Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and neither do you.
When the ruling family in the East stepped down from the throne and handed it to their cousin, the land was in an uproar. The former lord, Seiryuu, had been just and kind, always trying to find a better solution to any conflict that arose. The lady, Tanis, was benevolent and beautiful, and many subjects always flocked to the shiro's1 court to gain her favor. When they discovered their heir was a female, they decided to keep her out of the brutal life of politics and move into the country, inhabiting the North West.
In doing so, they made an alliance with the Northern and Western lords in order to live on their borders, and created a bond between the two rulers that might assist them in other endeavors. Because of their mediation, the two presiding rulers felt they owed a debt of gratitude for helping them gain an ally after a millennium of chronic dispute. Seiryuu became a servant of the Western House as a mediator. At that time, Yukiko was barely walking. When he retired once again, they stayed permanently in the human village they died protecting.
Had Yukiko chosen to stay in the human village alone, eventually she would have been murdered in her sleep. Distrust would have won out. The humans would've been afraid of the powers she and her dead parents possessed and if she had returned to the East, she would have been seen as a political adversary, so they wished for her to go to the West.
When the woman's son – Hachiro2 – left, she had been on the outskirts of the forest looking on the fortress housing the shiro where the Western lord lived. She thanked him profusely and continued on her way.
When she arrived, the guards stopped her, and she requested to be admitted, knowing they had their own duties to attend and couldn't escort her. They each raised a brow but seeing as she was still a child pointed the way to the shiro and asked a maid to accompany her. She was announced to the Taisho3 and was seated in what was undoubtedly a meeting room and given some food and water.
She put her head on her knees and began to think about her parents, mourning their death as it was still fresh in her mind. Before she could give way to her anguish, though, the muffled voice of the maid announced the presence of the Lord.
As she was sitting, she bowed low to the ground, indicating her respect to him. "Milord," she murmured. He gave a short bow and sat across the table from her, glancing briefly at the empty rice bowl. He waited a moment to see if she would speak first, for judging by her clothes she wasn't educated in manners. Instead she sat, silent, and waited for him to speak first.
"Hn." After a moment he spoke. "Welcome, young dragon. What brings you to my shiro?"
Her bottom lip trembled a bit, "I am Yukiko. My parents... told me to come here for protection."
He raised a brow. "And who are your parents?"
"My parents are... were... the former lord and lady of the Eastern lands. Some years ago in my early childhood, my father served here as a mediator and an ambassador between the Western and Northern lands." Her young voice was pained as she spoke. "They are now dead due to a rogue wolf attack on the village we inhabited. I believe the majority were killed when my parents retaliated."
To say the Taisho was surprised was an understatement. He had not seen the girl's father in several decades and thought him to be living out his prime peaceably in some obscure village on his borders. "Lord Seiryuu and Lady Tanis are dead?" She quietly nodded. "Have their funeral arrangements been taken care of?"
"At my request, the headman of the village arranged for their bodies to be preserved instead of buried or burned. I am supposed to return soon to escort them to the family burial site." She paused, about to elaborate before he interrupted.
"I will personally see that they are returned to the East. I assume that you are not able to return by yourself." She nodded once and he continued, "When we return, arrangements will be made for you to complete the combat training I'm sure your father started. When that done, I will train you in politics as you are the rightful heir of the East whether or not you choose to rule. You will have every opportunity in my lands."
Her eyes brimmed with tears and she bowed her head, thanking him.
"Now, may I see the dragon mark?" Yukiko looked up in confusion before pulling up the edge of her simple kimono4 to reveal a dragon the same color as her hair twisting up the side of her calf. After a moment of observation, it turned to look at the lord and coiled tighter to itself, and Yukiko fixed her garment.
The lord chuckled, "Your identity is settled, now. We will gather supplies to retrieve your parents and return them to the East tomorrow. When we return here, we will talk of your place in my house. For now, I will have a servant show you to your temporary rooms until we can find more permanent housing."
She nodded sleepily, and gave him a watery smile before bowing low to the ground again. "Thank you, milord. My family will never be able to repay you.5"
Author's Notes to the Readers:
Sorry these notes look so daunting. orz My friends call me a weeaboo because I decided to use Japanese words in an English fanfiction that takes place in Nippon (Japan). I guess saying it that way is only proving their point, but the reason for the notes is to be sure that no one has to go look it up in Google Translate (not mine) and get a shitty definition.
By the way, Japan is a mispronounced exonym, which just means that the Portugese heard some Chinese sailors talking about Japan, and started pronouncing it the wrong way, and it caught on so much, it became the official name, although the country itself is called Nippon-koku. Look it up on Wikipedia some time.
1. Shiro - a castle-like building in feudal Japan; it is set up in a much different way than European castles
2. Hachiro - a Japanese name meaning 'eighth son'
3. Taisho - general; ex. Inu no Taisho - meaning Dog General
4. Kimono - traditional clothing worn in Japan
5. In reference to the last comment of "My family will never be able to repay you," in Eastern culture, it's much more common for the family to take collective responsibility for things like gratitude or vengeance. The phrase "an eye for an eye" was actually very humane in the time it was written because instead of repaying equally, one clan would take offense to a relatively small thing and eradicate the clan of the person that perpetrated the offense, which also applies to Asia Major, Minor, several island nations, and Arab/Jewish countries. It's a little difficult to describe when it's being applied to gratitude, but the idea remains, no matter how implausible it is that Yukiko's family will ever acknowledge the favor.
6. A special note: Yukiko's family house is that of the Ryu or Ryō, translated to dragon. I'm pretty sure the pronunciation is Ryu, but when it's spelled Ryō, I don't think it's different. Leave it to me to forget something like that and not make sense. orz
7. The Inu (dog) is the family house of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, not to mention their father, and Sesshoumaru's mother. Pretty sure Jaken serves under them as a mini-warlord, but who knows?
