DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or the book called 'Hasse Simonsdochter' written by Thea Beckman, nor do I own the characters of these two stories!! But I do own the idea of mixing these two ingredients into a new story.

Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap
*...* : noises


AN ELVES' CHILD

-by Kittymui-


Prejudices and confessions

~*~*~ After dinner ~*~*~

Inuyasha's group was the first one to leave the table after dinner; Kagome and Sesshoumaru the last.

Inuyasha's room was about the same size as Kagome and Sesshoumaru's room and it looked similar. A small one person's bed stood at the end of the room and there was a window in the wall on your right if you entered the room. (In Kagome and Sesshoumaru's room, on the contrary, the window would be located on your left if your back is facing the doorway.) A small cabinet, just like the one in Kagome's room stood from across the window.
Hiten's spear and Bankotsu's halberd were standing against the wall next to the window.

After a long quarrel, Hiten was the one who claimed the bed to sleep on.
Inuyasha was sitting against the bedside on the floor; facing the doorway; with his Tetsusaiga resting on his shoulder. The door was open and waiting for Bankotsu to enter after he finished bathing.
Inuyasha was staring into space and a lot of question remained in his mind.

Who is this Sora? How did he end up with my brother? Isn't he a human? He's definitely not a youkai... How come everybody's respecting him? he mused.

He snapped out of his thoughts when two familiar figures appeared in his eyesight. It was his brother and the young lad. Well well, it seems that Sesshoumaru's room is right across ours, isn't that a coincidence... he thought amused.

His eyes widened when he realized that the boy had entered the same room as his brother's before they closed the bedroom door.
What the...!! They're sharing the same room?! Inuyasha thought shocked. I mean...okay we're sharing the same room too, with the three of us, but we're close friends...a-are they close friends too? The rest of his group are sleeping in another room...
Inuyasha shook his head and tried to think clearly what he found out today, mainly revolving the boy.
High and soft voice...long raven black hair...strange features...slender and short figure...like a... Then it suddenly struck Inuyasha. ...like a...g-girl!?!? Inuyasha was shocked by his sudden conclusion.

He suddenly remembered what Sango said to them earlier.

"Ah, you must be those three she mentioned about..."

Inuyasha widened his eyes. She...!! That isn't a boy, who's with my brother...it's a girl!!! Sora's a girl!!

His thoughts were cut off when Bankotsu came back from the bathroom and closed their bedroom door behind him. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing the strange look on Inuyasha's face.

"That Sora...isn't...I mean...it's a girl..." Inuyasha whispered frustratingly, as if the walls were made of paper so that others could probably hear what they were saying.

"I know." Bankotsu replied plainly.

"What!?? How?!? Why didn't you tell me?!" Inuyasha cried out of shock but he lowered his voice gradually during the last sentence after he realized what time it was.

"Well, her voice, her features, her looks...all of them told me she was a she, in spite of the fact she's wearing a male's outfit." he explained. "And I've concluded it after the hostess mentioned Sora as a she." he finished as he sat down next to Inuyasha and leaned against the bedside.

"D-does Hiten know?" Inuyasha whispered.

To their surprise, Hiten suddenly popped his head between Inuyasha's and Bankotsu's. A very very sleepy expression could be seen on his face.
"Yeah...I know all right. Now please shut up and let me sleep..." he muttered before he pulled his head away and let it fall on the pillow.

"Oh man.." Inuyasha sighed. God I'm so dense...!! he cursed himself in his mind.


~*~*~*~ Midnight ~*~*~*~


Inuyasha just couldn't help but pondering about the fact that his brother and a girl, with no youkai blood running in her veins, shared the same room. What is her relationship with Sesshoumaru...? Why is she fighting alongside him...? These questions continued to bother him until sleep finally claimed him.


~*~ The next morning ~*~


Since he didn't get a good sleep last night, Inuyasha was the last one to wake up and came yawning downstairs.
Hiten and Bankotsu sat by the dining table. It was though as everybody else had vanished from the building, since it was quiet and all.

"Where is the rest?" Inuyasha asked as he approached his friends.

"Well, Miroku went out gathering herbs, followed by Renkotsu and Kyoukotsu." Bankotsu explained. "Sango, Shippou, Kirara and Kouga went to the nearby town to run some errands." he finished.

"I see..." Inuyasha replied, with an unsatisfied look on his face.

"Your half-brother went out and the person called Sora is taking care of her horse in the stable." Hiten added, knowing Inuyasha's main goal with his question.

