~What Has Happened~

The moth demon Menoumaru, or the last Lord Hyōga, has been defeated. Peace has been restored across the western lands that were touched by Menoumaru's moths. Souls have been returned and villages are back to working order.
InuYasha's team is back up and running, as is Lord Sesshomaru's. Now the purebred demon lord is on a new mission; one that will forever change his life…

The Chronicles of a Half-Dragon
Chronicle 1: The Dragon and The Dog-Demon

By Dragon-Child of Lightning

Chapter 1: His Reasons

Jaken had had it.

It had been a week of nothing but pillaging deceased villages that had been attacked by demons and searching for supplies and other accommodations, (mostly fangs and other such things from dead or living demons) to forge yet another sword. Sure, now that Lord Sesshōmaru was in possession Tokijin, he was exceptionally strong; but still, what good was a weapon that was limited? Well that was at least what Lord Sesshōmaru had said.

Sesshōmaru had explained that since the demon fangs that Tokijin was were extracted from only an incarnation, they were not as powerful as they would be if they were actually extracted from a real demon. There for, Sesshōmaru was on, yet again, the hunt for an unbeatable sword. And their next stop was a little village in the west, one with a master blacksmith from a foreign land.

And as greatly hinted before, Jaken had had it. After testing out Bokusenō's theory about InuYasha's blood and its connection with the Tetsusaiga, Sesshōmaru had decided to fully give up his hunt for the Iron-Crushing Fang. "What is the point of extinguishing my younger brother if he doesn't even know himself?" Sesshōmaru had explained. Jaken had agreed, but was still stingy about the fact that once more, another sword was to be sought out.

Not far from yet another village, the travelers decided to take refuge outside of it, just at the tree line. Sesshōmaru sent Rin in the town this time and ordered her to find herself some food. As she left, Jaken huffed a sigh in relief; he didn't particularly care much for the human girl.

"M' Lord Sesshōmaru, I do suggest that we leave tonight to the target village and leave the girl behind," Jaken stressed. "She's slowing us down."

"That is true, but she is obedient in everything I tell her to do," the dog demon replied.

"So?"

"There for she is a superb servant to have."

"True," Jaken grumbled.

"Besides the point that she is human, she makes an excellent travel companion for A-Un and I would say for you as well," Sesshōmaru contemplated, no malice lacing his thought.

If Jaken were bigger and more powerful than his white haired master, he would've gone off on Sesshōmaru fully. But of course, he didn't. He merely growled and replied, "I would think not, M' Lord."

Sesshōmaru smirked ever so lightly. "But going off the topic of the human girl, how long would you say we have till we reach our destination?"

"If we leave that strange girl, we could make it tonight. But, since we're apparently not leaving it, we can get there tomorrow with no hassles," Jaken replied.

"I see," Sesshōmaru nodded.

Finally, gaining more courage after a moment of seemingly awkward silence, "M' Lord, if it's too much of a bother, don't answer; but why must we forge yet another sword? I mean I see no point in doing so sir."

Jaken earned a glare. As the little demon shrunk under that steady, penetrating scowl Sesshōmaru answered, "We are not forging another sword. I simply want to… upgrade Tokijin."

"Upgrade?"

"Yes. As powerful as Tokijin is, it unfortunately isn't at full comprehension. If the fangs of Gojinki were forged from a true demon, and not from an incarnation of Naraku, Tokijin would be unrivaled. So you see, by collecting the fangs of true demons, no matter how weak, I hope to improve Tokijin so it is limitless. Haven't I already told you this?

Well maybe, but I don't remember it, Jaken almost said. But, feeling no need to die from being vague about his situation, he replied, "Yes M' Lord Sesshōmaru."

Rin came back promptly, (just at sunset, since Sesshōmaru kept the girl on a strict schedule it seemed); her arms piled high with all sorts of food.

"You shouldn't be eating so much before bed," Sesshōmaru told Rin strictly. He was no expert on a human's, but he was almost positive that the amount of food Rin had gathered wasn't good for her; especially at the late hour.

Rin simply placed the arm full of grub on the ground, and handed what looked like a stick of grilled fish to Jaken. "It's not just for me," she explained innocently.

