Chapter 1 Cursed
Sesshomaru is going to be a little OOC in this for reasons I give you. Inuyasha as well a little.
Please Review
There's a difference between humans and demons, he's always figured. It was glaring obvious. It's strength, power for demons and human stubbornness and preservation. His father, he had seen something in humans, something which led him to mate a human and sire a half-blooded son. His father's 'love' for a human had driven his father to betray him, to curse him, all in attempts to keep the human and half-breed from his claws.
His own father sought a witch to curse him, reverted him into a pup again, to strip him of his powers and force him into enslavement of his human wife. Though, that certainly could have not been his father's intentions really, but the fact was, it worked out in such a way.
He was a pup again when his father was slain, barely three years old in human years, weak. Now under Izayoi's care.
Humans are meant to be gentle ones right? Wrong.
Sesshomaru - 8 years old
"Inuyasha!"
The inu yokai growled under his breath, long legs speeding up as he quickly moves, following the flash of red.
Stupid little cretin, did he have any idea...
Sesshomaru growled, forcing his legs into a faster run, darting over a hill, losing sight of the ball of red. He curses under his breath again, looking over his shoulder at the looming palace of the west. The five-year old Inuyasha wasn't ever suppose to leave the gardens, worst of all, Sesshomaru was suppose to watch him. Which meant it was his fault the child was running wild outside the home.
Quickly increasing his speed darting into the trees he had seen Inuyasha vanish into. He takes a deep sniff of the air, honing in on his half-brother's scent, he quickly tracks him down. The five-year old is high in a tree, tittering on a fairly small branch, glaring at him, impressive for a hanyo pup.
But that's hardly what the full inu demon takes into account, it's how thin the branch his brother is sitting on looks. If he falls... Izayoi will not be happy. "Inuyasha..." He growls through clenched fangs. "What are you doing?"
"Go away, Sesshomaru." The child pouts. "I wanna play... I don't want to be cooped up inside all day."
Sesshomaru takes a shaky breath, trying not to glare at the child. Sesshomaru doesn't need Inuyasha telling Izayoi he's being mean to him on top of everything else. "Your mother will be worried."
"I don't care." The child blurts like the brat he is. "Mother is being to unfair."
"You will be in trouble if she finds out you left the garden." I will be in trouble. "Come home with me, I'll find you something sweet." He bribs hoping it'll work.
Inuyasha noticeably considers, but his stubborn scowl remains. "You can come outside whenever you want. Why can't I? It's not fair, Sesshomaru."
"I'm older," he tells Inuyasha automatically, "when you are my age yo - " The branch cracks before he can finish and with the branch, Inuyasha begins falling. Sesshomaru moves quickly, barely making it in time to catch his half-brother, both of them hit the ground hard. Sesshomaru breaking Inuyasha fall.
Grunting in pain, Sesshomaru pushing the boy off of him, and a second later Inuyasha burst into tears.
(O)
Izayoi waits at the garden doors, dressed in a beautiful white and yellow kimono, looking as regal and noble as always. Inuyasha bursts from his hold with a cry, throwing himself into his mother's arms, leaves and broken twigs sticking out of the boy's hair.
"Oh Inuyasha..." The woman's gentle voice coos, small hand, pale, thin, combs Inuyasha's hair.
"I fell out of a tree." The five-year old wails, sobbing.
Sesshomaru flinches, standing back, watching what was going on carefully. Sesshomaru did not want to look at Izayoi, but the woman's gaze was on him, boring into him. His golden eyes lift to the woman, swallowing with difficulty at her unreadable expression.
"Why weren't you watch him, Sesshomaru?" Something was in her voice, it was something Sesshomaru heard as plain as day, something that has his left hand aching. Even Inuyasha notices because the boy looks up at his mother, suddenly stiff.
"I..."
"Go to your room, Sesshomaru." She turns away, lifting Inuyasha in one movement, her back now to Sesshomaru. Inuyasha was now looking at him as he was slowly carried away by his mother, suddenly seeming to realize what he had done and what it would mean for his older brother. He actually looked sorry. "I'll speak with you about this later." With that Izayoi was gone with Inuyasha, door sliding shut behind both of them.
Sesshomaru wants nothing more than to collapse there, onto the garden's ground and never move again. Instead, he carefully moves his feet, golden eyes slightly wide as he heads forward.
"I am Sesshomaru... prince of the western lands..." He whispered quietly to himself. "I'm Sesshomaru... prince of the western lands..." His shaking hand slides open the home's door, his breathing breathy. "I am Sesshomaru..."
(O)
He waits in his bedroom on his bed mat, his golden eyes out the open window on his left. His mind was blank. He was numb. Thoughtlessly, his fingers brush across an inked mark on his neck, it had been what turned him into a pup again, it was what... It was why no matter what, he wouldn't be able to hurt Izayoi. It was why she would always be able to hurt him.
What was his father...? Why would he?
His bedroom had darkened, light had seeped out, and he had been left alone in darkness. It was a few minutes after when his bedroom's door was slid open, light from a lantern setting aglow Izayoi's face.
His breath hitched inside of him, but he only looked away quickly, bowing his head. She enters.
"Inuyasha is fine... a few scraps which have already healed."
"I looked away only for a second." He blurts, words falling from his lips in a rush. "I..."
"He could have been hurt? What would have happened if he were to have been hurt?" Her brown eyes narrow, but then she turns away from him, setting the lantern onto a low table against one of his walls. "You would have been happy would you not?"
"I... no..."
"You are a prince, you should not tell lies, Sesshomaru."