Inuyasha quickly hid his curiosity towards the girl and changed the topic. "You guys sure have a good memory for their names." he chuckled.

"Well, if you paid enough attention last night, instead of taking secret peeks at your half-brother and the girl, you would too." Bankotsu smirked.

"Or maybe your brains are just too small to do two things at the same time." Hiten joked.

Inuyasha's eyes flared of anger. "What the...!!" he yelled. "I know their names, alright!! I was just testing you guys, that's all!!"

"Yeah right..." Bankotsu and Hiten said at the same time.

Without saying anything else, Inuyasha walked to the front door and exited the building furiously.


Hiten turned to Bankotsu and snickered. "Curiosity kills the cat, huh?"

"Yeah...he just needed a reason to go outside." Bankotsu smirked in reply.


-- In the stable --

The stable wasn't big; there were only 2 small fenced areas where you could put horses. The fenced areas were 4 by 2 meters and the stable itself was about 8 by 6 meters. There were all sorts of tools hanging on one of the walls in the stable that could be used to tend horses and carriages.

Kagome was standing inside one of the fenced areas and diligently brushing her horse. She would tell the horse about things she had experienced and her thoughts from time to time.
Suddenly Kagome thought of something while brushing the back of her horse. "Oh my! I haven't given you a name yet... I'm so sorry..." Kagome said as she patted her horse on its back.


~*~

"How do you like the name Kyra?" Kagome finally spoke after thinking for a moment.

The horse whinnied and nodded in reply.

"Great! I knew you'd like it." she laughed. "From now on, you'll be Kyra." Kagome decided, stroking Kyra's beautiful white manes.

Just when Kagome was about to turn around and pick up the saddle, she noticed Inuyasha standing at the opening of the stable.

Kagome smiled. "Hi...how are your wounds?" she asked with a gentle voice.

Inuyasha stiffened a bit at hearing her girlish voice again. "F-fine..." he replied shyly as he approached Kagome and her horse. He stopped when he reached the fence.

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked after a short moment of silence, as she picked up the saddle and put it back on Kyra's back.

"You're not a boy, are you?" Inuyasha finally asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Kagome stood still for a moment, quite startled by the sudden question as she stared at the saddle. Then she turned to Inuyasha and smiled. "Yeah, I'm a girl and Sora's not my real name." Kagome confessed.

Inuyasha slightly relaxed. Pfew...I was right then... he thought to himself.


"What is your real name then?" he asked.

"Kagome."


A moment of silence took place until Kagome decided to hook on a conversation again. This time trying to get something from the younger brother to know more about the relationship between the two brothers.

"You're Sesshoumaru's brother, right?" Kagome asked.

"Half brother." he corrected her. "Yes, I am." he replied, averting his gaze.

"It must be tough for you for the past 10 years..." Kagome suddenly said. "Do you...hate Sesshoumaru...? He had his own reasons for running away...back then..."

Inuyasha turned to Kagome again, this time with an annoyed expression on his face. "What would you know..." he growled.
He narrowed his eyes. "Did Sesshoumaru say anything about me or what happened between us?! he asked annoyed. "Because you shouldn't be meddling with our business. Besides, you're an outsider, what would you know?!!"

Kagome's face dropped. "I'm sorry."
He's right...maybe I shouldn't be bothering him with my curiosity... she thought disappointed. She had hoped that she could find out more how Inuyasha felt towards his brother.

"Keh!" Inuyasha spat, not knowing how to deal with the sudden apology. He turned 45 degrees (AN: his side facing Kagome.) and stuck up his nose. "Why are you with Sesshoumaru anyway? And why are you dressed like a boy...like him of all men! What are you to him? You shouldn't be with him...you shouldn't even be here...fighting alongside youkai like a boy. Were you paid or something like that? In that case I would suggest you to go home and learn how to cook instead of learning how to kill."
Without thinking, Inuyasha had blurted out all the questions and thoughts that was bothering him until now.

Inuyasha opened one eye to peek at Kagome. When he realized Kagome had dropped her face to the floor and hid her eyes with her bangs, he quickly turned to her again. "Oi...y-you aren't__" he started but was cut off when he heard Kagome's trembling voice.

"How dare you..." Kagome muttered as she gradually lifted her head to face Inuyasha. Her eyes flared with anger.