Though reluctant at first, Jaken did take the gift of fish and devoured it in moments. The little demon looked at Rin to see her offer yet another stick of fish; two, in fact. He scarfed these too, this time with no hesitation. Soon Jaken sat by a crackling fire, which was sparked up minutes ago, and patted his stomach in satisfaction.

"So maybe she isn't as useless as I think," Jaken burped groggily. Sesshōmaru said nothing in reply as the kappa demon fell fast asleep, and Rin snuggled right next to him, basking in the fire and A-Un's warmth. With his travel companions snoozing, Sesshōmaru took the time to wander and think to himself.

Rin was indeed a burden at times; Sesshōmaru would give Jaken that. She was human and couldn't defend herself from the terrifying demons who would consume her in seconds if she wasn't traveling with demons herself.
But the flip side to that was the fact that she followed every order Sesshōmaru had ever given her. This did keep her out of trouble, since trouble did come quite frequently. This led the lord to wonder another thing; why did Rin follow him so blindly? He could dare to even say even more blindly than Jaken. Ever since Rin had found him in the forest and Sesshōmaru had snarled at the girl… It still baffled Sesshōmaru that Rin hadn't dashed away shrieking in fear. What did Rin see in Sesshōmaru that kept her around? She obviously wasn't afraid.

"I guess tonight isn't the night to find out though," sighed the lord. He returned straightaway to the camp sight, contemplating the route he had taken to coming back (the poisonous insects that took orders from Naraku followed Sesshōmaru around for a little while; thankfully he had lost them. He hoped).

So now paranoid, Lord Sesshōmaru took up a roll as sentry for the night. Taking refuge on the branches of an old tree, the lord sat, contemplating yet again his chances at becoming the most powerful demon, with a sword that was unrivaled…

フォーリングスケールの村

Fōringusukēru no mura

The Village of Falling Scales

The sun rose beautifully the next day, illuminating the valley village, Fōringusukēru no mura, or the Village of Falling Scales. With another morning opening, the people began to wake; slowly, but surely.
Fōringusukēru no mura was different than most other villages; for one it was founded by a Scandinavian. The founder was an extremely smart… man, with a vision. For when he left his own village (which is currently a large city in present-day Norway), he set out to find a way to improve his life and his family's through travel. When he came to the island of Japan, he decided to settle down, finding the country to be peaceful compared to the Viking ages of Norway.
None the less, the settler had brought some unwelcome company with him. This unwanted devil disappeared for years, later leading indirectly to this settler's pre-mature death; and his wife's as well.

But enough about the past for now. Let's skip on to the present, where one half-breed in particular is just waking up.

The half-breed, a she, groaned as sunlight began to stream in through the open door. "Ugh, go away light," she yawned. She opened her eyes up just enough, but she shut them tight when the light blinded her. "Uuugh…"

"After a moment of contemplation, it would seem you are not going to get up early," came a gruff, deep voice from the doorway. The girl half growled, half groaned, turning over in her bed.

"Kuri, get up," the voice persisted.

"Uncle Dúsi, It's so early," the half-breed grumbled.

"Kurisutaru, if you don't get out of this bed this instant, I swear I'll-"

The half-breed's eyes whipped open in realization. "Oh crap! It's Founder Day! Why didn't you pour water on my head or something; gah, Uncle!?" Kurisutaru shot out of her bed like a rocket and sped dressed, not particularly caring that her uncle was there. After finally throwing on her custom 'miko' outfit, the 'priestess' in training was gone.

Dúsi watched his niece scramble off, smiling. "Now how did she know I was going to threaten her like that?"

Kurisutaru Nidhogg, the dragon half-breed and daughter of the Founder, Aðalbrandr Nidhogg, was indeed now slightly pissed off that she was late on her daily chores at her masters' house. She raced through one of the halls of her house, covering her face with the leathery skin of her wings. "Damn sun," she whispered, whipping her semi-think tail in aggravation. The court yard yawned before her finally as she exited the hallway. Kuri skidded to a halt near a tree that was smackdab in the center of the yard. She dropped to her knees instantly and folded her hands.

