I have some things to say, by order of importance:
.First - "Tsuyoi Tsume" means "Strong Claw". I know it's a lame name, I wanted to do something more elaborated but nothing came to my mind.
.Second - I inserted the few memories of InuYasha about his past because I thought it would make the story more interesting and realistic (talking about maintaining Rumiko Takahashi's storyline).
.Third - My intention was to let InuYasha's personality exactly as Rumiko Takahashi created him. But I think I failed. I think that he was quite a gentle child before all that stuff happened to him so I tried to make him like that. Still, I really think I failed. If your going to review this story, please tell me something about this particular detail, since it's what matters the most to me.
InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi only.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
The weather was great and, in the middle of the field, silence could almost be heard. "Almost" because a bird was singing. Then he stopped, and the silence took his place.
The child didn't like the silence very much, it was lonely so, he kicked the ball and laughed when, in his prospective, the ball touched the sky. Suddenly, he felt hungry, and he decided to go home. He ran through the field until the village. Once there, he went to the big mansion, where a beautiful woman was waiting. The villagers looked at the child running with disapproval in their faces but the he didn't notice, too young and naive to understand the truth.
"Mummy!" he screamed, embracing her "I'm hungry. Can we eat?"
The beautiful woman looked to her 8 years old son and said:
"Sure, my dearest. Let's go inside and I'll ask them to prepare something for us."
The boy raised his golden eyes and smiled to the black haired-woman. He entered the house, holding his ball as if it was a great treasure. And, to him, it was. The woman was about to enter when she noticed that the villagers were looking at her with unfriendly expressions. She was the princess yet, to them, she was nothing but a traitor. That's what she read in their faces. Izayoi tried to smile but she failed, so, she turned and followed her son into the mansion.
They were eating and, while looking at him, Izayoi couldn't help to feel that her son had his destiny cursed. She knew she would have to tell him, one day, but she couldn't gather enough courage.
"Mummy, I… I really like the present you gave me. Thank you." said the boy, blushing.
Izayoi smiled to him, knowing how proud he was.
"Don't worry about that. I'm happy that you like it so much." she answered.
"Can I go play again in the fields this evening?" he asked with hope in his eyes.
Izayoi knew that he was alone in those fields. She wanted the encourage him to make friends but she also knew that it would be almost impossible for him, to socialize with humans. If only his father was alive…
"Yes you can. But please remember to be careful and don't return too late." she said.
"Ok." assured, happily, the boy.
In the evening, he was again in the fields, playing with his precious ball. But, with a too powerful kick, the ball went far away. The boy started running after it and, when he was about to reach it, he abruptly stopped. In front of him there was a girl, holding his treasure. She seemed to have more or less his age. She had red eyes, claws, fangs, long orange hair and two little dragon wings on the back. «She's so similar to me!» he thought.
The girl looked at him with, at first, fear in her eyes. Then, the curiosity took place. She looked at him just like he looked at her, analyzing, examining, comparing.
"Is this yours?" she asked.
"Yes." he answered. He was embarrassed; he didn't know what to do. She wasn't human. He didn't know what she was. But, to tell the truth, he didn't know what he was either. "Hum… Do… Do you want to play with me?"
The girl seemed surprised. But she agreed and they played for a long time. The boy was happy, happy for having someone to play with. Normally, the boys in the village were rude and bullied him and the girls usually ran away, leaving him alone, wondering why.
After some hours, they were exhausted and they sat to rest. Both of them tried not to look at each other but then, at the same time, they risked a glance and they started to laugh, because they were doing the same thing. The boy gathered some courage and asked:
"So… What's your name?"
"My name is Tsuyoi Tsume. What's yours?" she answered.
"Hum... I'm InuYasha." he said.
He didn't know what to say next, it was the first time that he played with someone apart from his mother.
"So, you're a half-demon too." she said. InuYasha thought that she seemed relieved.
"A half-demon? What's that?" he asked. Did that mean that she knew what they were?
"You don't know? Where the hell where you raised? Don't tell me you have a normal life!" she shouted, suddenly getting up and looking at the boy with anger. InuYasha couldn't understand why had she reacted like that.
"Of course I have a normal life! Me and my mother live at the village nearby. Why are you so mad at me?" he shouted too. He was confused, what did she mean?
