Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
Sleeping Hanyo
Asleep, he looks so young, and innocent.
Inuyasha's stamina has limits, it seems. He insisted on gathering still more wood while the rice cooked, ignoring my attempt to give back his astonishingly warm suikan. So cold and exhausted was he when he stacked his last load, he gulped down the honeyed tea without tasting, and ate his share of rice without chewing. It is good to know that his youkai blood is not so strong that it eclipses human reactions to those sleeping herbs in his tea.
It is much colder without that robe around my shoulders, but this wounded--hanyo--needs it more than I. His hadagi is spread before the fire to dry, along with my tabi. I thought I had one spare pair; it seems that I have two. A pity they will not fit his feet, or I would share.
Odd. I wanted to call him 'boy'. He would not thank me to call him that. But he looks so young. Is it his youkai blood, or is it truth?
Youkai. Human. What would he look like if one half eclipsed the other? If he were inu-youkai, would he look like a dog? If all human, would he have black hair, black eyes? Hmm, not much different ... not unhandsome...
He wishes to become all youkai. Pity. Does he not appreciate the qualities of his human side? I've seen honor, and kindness. Stubbornness--well that could come from either side, I suppose.
Why am I wondering this? The jewel is not for him. He is condemned: always different, always apart. Still, there is worth in him. I--it hurt and scared me, what those villagers said. But, what are poisonous words, when every day I face death itself?
Yes. I can be friends with him.
Even if he is a hanyo.
Author's Note: This drabble was posted to the "Wilted Rose" community on LiveJournal, for the Week 8 Challenge: Eclipse. The piece was originally posted on November 16, 2008. (This was moved from "The Fang and the Bow" collection.)