Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. The few things that I own are my three-legged cat, my double pawed/stubby tailed cat and my three hundred dollar camera. That's all I really need.

Mother

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An eerie quiet filtered through the stone walled halls of the castle. The servants finished the last of their duties quietly and unseen, the cold atmosphere affecting them greatly despite the warm summer's dusk outside.

The young Lord Sesshoumaru lay in his bed, curled to his side unmoving, the end of his long tail draped over the foot of the bed. His life consisted of no more then two decades and he had already seen the worst of it.

He had not moved for days now. His father let him be. His son had seen the death of his mother and he could only imagine the pain his son felt. Though he did have his own pain, he was not alone, and Sesshoumaru knew this.

'At least he has his human wench and that half-breed son or his to comfort him. I have no one.'

It was true. The Lord of the Western Lands did have a second mate, much to the disgust of most of the castle and his son, for she was human. The Lord also had a half-breed son named Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru didn't mind him as much, just so long as he didn't get underfoot. Inuyasha looked very much like Sesshoumaru and the Lord, the golden eyes and silver white hair an obvious. Only Inuyasha didn't have the stripes on his body or the poison attacks. Inuyasha also had small, fuzzy dog-ears at the top of his head. More then likely due to the fact he was a half-breed. The crescent moon on Sesshoumaru's forehead came from his mother. Inuyasha also had a temper much the same as the two elder dog demons.

The young Lord sighed as the sound of familiar footsteps came to his delicate demon ears. Inuyasha had been coming to check on him often, but never came in or said anything. A soft knock came from the door. Sesshoumaru didn't answer. The knock became louder. "Go away." he replied calmly. No more knocking. Sesshoumaru let his mind return to thoughts of his mother.

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A young silver haired man sat on a large boulder overlooking the crystal clear-water lake. He waited patiently for his mother, the only creature Sesshoumaru had patients for.

She was a beautiful woman, long soft white hair, pail yellow eyes, tall, a long fluffy tail she held up with her arms like a sash, and the dark purple crescent moon on her forehead. She was beautiful. She was an excellent fighter as well. She schooled Sesshoumaru in most of her fighting techniques; he also inherited her speed and poison.

They met here every five or so days, just to be by themselves, away from the Lord and the loose tongued servants. They had been meeting like this since the Lord first brought his human mate to the castle. His mother had taken it well. She didn't mind her having another woman, a great Lord as him would no doubt have more then on mate. She looked at it as more of another woman to share thoughts and activities with then anything.

Sesshoumaru mentally sighed at the way his mother could so easily take to the human and the half-breed pup she bore.

Sesshoumaru looked around him for a moment and realized how long he had been waiting. He stood and headed back to the castle to find what kept his mother. Suddenly a sent hit his nose that nearly paralyzed him with fear.

'Blood. Mother's blood.'

Without another thought he raced to the source of the blood. Anger swelled in him at the fact that his mother may have been injured. He would not have that. 'Whoever hurt her will die.'

He came to a sudden halt at the sight before him. In a small clearing, his mother was on her knees holding herself up with her arms. She was covered in blood, but not all her own.

An ugly, bloody, worn out bear demon stood not far away. He stood a great deal taller then Sesshoumaru, a good ten feet taller, long bloody claws posed to strike. They must have been battling for sometime. It took a lot to tire and injure the Lady of the Western Lands.

Sesshoumaru's own blood began to boil. A deep threatening growl erupted from his throat. His eyes became scarlet, fangs and claws bared. Both his mother and the demon turned to look at him. A weak smile graced the Lady's lips when she saw her son, but faded quickly as she lost all strength and fell to the ground.

The young Lord let out an animalistic roar at the sight of his fallen mother, and lunged at the bear. The bear's movements were sluggish due to the tiring fight with the female dog demon. Sesshoumaru, powered by his rage, made quick work of the demon. Slicing at it with his claws, poison hissing at the contact. No match for a fresh fighter, the bear demon gave a cry of pain and slumped to the ground. 'Should have made him suffer more.' he thought as the demon's corpse turned to dust.

He ran quickly to his mother's side. Turning her over gently and cradling her in his arms, he called to her, but she only twitched slightly.