"How are you tell me what I should or shouldn't do." she continued. "I know what you're thinking...you're all looking down on me and thinking that a girl like me shouldn't be out here fighting...that I should be playing an obedient daughter at home and waiting for the day to come when my parents pick out a man for me to marry and seal up my fate..." she smirked.
"But I tell YOU!! I'm happy to be away from home...from my horrible parents!! I'm more than happy to have met Sesshoumaru!! He saved from my horrible fate...he's proud of me and respects me...he accepted me as his wife, not concerning about my origin and doesn't think low of me because I'm a female!!" she cried out. "So you don't have the right to tell me what to do or don't!! You'll never understand!! You don't even know me!!!!"

Kagome breathed heavily after yelling and swallowed hard. She pushed back all the angry tears that were about to roll down her cheeks. She swore to herself that she would be strong and not let a single drop of tear roll down her cheeks anymore.

Inuyasha was shocked at hearing all those confessions coming from Kagome. He could only stare wide-eyed at the furious girl in front of him. Her depthless navy blue eyes were filled with anger and sorrow at the same time.

Without saying anything else, Kagome broke their eye contact, climbed over the fence and walked passed Inuyasha, leaving him startled behind in the stable.

It took several seconds for Inuyasha to realize what had happened in the past 15 minutes.
Fragments of sentences that the girl cried came into his mind again.

"I'm happy to be away...saved by Sesshoumaru...he respects me...accepts me as his wife...doesn't think low of me..."

Inuyasha gulped. What have I done? he thought. S-she...she's my brother's...m-mate...!!
He turned to the opening, where Kagome had disappeared to a couple of seconds ago. I've angered my brother's mate...what did I do that for?! he cursed himself. Of all persons I had to anger her!! Dammit...what will happen now...?

Regretting his words, Inuyasha silently left the stable and headed to the inn.


-- Back at the inn --


Just when Inuyasha looked up from the floor after he closed the front door of the inn behind him, he realized who were standing in the dining room.


Inuyasha's eyes widened. Sesshoumaru was here, talking to Kagome. They stopped their conversation as soon as they noticed Inuyasha.

"I'll wait for you upstairs." Inuyasha heard Kagome say to Sesshoumaru before she turned around and went upstairs.
Inuyasha swallowed soundlessly. She didn't look angry...but that doesn't mean anything, does it? he thought.

His thoughts were cut off as soon as he heard his brother's voice. "Inuyasha, come over here, I need to talk to you." Sesshoumaru said with a calm voice as he walked towards the window.

Here it comes...Kagome told him about our quarrel and now he's gonna scold me...or worse... Inuyasha thought as he followed Sesshoumaru to the window.

They stood silently next to each other; both staring out of the window at the clear blue sky.

[AN: In case you're wondering. It's afternoon.]

Inuyasha was becoming more nervous each minute. Why doesn't he say something...anything...??

To his surprise, Sesshoumaru finally began to speak, as if he knew what Inuyasha was thinking. "It's been 10 long years, hasn't it?"

Inuyasha widened his eyes. He's talking about us...? Not about...she didn't tell him???
He relaxed a little. "Y-yeah..." he responded awkwardly.

"How is father...and your mother...?" Sesshoumaru asked after a short moment of silence.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Why do you care..." he growled as he turned to his brother. "...I thought you had already stopped caring about them since the day you left us. So don't__" Inuyasha halted himself when he saw that Sesshoumaru had turned to face him. His brother's face was expressionless as always but Inuyasha swore he could see emotion in his brother's eyes, as the two pairs of golden orbs met each other.

His eyes... Inuyasha thought stupefied. ...are filled with...r-regret...!?


He frowned as he recalled Kagome's words from earlier.

"He had his own reasons...back then..."


Inuyasha averted his gaze. "T-they passed away two years after you left." he said with a sad voice.

Sesshoumaru didn't change his expression but inside he was quite shocked to hear the news.
Just when he was about to ask the cause of their death, Inuyasha already began his explanation.


"Father first thought you would return after you left without leaving any messages; he thought you were just going out. But when you didn't come back after 6 months, he became worried." Inuyasha turned to the window as he continued. "He knew that he would be risking his status if he announced your disappearance, but he didn't care."

[AN: Choosing a human to be his wife and having a hanyou as his son had already crushed the honor and imago of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father, but the marriage causing the eldest son of the taiyoukai to run away would be the last drop of oil adding to the fire. Losing your status as a youkai (trust me, his status is definitely not low) will result in humiliation and be looked down by youkai of even the lowest ranks.]


"Not only did he announce your disappearance, he even went to youkai of higher classes to ask for assistance in finding you." Inuyasha sighed. "But they only laughed at father's stupidity. They even had every single youkai and human brainwashed, who heard about the announcement, in order not to let the disgrace spread any further." Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru.
"Father sacrificed his status in order to find you." he dropped his face. "After another 6 months, he finally decided to search for you himself. Mother and me hoped that he would return with you someday, but fate was cruel..."
Inuyasha looked outside the window again. "Me and mother waited for father to return until one day, a messenger knocked at our door."

Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha's sad face. He could predict what kind of message the messenger brought home.

"He told us that father encountered Ryuukotsusei during his search and died after using all his powers to seal up the dragon youkai." Inuyasha said with a sad voice.

Sesshoumaru widened his eyes. R-ryuukotsusei...??! The strongest dragon youkai...!?

"Mother fell ill after hearing about father's death and passed away of grieve when I turned 12." he continued. "After I buried mother, I ran away from home...I knew a hanyou like me would be targeted by other youkai since no one was there to protect me. I wandered...trained...and luckily survived through all the hardships for 10 long years." Inuyasha closed his eyes. "I was all alone until I met Bankotsu and Hiten during my adventures. We became good friends and traveled together ever since. We fought enemies together to survive and completed all kinds of missions to earn our living. It was hard, but it got better after I met them." Inuyasha finished, as he opened his eyes again.

Sesshoumaru didn't know how to react after hearing Inuyasha's story. A tremendous wave of guilt washed over his heart. F-father...h-he...
He had always thought that his father didn't care about him since he married the human. But he was wrong, he never thought his father would sacrifice his hard-earned status just because of his stubbornness.

Sesshoumaru snapped out of his thoughts when Inuyasha pulled something shiny out of his sleeves.

"Father gave me this before he went out to search for you. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to give it to you if he died without finding you." Inuyasha said as he held up the shiny object. "He told me to tell you that he didn't and he never did."

Sesshoumaru looked at the object.
It was a silver necklace with a very beautiful and familiar silver pendant. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he recognized the shiny ornament. T-this...this is...!!! he thought startled as he remembered the last the time he saw it.

[FLASHBACK]


Sesshoumaru was running through the halls of their castle.

If you look at him right now, you don't really see much difference between the grown-up and the young Sesshoumaru. Young Sesshoumaru is smaller, shorter and cuter and wears an innocent expression all the time, while the grown-up one looks more mature with a cold, emotionless look on his face.

Little Sesshoumaru was wearing a small white kimono with long sleeves. Even at the age of 4, this Sesshoumaru already had the dark marks on his face (obviously, they're smaller back then).

*huff...puff* he panted heavily.

Please...please let me be on time... he thought panicked as he continued to run to his destination..

Sesshoumaru's mother passed away several months ago and now his father was planning to remarry again...with a human. Today, was the day that his father's wedding with the human and Sesshoumaru was making his way to the sacred hall of the castle, where the wedding was held.


-- At the sacred hall --


It was not a large hall; about 40 by 20 meters. It greatly resembled a church from the inside. There were sacred paintings on the walls, and colorful sunlight, which came through the leaded windows, were lighting up the hall. There were benches; they were divided into two groups by a long red carpet on the floor that connected the huge doors with the altar.
There were only two persons standing in the hall: the bridegroom and his bride. The bridegroom was dressed in a navy blue kimono with long sleeves and a white hakama. His beautiful silver hair was resting loosely on his back and his golden eyes were locked on his fiancé, who was wearing a fancy colorful silk kimono with long sleeves. Her silky black hair was tied up and hidden under the tsuno-kakushi (a stiff white band) on her head.

[AN: I got the info about the clothing from a website: And yes, they have both decided to have a traditional Japanese wedding ^-^.]

No youkai priest wanted to bind them, since it's a disgrace to the youkai world when a youkai chooses a human to be his wife. And no human wanted to do it because of the same reason. So his father decided to bind both of them together himself. He believed that no real official ceremony was needed when there's true love between them.

"If there's anybody against this marriage, please let us know now, or stay silent forever." he said aloud, just like a priest.

After a short silence, he turned to the bride and smiled. "Well, it seems to me that nobody's against this marriage." The bride returned the smile.

"WAIT!!!!!!!!"

They were surprised by the sudden voice coming from the doorway and turned to the person at the door.
"S-Sesshoumaru! What are you doing?!" his father growled at his son.

"Chichi-ue...you...you can't...do this..." little Sesshoumaru panted as he walked forward and stopped about at 2 meters distance from the couple.

His father's eyes flared of anger. "I am the lord of this house, I decided when to marry and with who." he stated coldly.

Little Sesshoumaru dropped his small face as tears welled up in his eyes. "Doshite...why are you marrying someone else again?" he sobbed as he raised and opened his tiny hand in front of his father, revealing a shiny object.

