Suzuki—" Iza Yoi started again but the maid started chucking rocks at (poor) Sessho-Maru, all the while yelling at the top of her lungs, "DEMON BEGONE!" Sessho-Maru had no trouble and easily dodged or batted away the rocks until he finally had enough of it. Taking a fairly light rock, he threw it at the rock-throwing machine (the maid), and it hit her square on the forehead and bounced lightly off. "Hahh…" she said before slipping into unconsciousness.
"Sessho-Maru," Izayoi scolded worriedly. "So she knows my name," he thought "You better not have hurt or killed her. She still is very young."
"It was just a light hit, even for you humans. Besides, I was getting annoyed at her yelling, 'Demon begone!' and throwing rocks at me," he explained, pointing to the rather large piles of rocks around him. (Izayoi has a sweat drop at this) Suddenly, Izayoi felt a pain in her stomach and cried out. Sessho-Maru took no heed; his father cannot expect him to protect her from pain, as he had no idea how that is done. Unexpectedly, the maid's eyes opened as if right on cue. "I didn't hit her hard enough," Sessho-Maru thought.
"Suzuki," Izayoi groaned, "I-I think…it's time."
"Right away, Mistress." Suzuki said. "You there, lass," she told Sessho-Maru. "You might as well help us here—"
"For your information, I am no human girl—"
"Suzuki," Izayoi said weakly, glad to be interrupting someone else for a change as Sessho-Maru fumed, preparing to claw them both to shreds if they dare insult him once again! "That is a demon lad."
"A lad! A demon!" Suzuki exclaimed, looking at Sessho-Maru unbelievably. (Mere moments ago, she knew and was trying to kill him. Perhaps she forgot…) "Get out, you fiend! There's birthing to be done here!" "Please…Sessho-Maru…" Izayoi pleaded. Sessho-Maru sighed and calmly walked outside. He had no business in there anyway. Now that he was away from those humans, it was time for some hunting.
A bloodcurdling scream of pure pain erupted from beyond the woods, shattering the stillness like ripples in water. Then, it was all over. "Mistress…" the maid whispered in sheer horror, "What monster have you birthed?"
Reality check: Actually, the baby was quite cute, with white, floppy puppy ears and fluffy white hair. When it opened its large, darling amber slitted eyes, it smiled sweetly. Iza Yoi cooed as the baby gurgled happily, and even Suzuki had to admit it was quite an adorable baby, even if a monster. Just then, Sessho-Maru walked in, carrying 2 quails and 1 doe. His first deer! "The game is better here," he remarked, "much warmer climate.
"One for you." He threw a raggedy quail at Izayoi. He then glared at Suzuki. "None for you," he said coldly. Suzuki just ignored him and started to prepare the quail and started a campfire. Sessho-Maru ate his meal raw and outside, where he wouldn't smell them, and saved a leg of the first deer he killed for his father. "He'd be so proud, if he comes back" Sessho-Maru thought. "When he comes back," he corrected himself. Meanwhile, Izayoi was thinking pretty much the same thoughts. "Oh please let Inu no Taisho be all right."
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Sigh, I actually wrote this up last year—actually, the year before that year (I nearly forgot, it's the new year now!)—and I didn't feel like posting it up until now, so I hope someone hasn't taken this idea already. I know, I know. This chapter doesn't have anything to do with brotherly love, but this is the onset! (And probably more preferable to non-mushy people) I hope that you, the reader have liked this first chapter. If not…(sigh) For people who want this stuff, it'll be in the next chapter! (For those who do not, you have been warned!) If you have any comments, tips, or insults, please review. I would really appreciate it! (But I'm not sure about the insults) Anyways, if anyone actually likes this, the earliest I might update will be within a week. If I am unlucky, you'd best wait a year or so! In conclusion, thank you to all readers who have at least tried reading this. I know; it's so long! Some of the chapters have been written in advance. I just need to type them! I warn those who do not like long chapters: The chapters might progress in length! So, even after all the warnings, if you still choose to read this, good for you! (And good for me too; I might not be as hopeless at writing than I thought) So, farewell until the next chapter! (Scaaarrryyy, the author's note is pretty long, too!)