"Oh, so your mother is still alive…" she whispered. She seemed very sad to InuYasha.
"Yes, why shouldn't she? And what's an half-demon anyway?" he asked. He didn't want her to be angry at him. Not now that he was so close to have a friend… "Don't be mad at me please!"
"Why? You live in a village; you must have lots of other kids to play with, don't you?" she accused.
InuYasha saddened.
"That's not true. The other kids stay away from me. They don't play." he said "That's why I don't want you to be mad at me! Hey, will you come back tomorrow? We can play again!"
The girl looked at him. He didn't know yet.
"Fine, I'll be here tomorrow too. So we can play again." she said with some happiness in her voice. She didn't want to be the one to tell him the truth.
"Good! Then I'll see you tomorrow! Now I have to go or else my mother will worry about me. So… Goodbye!" he said just before start running home.
When he arrived home, InuYasha told his mother about Tsuyoi Tsume. He said that tomorrow she would be in the fields again and he asked permission to go meet her. Izayoi was surprised, happy and scared. It was so good that her son had finally managed to make a friend but… She didn't want him to find out the truth through a stranger… It wouldn't be fair. Even so, she allowed him to return to the field.
InuYasha was on the field, waiting for Tsuyoi Tsume. He ran there right after lunch but she didn't show up yet. InuYasha waited, alone, in that field. He waited until the sun died in the horizon and the night arrived, as long with it's cold. Then, he furiously ran home, disappointed. When Izayoi saw him and the look in his golden eyes, she understood everything. She embraced her son tightly and she told him to try again the next day, to never give up. The boy nodded and promised that he would never give up.
The next day, InuYasha went to the field again. He had just arrived when his sharp nose caught the scent of blood. Holding his ball tightly, he followed the scent, walking slowly. Then, he saw her. Tsuyoi Tsume was on the ground, covered in blood. She was barely conscious but she still saw InuYasha. Shocked, he let go the ball. He kneeled next to her and he called for her:
"Tsuyoi Tsume! Tsuyoi Tsume! Can you hear me? What happened to you?"
"A… Demon…" she said very weakly.
"But why? How?" asked InuYasha. He was still shocked.
"… I'm… an half… demon" she whispered just before fainting.
«Again this half-demon stuff? What's that?» He took a deep breath and tried to forget the confusion and, even if he would never admit it, the fear. InuYasha lifted his friend and looked at his treasure, his ball. «I can't take them both. I'll come back later. I'm sure Mother won't be bothered. At least, I hope so…» He thought. Fortunately, the boy was strong, and it wasn't a great distance. When he entered the village, everyone stopped to look at him. Their eyes were fixed on the wings and the unusual colour of the girl's hair.
"What do you think you're doing? Who's that?" shouted a men.
InuYasha was exhausted and he was worried about his friend. He didn't have time to fight this time.
"She's my friend. She's wounded so I'm going to take her at my home where they can take care of her." he quickly answered.
"You! You brought another one of you, another half-demon!" shouted another man.
"You damn brat, how dare you?" accused someone else.
The villagers started to gather around the boy, shouting and scolding him. He was tired, he was confused. What was an half-demon? Why did the people treat him like that? And Tsuyoi Tsume? They didn't even know her!
"Enough!" said a voice. A voice that was usually very kind.
The villagers looked at Izayoi with expressions filled with anger.
"Enough of this! My son has never done wrong to you and neither has the girl. I'll take care of them and you'd better mind your own business." said the woman. She never wanted to say such things, but it was necessary, even if they would listen to her just for a little time. She walked to her son and took his hand. She held the girl and returned to the mansion, leaving behind the angry villagers.
In the mansion, she asked a servant to bring water and bandages to her room, saying that she would be there for some time and didn't want to be disturbed. Once there and with the treatment tools, she asked InuYasha what happened while started treating Tsuyoi Tsume. InuYasha told her about when he found her and their small conversation. Izayoi waited the moment when he would ask her what was an half-demon after all but the moment didn't come. Feeling guilty but relieved she told InuYasha to don't worry about his friend, since the wounds weren't very serious.
"I'm proud of you. She will be fine, but it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't found her, she probably wouldn't have made it. Now we just have to let her rest. It's better if you leave her alone tomorrow too, so she can fully recover. Now, are you hurt?" asked Izayoi. She was very happy to have him as son, and now, she wasn't afraid anymore. Even so, she decided to wait until the moment he asked her about the truth.