"Honorable Aðalbrandr, I wish you good fortune," she uttered wispily to her father's shrine. "And I do hope you are proud and satisfied with what I am doing with my life." She rose, hugging herself.

It had been almost twenty eight years since her father's death. That year's Founder's Day would make it twenty nine. Kuri walked around the foreign tree, its large trunk covered it scratch marks from years-past of claw sharpening.

"Twenty nine," she hissed under her breath, controlling tears and managing a chuckle. "So it's been that long? All right!" Kuri clapped her hands together, wiping her eyes at the same time. "Enough tears; I got chores!" Kuri once more was off, this time towards her village.

As said before, the Village of Fallen Scales was wakening slowly. Its people stumbled out of their beds and into the halls of their houses, walking like the living dead till grouchiness left their minds. Kuri was already racing through, causing those already awake and in the streets to bid her good morning, glare at her, or yell in anger at her for rushing past or otherwise. Where was she off to in such a hurry? Since it was Founder's Day, she wanted to get a head start on her excruciating chores and training.

"Top of the morning to ye, Kuri-chan!" called a voice to Kuri. The dragon half-breed looked over to see a local geisha in a light, sky blue kimono by the name of Aaya waving. Aaya was Kurisutaru's only true friend in the village; most of all the other kids when Kuri was growing up were scared of her because they thought she was a demon (and she's not).

"Aaya-chan! Gosh it's great to see you!" Kurisutaru exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"I don't see you around much anymore since you started your miko training," Aaya replied, returning the hug.

"Oh come on, it's only been two months," Kuri exasperated.

The young geisha smiled. "Yes I know. It just feels like it has been longer. I've known you ever since I was three and we're basically joined at the hip."

"Almost, but not quite." They laughed at the long time joke. After a while of silence Kuri invited her friend to follow her as the half-breed continued on in her to her chores. They talked about what had happened in their separate lives for the past two months. Aaya's job as a geisha had significantly improved her confidence and physical condition, and now she was the lead geisha in her troop. Kurisutaru explained what her teachers had taught her so far in her training; her story wasn't as successful.

"Unfortunately, I seem to have a problem with learning any spiritual powers," Kuri sighed.

"It shouldn't be that hard for someone like you," Aaya tried to reassure.

"You would think. My senseis say it has to do with my half none-demon-dragon-self. Apparently that's what's holding me back." Kuri paused and closed her eyes in a grimace. "So I guess I can't progress until I learn otherwise or get rid of my dragon side."

"And that isn't happening," Aaya replied, almost laughing.

"Yeah," Kuri smiled lightly. "Anyway, thanks for the talk. Gotta go!" and off she was; again.

"Good luck! Don't fail!"

"Don't jinx me!"

Master Iwao and Mistress Chieko watched as their student, young Kurisutaru Nidhogg, race up their pathway in haste.

"It's about time, you the pathetic lizard," Iwao snapped, his dark greyish-brown hair quivering.

"Sorry Master," Kuri panted lightly with a smile.

"Come on in; you can start the chores and then we'll start training," Chieko said in a softer tone.

(Both Mistress and Master Hayashi, old friends of the Nidhoggs, are a couple containing of a Priest and Priestess. Iwao is an earth spirit and Chieko is a water spirit. Both are extraordinarily strong because of their spiritual powers and because of their love for each other).

"Mistress, what must I do today?" Kuri asked as she followed her Mistress. Iwao trailed close behind, but quickly found work elsewhere.

Chieko stepped lightly as she explained. "Well there's laundry, sweeping, cleaning of the yard, washing Mo-Mo…" The list seemed to go on and on as the two moved forward.

As said, Kuri got right to work in her first chore: laundry. She took the dirty and somewhat smelly clothes to be scrubbed outside in the wash tub.

Her hard work was supervised by now-returned Master and Mistress; one with a criticizing eye, the other with a gentle look.

"What does she think she's doing? She'll ruin the clothes with the roughness she's applying to those delicate fabrics," Iwao scolded in a tone only his wife could hear.

"Hush now; you very well that she won't damage anything," Chieko mused, taking her husband's arm. Her deep-rooted face smiled deeper. "It has been twenty nine years Iwoa. Twenty nine years since poor Kurisutaru has seen the face of her father Aðalbrandr. Our dear friend Aðalbrandr..."

