Hi people... This is my first story after a REALLY long time. I hope you'll be kind to it and leave a review after you've read. This way, I can decide if I should continue on this story or try to embark on something better.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Inu Yasha. All other characters with similar names or personalities are purely coincidence.

Chp 1 - The Mark Of Drago

"And so, to stop the violence against both humans and dragons, man learnt to revere dragons and form special bonds with the dragons and become their kin. That is how Dragonkin were born", the old man ended the story with much relish as he watched his captivated audience of one.

"Jii-chan! Does that mean that I can become Dragonkin too? Huh? Huh?" questioned an enthusiastic 2year old, his amber eyes alit with anticipation.

"Hai… Inuyasha. You can be whatever you set your mind to," the old man said, pity filled his eyes but was completely missed by the ecstatic child as he whooped in joy.

In the shadows, the young woman saw the pity in her father's eyes. She knew that he had lied for the sake of her son. Dashing away the tears that welled up in her eyes, she continued preparing their dinner.

What her father had not told her son was that Dragonkin, as far as history had recorded, the bond had only formed between humans and dragons. Never was there a recorded account of a demon having made any bond with the dragons, much less a half demon.

She loved her son and she could never hate him for what he was. It was not his choice. But her father had and so had many of her village.

She recalled the day he had seen the mating mark left by her mate and knew of her pregnancy, he had proclaimed her a whore and was prepared to cast her out since he assumed that she had not married. After explaining that she was indeed married, he had demanded proof. When Inutaisho entered the village upon her request, people scurried to hide but hatred gleamed in their gazes.

Her father's fear was palatable as he grew shockingly white upon the approach of her mate. Wary of the approaching demon, he had demanded to know the meaning of it. When she confirmed that her husband was indeed a demon, a dog demon to be exact, she was so afraid that her father would go into apoplectic shock even as she felt the condemning stares of the rest of the village burrowing into her back.

However, her father had been surprisingly accepting and though it took a while for him to accept the occasional presence of the Taiyoukai, eventually he was able to fully accept Inutaisho as an equal and welcome him to his home wholeheartedly.

Despite her father's conversion, hatred for demons still ran deep in her village and the only thing that had prevented any displays of violence or rude remarks to her was her status as the village head's daughter and the presence of her mate.

One day, during the absence of her mate and father, the villagers attempted to murder her by setting fire to her home. Thankfully, she had managed to escape with the help of her old nurse maid who woke her before the fire reached her quarters.

Hiding out at her old nurse maid's home was not easy for a heavily pregnant woman and upon her father's return, she learnt the bad news. Her mate was dead.

Inutaisho has been in a fight with another demon, protecting a human from their village and had been seriously injured. The foolish villager had taken the opportunity to deal several low blows to Inutaisho as he lay bleeding on the ground before returning to the village to claim victory over the death of her mate. Her mate had told her father to name their son, Inuyasha, before he passed on.

She had raged and wept while her father planned their leave of the village. But even as she wept, she had planned the death of the villager who caused the death of her mate. Her mate had died to protect the bastard and he could still claim credit for killing her mate. That alone made him lower than scum.

The next day, as they crept out of the village before the crack of dawn, she heard a loud wail of sorrow and a grim smile had crossed her face. Now they knew what it was like to lose one they loved.

For weeks, they traveled, bone-weary and hungry before they arrived at the village they had heard so much about, the village where demons and humans lived in peace.

As she claimed her new home and felt the keen loss of her mate, birthing pangs hit and very soon she was in labor to bring into the world her most precious treasure.

As she held her son and looked into his face, all she could see was the reflection of her mate looking back at her. Crying, she sobbed out the name that her mate had given to his son as his last gift and fell into an exhausted sleep.

From that day on, she swore that she would never see her son hurt in any way. But this was the one thing that was out of her hands.

Drago, the bond between human and dragons was formed upon contact of the child with the egg. No one had yet discovered what caused the bond to form. The only sign of the bond was the appearance of a jewel the color of the dragonling embedded into the left hand of the Dragonkin.

