Expect this story to come in three parts, a brief retelling of the events that led Sesshomaru and Kohana to marry each other. This story takes place roughly three years before the events of my other fic The Road to Resolution.
As always, comments and criticisms are appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Part 1: The Dog Lord Meets His Son
Kohana often said that she loved him. Sesshomaru could admit that he was fond of her, she was his mate after all. She had given herself to him, she was his and his alone.
But love?
A term often used by humans to describe their emotional attachments to their mates or offspring. Powerful demons such as himself didn't posses the weakness of human emotion. His own mother had never used the word and neither did he.
He remembered his father using the word only once, not long before he died. Was it 'love' that his father felt as he rushed off to meet his demise for the sake of Inuyasha and his human mother?
It had been snowing that night too.
Sesshomaru couldn't help but notice the parallels as he stood in the cold streets of Kumamoto, listening to every cry and shriek coming from within the house. Kohana was whelping, giving birth to a half demon child sired by him.
How had it come to this? Sesshomaru detested Inuyasha, that half breed had caused their father's downfall. Once word got out that the Inu no Taisho had taken a human mate many demons thought him weak and challenged his power. None of them succeeded, not until Ryukotsusei.
Their father managed to seal the dragon, but not before he was mortally wounded. Sesshomaru had spent many hours pondering what little details were known about their battle; how was it that a demon like Ryukotsusei managed to defeat his father whose power vastly surpassed the dragon's? The only conclusion he came to was that his father had been distracted. His mind had been more concerned on a human woman carrying his child than the battle before him.
Sesshomaru vowed that he would never disgrace himself like that. He was a demon of conquest, his power would one day surpass that of even his own great and terrible father. Once he killed Inuyasha, erased that mistake from the face of this earth, he would take the Tetsusaiga and carve his way to the top of a new empire.
He would be equal to none.
And yet, here he stood, waiting on a half breed carrying his blood to enter this world.
Did he possess the same weakness as his father?
His blood churned at the thought, his claws itched to tear away anything that would undermine his strength. But he found no opponent.
Despite his best efforts, he could not bring himself to fault Kohana.
The girl was strange and had odd notions about the world; she believed that the value of a person derived from character instead of power. She did not approve of killing an opponent, and acted as though she and he were equals on some level.
On anyone else he might've thought these notions to be foolishness or flaws. But Kohana…that was simply who she was.
Despite being born a mere mortal, she was intelligent and cunning. She calculated her strengths against her enemy's in battle and was too stubborn to ever accept defeat. She was never afraid to speak her mind or argue her opinion.
But beneath the steel façade she possessed a gentle side. She cared for Rin as if she were her own child, Kohana went well out of her way to nurture and teach his young ward. The girls were close, it had been Rin's admiration of the elder that first convinced Sesshomaru to allow her into his group.
Over two years had passed since then.
Kohana occupied Sesshomaru's thoughts more than he would like to admit. Her scent was addictive, her smile radiant, her body a perfect fit against his own.
When he first heard that she'd been taken prisoner by a samurai lord, too heavy with child to defend herself, his blood seethed in anger and his instincts shouted murder. He abandoned all other pursuits in order to rescue her.
…Perhaps this 'fondness' was getting out of hand.
Sesshomaru closed his eyes. He could hear her voice, growing hoarse as another hour of her labor passed. Very soon she would be mother to a half breed. She and her child would be no different than Inuyasha and his mother.
His father's 'love' for a human girl had been his downfall.
Sesshomaru refused to succumb to the same weakness.
He could not love Kohana.
There was still time to curb this foolishness before it consumed him. Kohana could keep the child, they would be cared for by her friends and the old priestess near the well. Without her to constantly distract him he could return to his conquest, he would kill Naraku and then onto more powerful demons to test his strength.
He turned towards the street, knowing that in a mere instant he could fly out of the city and leave everything behind.
Suddenly another voice cried out, stronger and louder than any of the others. Sesshomaru paused and turned back towards the house.
"Sesshomaru," Kagome came to the door, a bright smile on her weary face, "Congratulations, your son is here."
Sesshomaru barely noticed Inuyasha's excited shout, he'd nearly forgotten that his brother and his companions had waited in the street with him.
My son…?
He swept past the miko and into the house. Following Kohana's scent he turned down the hall until he reached the room on the end. She lay on a futon, her face red from straining and her body drooping with exhaustion, but she gazed lovingly at the squalling bundle in her arms.
When she looked up at him, her smile was the most radiant thing he'd ever seen.
"Look," Kohana croaked, her voice shaking as tears welled in her eyes, "He made it. Our little boy is here."
Sesshomaru knelt next to her and looked at the infant. His chest swelled with pride as he saw his own face reflected in the child. Silver locks dusted the infant's crown, a blue crescent moon donned his forehead. The infant opened his eyes for the briefest moment, revealing the amber glow beneath his lids. A snow-white tail poked out from beneath his blanket.
This tiny squalling creature carried a scent that was an even mix of his and Kohana's.
His son.
"I know we haven't talked about names much," Kohana said, "But…when I was in Takahiro's prison, I…if it weren't for him, I don't think I would have made it. I was able to be brave for his sake…" she looked up "I want to call him Futeki."
Courage.
Sesshomaru nodded.
"It's a good name," he said, and Kohana beamed.
"Hear that, Futeki?" she cooed at the infant, "Your papa likes your name."
As she cooed and rocked their child, Sesshomaru was stunned by the warmth that suddenly blossomed within him. The feeling nearly overwhelmed him, as though every other purpose in his life paled in comparison to staying by Kohana and Futeki's side. Nothing else mattered beyond caring for them.
It was the love of a human and her hanyou child that killed his father.
Sesshomaru stood on the precipice of falling down that same path. The startling emotions he felt for this human girl and her hanyou child threatened to consume him. He could not allow that to happen.
Sesshomaru could not love them.
As Kohana gave into fatigue and drifted off to sleep, Sesshomaru sensed that Inuyasha and the rest lingering in the hallway, waiting for their chance to see the new pup and to ensure his mother's health. Wordlessly the taiyoukai stood and strolled past them, steeling himself against every feeling he harbored for the human girl and her newborn child.
Against weakness.
It was a challenge more difficult than anything he'd ever faced.