"And about thirty two for his wife," Iwao responded gruffly. He sighed heavily. "It's hard to remember some days that she's an orphan, you know? Kurisutaru acts so strong and older than she really is."

"Is that why you treat her like a servant girl?" Chieko asked with a sly smile.

"No," he huffed back. Truthfully, Iwao loved Kurisutaru. Like Dúsi, Iwao had taken care of Kuri ever since Aðalbrandr had kicked the bucket. The earth spirit treated her like a granddaughter more than a daughter. That was only because both husband and wife had known Aðalbrandr since he landed about two hundred years ago. (More about that later though, dear readers).

"Mistress Chieko! I'm finished!" called Kuri. Both senseis looked to see Kuri, within their speaking time, had finished the laundry. Two piles, one for each sensei, staked high above the girl's head.

"Well done Kuri," Chieko called back, striding forward to confront her student. "Let's go sweep."

"Yes, let us battle the dust demons!" Kuri teased.

Mistress Chieko swept (oh the puns) Kuri away into the house to sweep the floor, while Iwao came behind, inspecting Kuri and his wife's handy work.

He swiped his fingers across the floor when they were both done, grimacing, but gave them a satisfactory nod. "Very good. Now, go on and work on the yard."

Since I, the documenter, am getting lazy, I shall skip through these next parts with a quick pace. Kuri hopped right to cleaning up the Hayashi's yard; she racked, trimmed, and hacked at the grass, bushes, and seemingly untamable weeds and vines. In no time, the courtyard almost sparkled like it was brand new. The koi pond sparkled with radiance now that it had less fish muck in it, and the top of the house (Kuri was the only one who could clean it) glistened in the sun that now hovered in the sky, just shy of clearing the mountain.

Everything was good in the world it seemed. That was until Mo-Mo came around the corner. The giant, blue lizard's tongue lolled out of its mouth and it bound into Kuri's arms, crushing the half-breed.

"Ugh, Mo-Mo! You're getting even bigger boy!" Kuri laughed. The giant reptile slobbered the girl, smiling almost.

"Mo-Mo is excited to see you," Chieko smiled, a deviousness settling on the smile. "Of course he still needs a bath."

At these words Mo-Mo leapt in a way that Kuri was in-between him and his master. He growled slightly, but it was too playful to be taken seriously.

"When will you ever learn Mo-Mo?" Kuri rhetorically asked the giant lizard. Despite his struggling, Mo-Mo was roughed into the tub (it was made especially for him too). Both female master and student laughed happily as the lizard splashed about; he scowled unhappily, still growling. As soon as the bath was over though, Mo-Mo stormed out of the tub, roaring angrily, and probably cursing his female master.

"He's just going to go get dirty again," Kuri said, almost whining. "Phew; that beast of a lizard wore me out!"

"He won't; I assure you," Mistress Chieko sighed, pulling back her fire red hair. "I made sure with magic that he shall not. And my, do I agree."

"Have you put him on that diet yet?"

"Obviously no." Silence enveloped the two as the sun gleaned farther into the sky.

The women seemed to uphold an unspoken bond that everyone saw. No words were spoken, even when Iwao and Mo-Mo came around the corner.

"Mind if we join you ladies?" Master Iwao asked quietly. A simple nod from the Mistress approved the Master's thought.

The sudden clang of a brass bell knocked Kuri out of the relaxed state she sat cross-legged in. It must be noon, she thought sadly. Frowning, she rose, gracefully stepping of the wooden floor of the outside walk.

"Senseis," she bowed. "May I return later on to finish my training for today?"

Both senseis looked up from their own dream-like, lazy states. A unison nod freed Kuri and she raced out of the courtyard.

"Where's she going again?" Iwao yawned.

"The Valley of Lost Souls dear," Chieko answered somberly. "How can you possibly forget that?"

ロストソウルの谷

Rosutosouru no tani

The Valley of Lost Souls

Kuri arrived in plenty of time to her father's memorial. Before she did, the half-breed had stopped by her house to apprehend a few quick things (her father's favorite food, incense, etc.). As she raced out again she came across her uncle, snoring on a chair and with a bottle of Scandinavian booze in his left hand.