She just knew that her son would be disappointed. But she knew that she could not protect him forever. Maybe it was time to let go just a little.

"Kaa-san!! Jii-chan says that I can become Dragonkin one day!! Isn't that cool?!" the childish squeal of happiness brought a smile to her face as she turned to face her darling son.

Brushing aside his silvery locks, she looked into his amber eyes and felt the pang of sadness as she remembered her mate. Their son so closely resembled him.

"Yasha... There are times that you may not always get what you want. No matter how much you want it. I want you to be strong and always fight for what you believe in," Izayoi said as she gazed into her son's eyes.

"Why wouldn't I get what I want, kaa-san?" Inuyasha asked, full of childish optimism.

"Never mind darling… Go and play. But stay near the house. I'll call you when dinner is ready," Izayoi said indulgently and watched her son scamper off to play with the other two children he had made friends with.

-

"Hey Yasha! Look what I found!!" called an excited little boy, his purple eyes alight, pointing at a spot deep in the undergrowth.

"What is it, Roku? You know kaa-san said that we are supposed to play near the house!" Inuyasha said, his amber eyes clouded with worry, but curiosity warred within.

"Roku! Yasha! Don't go in there! I'm scared!" whined the other little boy, snot dripping as his eyes watered.

"Daichi! Stop being such a scaredy-cat and hurry up!" Yasha said as his curiosity won and he ventured deeper into the undergrowth after Miroku.

"Roku! Where are you!"

"Over here, Yasha! A little to the left! No! My left!"

"Roku, you suck at giving direct… Wow!" exclaimed Inuyasha as he burst into a clearing.

In the middle of the clearing where Miroku stood, a pearlescent oval shaped object glowed, sprinkling the clearing with sparkling lights.

"Roku! Yasha! Where are you?!" whined Daichi, but even then, nothing could break the moment for the two best friends.

"Roku… You touch it…" instigated Inuyasha, nudging his friend towards the object that held them both fascinated.

"Nah ah! You touch it. What if a GIANT dinosaur comes out and gobbles us up? Nah ah! I don't want to make the dinosaur mad," Miroku said as he shirked off to the other side of the clearing as Inuyasha approached the object.

"Come on, Roku. On the count of three, like kaa-san always says. Fair's even," Inuyasha said as he stared at his friend, his eyes pleading.

Miroku rolled his own eyes; he could never withstand the force of his friend's puppy eyes, no pun intended. Or maybe it really had something to do with him being half dog demon, he would never know.

"Alright, Yasha. Fair's fair. I'm coming," Miroku said as he reluctantly made his way back across the clearing to the object.

"Ready? One… Two… Two…" both boys held their hands a breath away from the surface of the object, "Roku… What comes after two?"

"THREE!!" yelled Miroku and tapping their hands lightly onto the surface, the two boys dashed to hide behind trees in case a dinosaur really came out.

"Nothing happened, Yasha. See… I told you!" Miroku smirked as he disappeared through the undergrowth, most likely to exit the forest area.

"Nothing?" puzzled, Inuyasha looked down at his hand. He thought he felt something move beneath his hand when he touched the sparkly stone.

One more time, he thought to himself, after all, nothing happened the first time. Approaching the stone cautiously, he pressed his hand and ear to the stone's surface, and said, "Harrow! Anybody home?"

The last thing he heard before he blacked out was an answering hello and a bright flash of light.

-

"Yasha! Are you ok? How are you feeling? What happened?" Izayoi questioned her son, shaking him awake, the panic in her voice rising by several notches.

"Kaa-san? My left hand is itchy and I'm sleepy…" murmured Inuyasha with a small yawn as he snuggled up to his mother and promptly fell asleep again.

"His hand?" Izayoi was puzzled, turning his left hand over, she received a great shock. "The mark of Drago?!"

Writer's Note:

Yes... I know. Great shock, right?

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