"No, I'm just tired." said the boy.
"Well then, how about you go to sleep?" asked her with a smile.
"Yes…" agreed the boy, half sleepy-already.
"Then goodnight, my dearest." wished Izayoi.
During the night, a demon came to the village. InuYasha woke up and ran to his mother, scared. Strangely, the demon went away after eating some villagers and destroying great part of it. When the demon disappeared, the villagers gathered. The fields were ruined, friends and family had been killed…
"It's because of the half-demons..." whispered a scared woman.
"Yes... At first it was only the princess's son. Then that filthy girl. And now a demon!" agreed someone else.
"They're starting to gather, we will be in trouble!" screamed a man.
"Our children…" whimpered a woman.
"This has to end." stated an old men. "These creatures are evil and the poor princess has been possessed by them. We have to kill those brats and the princess along with them. Even if it's hard, there's no choice. It's this or perish!"
"But, the princess…" moaned a girl.
"She's not the princess anymore, dear. This is the least we can do to help her." assured a woman. The girl nodded.
"But how are we going to do it?" asked a young girl.
"We'll set the mansion of fire. As they say, there's nothing that fire can't purify." answered the old man from before.
"Then it's decided. Tomorrow, at night, we will put an end to this." concluded a man.
Everyone agreed and they felt relieved for, finally, having a plan to get rid of the ones they hated for so long. Meanwhile, InuYasha and Izayoi had fallen asleep, embracing each other.
The next day, InuYasha woke up late. He asked his mother about Tsuyoi Tsume's condition and, when she assured him that there was no need to worry, he said that he would go to the field to search for his ball. Once in the field, he used both his nose and his memory to search it, and when he found it, he laughed to the sky, happy as just a child can be. Then he decided to go home: being in the field without Tsuyoi Tsume was lonely now.
He was playing with the ball while entering the village when it slipped away. He went after it but, soon, he stopped – a man was holding the ball and he started to play with other men. The boy thought that they wanted to play with him so he ran into the circle of people. When they saw him, they continued to play among them, ignoring the boy.
"Do you want it? Do you?" asked a man with malice, turning to the boy.
"Do you want your ball, half demon?" teased another.
"I… I just want to play." answered InuYasha, unsure.
The men laughed, with despise.
"Then fetch dog-boy!" Exclaimed a third one, throwing the ball away.
The child ran after it and, when he turned, the men were dispersing and laughing. The boy saddened. He heard someone approaching. It was Izayoi. He left the ball and ran to her, embracing his mother, seeking refuge. She embraced him too.
"Mom, what's an half-demon?" he finally asked, with the voice filled with sadness.
Izayoi embraced him tightly, and she started crying. It was the first time the boy saw his mother shedding tears. InuYasha himself rarely cried, to follow her example, and also because "strong persons don't cry".
"My dearest, I need to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago." started Izayoi "Your father was a great fully-fledged demon, but unlike most demons, who despise humans, your father used to protect them. When a demon and a human get together, they originate a half-demon. A half-demon has both human and demon heart. You're neither human nor demon, you're both."
Izayoi waited for a reaction.
"But… Is that bad? Is that why… the other kids don't play with me, or with Tsuyoi Tsume?" asked InuYasha, forgetting about his pride.
"It's not bad. You're my dearest and I love you very much. But, you see, most of the people, and demons too, don't think like that." Izayoi hesitated "I'm sorry for keeping this from you. I thought that you'd be more happy not knowing about it."
"Don't worry Mom. It's okay." assured the child, though inside, he was hurt.
Mother and son returned home, comforted by the knowledge that they had each other.
That night, InuYasha couldn't sleep, so he sneaked out of the mansion and went to the field. He didn't know why he was there. There was full moon, and everything was bright. He was walking and thinking, thinking about him, about his mother, about Tsuyoi Tsume. He couldn't tell how was he feeling about being a half-demon because, to him, there was nothing wrong about it. But it hurt knowing that neither humans nor demons would accept him.
Suddenly, he caught the scent of smoke. He turned around and he saw a giant cloud of dark smoke and fire, it was from the village. InuYasha ran, he ran to the village as fast as he could, because he had a bad feeling. When he arrived, the villagers were all gathered at some distance from the mansion, watching it burning. InuYasha screamed and the villagers turned around.