Kuri frowned. "Why must you be drunk today of all days?" Peeved, she slowly removed the beer from Dúsi's hand. You'd think he'd act more sensible as a blacksmith…

Setting the bottle down, and away from her uncle's grasp when he would awake, she stalked off her porch. It always angered her that her uncle was an alcoholic; ever since her father's death, it hadn't been easy for her uncle to deal with the looming grief from his brother's demise. It had lightened up in the past few years; you wouldn't find the blacksmith passed out randomly like a worn out farmer. But you could still find him snoring away on lazy days with alcohol in his hand and maybe even passed out.

Kuri felt the glances as she passed by her people; the suspiciousness was obvious. But truly everyone was just curious to Kuri's lewd attitude.

When Kuri arrived to her father's grave, not only had her temporarily foul mood eased, she was surprised to find a few flowers and such littering the ground around her feet and the gravesite. Hopping/stepping over gift after gift, Kuri finally managed to kneel before the stone monolith.

Kurisutaru lit the incense with the snap of her fingers, and laid everything out so that none of the other presents were tarnished or covered up.

"Hey dad," Kuri whispered, her hands folded in her lap. "I know earlier I couldn't talk much since I was in a rush; sorry. But I can talk for as long as I can now.
"Aaya was turned into quite the geisha, though I don't know for sure if it truly is helping her breathing condition or not. She says it is. Speaking of feeling better, the weather has stopped fluctuating so much, so I'm back to normal. Well, as normal as someone like me can be.
"Uncle is getting better and dealing with the truth of things a little at a time. He hasn't quite gotten back on the horse, but he's getting there. Recently though, I caught him crafting a simple, little dagger, but it has given me hope in his recovery. Though, also recently, I've lost hope in some of the villagers.
"They have been treating me… to your satisfaction, I would guess. Sure, they took advantage when you first died, but the persecution all 'died' away; their attacks I mean." Kuri let out a soft, curt snort of a laugh; it held untold cruelty and brutality. "So I guess that means even when I become the village leader, I still won't be accepted. Shame really; I plan to protect these people with my life and what do I get in return?"

The bi-color haired girl sighed and stood at her full height. A single, dreaded tear leaked from her fire colored eyes. "Dad, I miss you. And I hope I'll see you again in the future." She stride off, a sad look still on her face. She planned to go back and continue her training and didn't want her senseis to think her weak for the day.
Just a few feet away from the exit, the earth seemed to explode. Kuri fell to the quaking ground, grabbing at the grass as if it would stabilize her. What the hell?!

Standing unsteadily, Kurisutaru carried her confused body forward. She reached the village and another explosion rang out; this time it clearly came from her uncle's work shop.

"What's going on?" she breathed. She looked at her feet, her hands balled in to little clubs. Her body didn't want to move out of fear of what else she would find.

"Kuri! Kuri!" The dragon whipped her head up to take a look at the woman calling her; it was Aaya. Tired, battered Aaya. The geisha tripped as Kuri fought the fear and reached out her hands out to catch her friend.

"Aaya! What happened; is everyone ok; what happened to you?!" Kuri rushed in worry.

"I'm- I'm not quite sure. But a man came into the village a few minutes ago looking for your uncle!"

"What?!"

"And right after that these demon bugs came from everywhere and started destroying everything! They seemed to be controlled by some woman who I saw at the edge of the-"

"Stay here!" Kuri yelled, taking off at full speed. She didn't allow for Aaya to finish her explanation. "Get to Rosutosouru no tani and guide others out!"

Watching Kuri run into the disaster zone, Aaya fell to her knees. Her black hair fell in her face, covering her pale skin. "Why do you always run?" she started to cry. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into…"

From CoL:

I would've been done sooner, but I couldn't think of a way to progress the chapter through the middle. Ugh…

A little explanation on Iwao and Chieko: Iwao is an earth spirit and Chieko is a water spirit, as said before. They were about middle age when Aðalbrandr came to Japan (more information on that later). They were his first friends.

Anyway, hope you like!

Love,
CoL