"Sesshomaru is - "
"I told you countless number of times, Sesshomaru, use 'I' not your own name when speaking." She interrupts harshly, snarling as well as any demon Sesshomaru had seen before, her delicate features now twisted in an odd way.
"Sesshomaru... I... I am sorry." He had began to back up, sensing her spike in anger. His bad habit when speaking appearing full force. His left hand began twitching. "I will apologize to Inuyasha."
"You will..." Anger had bled from her words and... she yawns. "I find myself tired and I have not the energy to punish you today, Sesshomaru."
His body relaxes at her words, deluding himself into thinking he would possible have a peaceful night of sleep. She turns and walks out, happiness swells inside of him, only to plummet when one of Izayoi's guards steps into his bedroom, once his father's guard, once one of his loyal comrades. The inu demons face was impassive, indifferent, not even a crack formed in his mask because of what he was going to do. Nothing.
Sesshomaru whimpered, backing up further. His bedroom's door slid shut.
(O)
He's very careful not to draw attention to himself when he walks into their dinning hall for breakfast and sits beside an unusually silent Inuyasha. Sesshomaru blinks his one open eye at the food before him, not hungry. His left eye was swelled shut, a nasty black and blue, his body was less stiff and upright, now he bent over, as if parts of his body hurt underneath his noble clothing.
No one mentioned his bruises, no one even looked at him. Not the house hold's servants, not Izayoi's guards, not even the guests from the Eastern lands looked at him. It was as if he were a ghost and he began to act that way, silent and lingering. Hoping not to draw attention.
He was so careful not to make a sound as he carefully ate his morning soup. Izayoi sat at the head of the table, conversing quietly with the guests.
After breakfast, Izayoi suggested he take Inuyasha out to the village below their palace for sweets, quietly warning him not to let what happened yesterday happen again. He nodded stiffly and stood with a wince, taking Inuyasha's hand, he walks out.
Inuyasha instead of bolting off like he normally would, forcing Sesshomaru to chase after him, walked slowly at his side. A moment of consideration Sesshomaru valued and was surprised by.
"I am sorry..." Inuyasha's small voice yanks him out of his dangerous musings of his own mother. His golden eyes land on Inuyasha, frowning at the tiny half-demon. "I... forgot... you would be in so much trouble."
The young abused prince only shrugs. "I am... Sesshomaru prince of the western lands." He nods once, assuring himself. "I am fine."
Inuyasha looks unconvinced. But he accepts Sesshomaru's words none the less. Sesshomaru sighs quietly, thankful for it. He flinches when he feels Inuyasha's small hand slide into his own. He attempts not to seem alarmed, unsure how to react. His baby brother smiled up at him...innocent and young.
Sesshomaru realized a couple of years back... he honestly didn't hate his brother. No it wasn't his fault, not truly, that his life had become this way. He was only a pup. Also, in Sesshomaru's life, when he wasn't being ignored he was being beaten, having someone who paid attention to him was nice and not have to worry about consequences was nice. As of now Inuyasha actually looked up and respected him, mostly, asked him questions about their father and assumed he was a strong Inu demon like their father. It wouldn't actually last too long, he was sure, Inuyasha would out-grow it, finally realize his older brother wasn't anything but his mother's servant, but for now Sesshomaru was sort of fond of his baby brother.
"Three bags..." Sesshomaru said quietly to the human shop owner, producing the money from a bag on his hip. Around him humans whispered and stare at him and Inuyasha, who at first was oblivious. But then the whispers of 'half-demon' and 'half-breed' and 'traitor' reached Sesshomaru's hearing, he was sure it had reached Inuyasha's as well because the boy stiffened.
He glanced at his brother, finding tears in Inuyasha's large golden eyes. Accepting the bag of sweets, Sesshomaru quickly began steering Inuyasha out of the village, but the boy yanked his hand out of Sesshomaru's and bolted away quickly.
Sesshomaru cursed and quickly began to shuffle after Inuyasha, holding onto his painful side with one hand, bag of sweets in the other. "Inuyasha... stop..." He called out as Inuyasha's tiny red form darting around villagers. "Please..."
He followed.
Sesshomaru's legs were wobbling when he finally caught up with Inuyasha, pain shooting up and down his side. His body was soaked with sweat. He tackled his little brother, hoping he hadn't hut him.
"Stop, Inuyasha." He whispered, wrapping his arms around him, holding the hanyo to him. "Stop..."
Inuyasha was whimpering and sobbing. "How... how could... Why are they saying those things about...?" The tiny half-demon wailed. Sesshomaru simply continued holding him, desperately trying to catch his own breath.
"They - "
Suddenly Inuyasha was yanking himself out of his arms and whirling around on Sesshomaru, golden eyes ablaze with anger. "It's not fair." He hissed.
Sesshomaru could only stare at him with his one open eye, a little a taken back by the expression on Inuyasha's face. He had seen the face before... when Izayoi was really angry with him... when she was about to hit him. Hatred. Would Inuyasha hit him as well? "Inuyasha - " Seeing a look like that on Inuyasha's face and directed at him, was oddly like a blow to the gut.
"It's not fair." He once again repeated. "Why do you...? You never have to put up with being called a 'half-breed'. You never have humans and demons looking at you like 'that'. You don't have to worry about not being good enough. You... you..."
Sesshomaru was panting, his wounds and bruises disturbed by chasing Inuyasha.
Inuyasha blinked, his face going blank. "Let's go home." The hanyo grabbed his wrapped sweets and stood. He turned his back on Sesshomaru and began walking away, towards home.
Please Review