"What? He wasn't inside?" panicked a man.
"Damn it, we should have checked!" shouted another.
But, for once, the boy didn't listen. For once, he didn't care. He ran through them and entered the burning mansion. Thanks to the robe his mother gave him, made of hair of the fire-rats, flames weren't a big problem. The villagers watched the child being swallowed by the flames and thought that it wouldn't be necessary to deal with him anymore.
Inside the mansion, InuYasha walked through flames, calling for his mother and Tsuyoi Tsume. Then, he saw them, lying in the floor. Tsuyoi Tsume was below Izayoi and, by their positions, InuYasha understood that his mother had tried to protect the little girl. A beam had fallen on them, and they seemed unconscious. InuYasha ran to them and tried to lift, or even just move the beam, but even if strong, he was only a child, and he couldn't make it. Then he started calling their names, and as he got more desperate, the tears started falling. Then, Izayoi slowly opened her eyes.
"My dearest…" she whispered "I… couldn't save… her…"
"She'll be okay, you'll be okay. We just have to get out of here! Please mother get up!" begged the boy. He couldn't accept Tsuyoi Tsume's death. She was just sleeping, unconscious.
"Listen… to me…" continued the woman "I want you… to escape… Promise me… Promise me that you'll live… You… have to be strong… now… I love you… My dearest."
And then, Izayoi stopped breathing.
"Mother? Mother? Mother please wake up!" cried InuYasha. "Wake up… Wake up…"
The child embraced his mother and thought about lying down with them and wait for death to come and flames to burn them, but then he remembered «I want you… to escape… Promise me… Promise me you'll live». His mother words. InuYasha opened his eyes. «I will, I promise» he thought. But still, he didn't want to leave without something to remember his mother. He looked around; strangely calm in the middle of that hell and then he saw it. The little shell his mother rarely used but when she did, she would become even more beautiful. «Your father gave it to me, when he was still alive.». His mother treasured that object and InuYasha wouldn't let it die along with everything else. He took it, looked at the girl and the woman lying in the ground and ran out of the house, that was about to fall. «Goodbye.» thought the boy, as he watched is childhood being consumed by flames.
The villagers didn't see him and InuYasha ran away from the village. His long silver hair shined in the moonlight; his little dog ears were attentive to any sound that could indicate that someone was following or chasing him; his golden eyes were determined. The boy found himself in the field, the field where he had played alone so many times, the field where he had met Tsuyoi Tsume… At the end of the field there was a forest. InuYasha thought that the farther away from the village, the safest he would have been, so he walked into it. He was wondering what to do next when he heard loud footsteps and, suddenly, the tree beneath him was crushed down by a giant feet. Three demons appeared in front of the child.
"Look what we have here!" exclaimed one.
"A little brat." said a second one.
"It's no common brat. It's an half-demon!" stated the third one.
That word, "half-demon", made InuYasha angry, but there was nothing he could do.
"Are you ready to get eaten you scum?" teased the bigger.
InuYasha started running. He knew he couldn't fight them. «Will it always be like this?» he asked to himself. He crossed a little river, he got soaked but he kept running. He tripped on a branch, he fell to the ground but he got up and kept running. Suddenly the forest ended and InuYasha found himself at the edge of a cliff. The demons were about to catch up with him so InuYasha looked closely to the cliff, in panic. There was a hole in the rock, like a small and very well hidden cave. Without thinking twice, the child hid there. The demons reached the cliff and looked for the child. One of them went to the very edge and looked closely. InuYasha sustained his breath while the demons searched and concluded that he wasn't there, returning to the forest.
The boy took a deep breath. He was tired and that seemed a good place to hide so, he decided to stay there. Before falling asleep, he thought about the fire at his house. He knew who were the ones to blame, he knew that it was the villagers fault. Or perhaps it was his fault for being an half-demon. Still, it were the humans who hurt Tsuyoi Tsume, him and his mother. He hated them, he hated himself. He didn't want to have human blood and a human heart. «You… have to be strong… now». He remembered his mother words. «I will Mother.» he thought «I'll become stronger and no one will call me "half-demon" again.».
And, with this thoughts in mind, InuYasha fell asleep.