"Mother, please, open your eyes." he pleaded. The sent of her blood angered and worried him more.

"Sesshou. maru?" her eyes fluttered open.

"Yes Mother, I am here. Come, we must get you to the castle so that you may heal."

"No, my son, I can not." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I have lost too much blood and. am too tired to move let a lone heal."

"But Mother. You will be fine, let me carry you home." Anger leaving his face to be replaced by a look of pleading and sorrow.

"My son, I wish to tell you. I love you." She smiled and raised a hand to his cheek. "You are so strong. You make me proud Sesshoumaru."

"Mother, please." Tears began to gather in his dark golden eyes. He stroked her hair away from her sweat and blood drenched face. "I love you too, Mother." he whispered to her.

Her face relaxed before she gasped shortly and her eyes unfocused. Sesshoumaru grabbed her hand to keep it to his face. "Mother! No! Please!" The tears fell freely down his striped cheeks. "Mother!"

Before he could stop himself, Sesshoumaru tossed back his head to howl. The pain-filled sound echoing off the mountains. He pulled his mother close to his chest and kissed the top of her head. He heard the frantic cry of his father in the distance, laced with worry from his son's mournful howl. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around his mother tighter, not wanting to let her go.

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An odd feeling of being watched dragged him out of his painful thoughts. Sesshoumaru opened his eyes slowly to see another golden pair starring back. He has been so engrossed in his thought he didn't realize anyone had entered his chamber, let alone be able to stand in front of him for so long. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he growled at the owner of those eyes. "I told you to go away Inuyasha. What do you want?"

The pup of about five watched his older brother with sad eyes before he sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed. Sesshoumaru snorted and closed his eyes again.

"Sesshoru, I sorry." Inuyasha searched his brother's face. "I sorry 'bout your mommy. I. I gonna miss her." Inuyasha placed his small clawed hand over his brother's larger one. Sesshoumaru squeezed his hand lightly.

"I know, Inuyasha. So will I."

Sesshoumaru sighed and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling, but left his hand where it was. They sat in silence for a moment. Inuyasha turned his gaze to his brother's face. A single tear ran down his cheek. Inuyasha crawled over the short distance to lie across Sesshoumaru's chest, wrapping his small arms around the elder's torso.

"It'll be ok Sesshoru, everything will be ok." Sesshoumaru placed his hand on the pup's back. "You'll see, it'll be ok."

Sesshoumaru rubbed his hand soothingly over his brother's back. 'How can we be sure? Will things be all right? Or will it get worse? How do we know? And what if it does get better will something like this happen again? What if Father dies or you my dear brother?'

He couldn't believe his thoughts. Was he actually concerned for his family's well being? His family? Why should he care for a half-breed and a selfish Lord? His father hardly saw him or spoke to him. This carrying was making him weak. His mother had told him he was strong and she was proud.

'Would you be proud to see me this weak, Mother?'

Sesshoumaru looked around his chamber. The sun had fallen some time ago. The pup on his chest had fallen asleep while he thought.

'No, I will not care anymore. I will not be weak.' He raised himself up with the pup in his arms. Inuyasha whimpered and snuggled closer to the warmth of his brother. Sesshoumaru walked silently down the halls to the human and Inuyasha's chamber, tail dragging behind.

He carefully opened the door a placed the pup in his bed. The young Lord glanced at the human woman's bed to see her asleep, and bright golden eyes watching him. Sesshoumaru held that gaze for a moment before making sure Inuyasha was still asleep.

"Are you alright, my son?" The Lord whispered low enough as not to wake his mate and pup.

Sesshoumaru stared at him for a moment. "Of course not." he answered. "But the wounds will heal."

"And leave a scar." the Lord replied.

"Yes. A large one." With that he left his father to his family. 'I will not be weak.'

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Well, that was my first fanfic, and it was sappy. I didn't know typing could be so boring. I'm an artist not an author. So bite me, flame me, I don't care. I flame my own work all the time. (Damn inner critic.)

Thanks a lot Princess Kat, and Charm for helping me with the paragraphing!

Paragorgon