It was a silver necklace with a silver pendant attached to it. The pendant was shaped like a flame and a small pearl-shaped silver-blue colored cat's-eye stone was embedded at the center of the flame. [AN: The cat's-eye stone has the size of a marble.]

His father's eyes widened as he saw it. He recognized the ornament; it was the necklace that he gave his deceased wife as a wedding gift. The silver-blue cat's-eye stone was a very rare stone and it would bring luck and strength to the wearer of it. But when she suffered under the incurable illness, it didn't bring her any luck or strength at all.
"Sesshoumaru, I have already decided this..." his father responded as he closed his eyes and averted his gaze from the necklace.

Little Sesshoumaru looked up to his father. His eyes flared with anger. "You liar!! You said you would never forget about haha-ue!!" he yelled as he threw the necklace to the floor in front of his father and ran away.

*PLING*

The cat's-eye stone hit the floor first and broke into two halve moons. One part was still attached to the flame-shaped pendant and the other was lying on the red carpet.

[AN: Yeah I know what you're thinking, but the carpet isn't that thick and fluffy and the cat's-eye stone is VERY delicate ^-^. Plus, little Sesshoumaru threw it on the floor very angrily so...]

Little Sesshoumaru didn't even look back before he ran out of the sacred hall, leaving the couple startled behind.

[AN: Haha I know, I didn't give Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's mother(s) and father a name, I find it not necessary since this will be the first and last time I mention their parents.]

[END FLASHBACK]

Sesshoumaru took the necklace out of Inuyasha's hand and looked at it more closely. I...I'm such a fool... he thought as he looked at the scratchless silver-blue cat's-eye marble at the center of the silver flame-shaped pendant. W-what was I thinking back then...? If I had not ran away...all this would not have happened...all these misunderstandings...f-father would still be alive... Sesshoumaru looked up at Inuyasha. His mother would still be alive...w-what have I done...


"Don't blame yourself too much, aniki." Inuyasha's voice sounded through his thoughts and Sesshoumaru snapped out of it again.

It took Sesshoumaru several seconds before he realized what he just called him. "What did you just call me...?" he asked surprised.

"It's true that I hated you for what you caused by your sudden disappearance." Inuyasha explained. "But it's already in the past and I'm sure father and mother wouldn't want to see us tearing each other apart for things that cannot be undone."

Back then...I really thought I could hate you forever. I thought that forgiveness would never exist between us... Inuyasha thought as he watched his brother's eyes, which were filled with regret and sadness.
His eyes softened. I guess I was wrong...

Suddenly Sesshoumaru smirked.


"What's so funny?" Inuyasha asked puzzled.

"My, you really have grown up Inuyasha." he laughed.

"What the...?!" Inuyasha cried. "I'm trying really hard to understand you and swallow my pride for once in order to solve the problem between us and you dare to laugh at me????"

"Oh really?" Sesshoumaru teased.

"Why you...!!!" Inuyasha growled. "Chikushou!! I can't believe I actually looked up to you back then. Maybe I should continue to hate you instead of forgiving you!!"

Sesshoumaru smirked again. "Well then, my dear ototo, how would you like to join your brother?"

Inuyasha didn't hear what Sesshoumaru said at first and continued to curse himself. "Yeah, I shouldn't have forgiven you...maybe our paths should split again... and__"

Inuyasha widened his eyes and turned to his brother. "W-what did you just say??" he asked surprised.

"I do not like to repeat myself. I know you heard me." Sesshoumaru said with an annoyed voice.

"You haven't changed much after 10 long years." Inuyasha smirked. "Still as proud as always."

Sesshoumaru's expression turned serious. "You have one night to think it over, we are going to leave tomorrow morning."
With that, he turned around and walked towards the stairs, leaving Inuyasha behind.

Inuyasha watched his brother disappear upstairs and walked towards the dining table. This is the first time we've had a real conversation... he thought amused. Join his group...and travel together...? Should I do it? he mused.


Inuyasha suddenly let a smile appear on his face as he had decided what to do.

[AN: Well, forgive and forget you know. They have both grown up and words aren't always needed for two people to understand each other ^-^.]

Vocabulary:
Hanyou: half demon
Taiyoukai: huge youkai (youkai lord or something like that)
Chichi-ue: father
Doshite: why
Haha-ue: mother
Aniki: Slang for big brother
Chikushou: Damn
Ototo: little brother

Posted: 28 August 2003
Last Edited: 12 February 2004 (re-edited because of tags problem)
Spelling check: YES