Quickly, I ran towards my mother's apartment. Past the paths of fallen cherry blossoms and leaping deftly from rock to rock in the pond. Then, soon, I was to be by her side. My mother sat on the veranda outside of her room, sipping tea that the servants had given her, and I ran to her side, eyes wide with excitement. She laughed as she saw my face, and put down her teacup slowly, "What is it, little one?" My seven-year-old body could barely contain its excitement, "Mother! Mother, guess what Sesshomoaru just told me!" Like all those other times when I mentioned my brother's name, her face got dark. But she nodded all the same, "What? What did Sesshomoaru just tell you?" I drew in a breath, "He said that father is hosting a festival next week, and all the demon's in the land are invited!" I didn't know why at the time, but my mother's face paled and she bowed her head, "As his lordship commands." Then, she went back to sipping her tea. "Mother, don't you like festivals?" I was confused. The definition of festivals in my mind was a fun gathering of many people. My mother had taken me to many human ones (though she always made me wear a cloak or a hat to cover my ears and hair) and I always found them fun. Didn't she? "Inuyasha?" "Yes, mother?" I waited for a long time for her answer, which was given to me with a smile, "I look forward to going to the festival with you."

That evening, I raided my clothing within mine and my mother's apartment, looking for just the right outfit for the festival. I was so excited! I loved festivals… they were so happy and joyous, and I loved everything about them from the food to the music… and even to the games and prizes one could win. As I looked through my clothes, I suddenly heard the door open a bit and a familiar voice sounded, "What are you doing, Lord Inuyasha?" I laughed, like so many other times that Myouga had called me "lord". I turned to the flea and knelt down so that I could speak to him on a closer level, "I'm preparing for the festival!" He cocked his head and asked, "But the festival is still a week away, is it not?" I nodded, "Yes, but I want to be ready!" Just as Jaken had been assigned to Sesshomoaru at birth, Myouga had soon been assigned to me. Though he annoyed me sometimes (especially when it was time to stop training and start studying), I still admired him greatly. "Lord Inuyasha, why do you look forward to the festival?" "Because they're fun. And stop calling me lord!" I laughed again after this and stood up, 'I'll find something… and I'll be ready!'

Of course, as I made my preparations, my mother was making hers. I later heard from various sources (palace guards, servants, cooks…) what went on that evening in my father's chambers. I wasn't there, though, so I don't know if this is really accurate. Supposedly, after I was safely inside of our room, being looked over by Myouga, my mother had sought to speak to my father. Timidly, she crept into the palace, past the elegant rooms filled with so much richness, and right outside of my father's room. But, before she could knock, he smelled her, "Please, Nayama-dono, do not hesitate to enter my chamber." But she did and, heart pounding, she entered his room, kowtowing immediately before even laying eyes on him. She bowed low, her fingers delicately sweeping the floor and he smiled at her honest prostration, "You may rise." And so she did, being careful not to sit up too tall in fear of appearing taller than he.

Granted, I should probably tell you what's going on and how my mother and father even got together. Afterall, it's not normal for a demon to take a liking to a human. Actually, to tell you the plain and blunt truth, my mother was stolen. Well… not by my father. You see, when she was younger, about maybe fourteen, a band of cruel men entered my mother's home village and pillaged everything they could get their greedy hands on; treasure and women included. My mother, being the most lovely of all the women, was the first one they grabbed, placing her roughly astride a horse with another man and being rode away. Though she fought however, she could not make it away and she, as well as ten other women were taken. Later that evening, while enduring the pain of being tied to stakes in the men's encampment, those men were bombarded by a small army and killed. The women then, including my mother, were made to march for miles to the north with no break, food, or water. And, after three days of this, four of the women had either died or been left to die. Luckily, none of them were my mother. On the fourth day, the soldiers became restless and decided to have some fun with the remaining women. They brutally murdered three of them, leaving their corpses to dry on a mountaintop, and then went to force themselves on the four women that remained. They had let the women go, daring them to run, but they had underestimated my mother's strength, and she soon had lost them, leaving her fellow women behind, much to her displeasure. But, though she felt guilty, she knew that she had to get away! For days she wandered, not even noticing that she had finally traveled hundreds of miles from her home. And, when she could go no further, she collapsed from starvation within an unknown domain.

Lucky for her… lucky for me… my father just happened to be out for a run that day. He was in his giant dog demon form and, when he found the little bit of my mother that was left, he was intrigued. How could such a young girl have traveled such a long way from the south? And, he knew that she was from the south because of her smell and clothing, which was by now tattered and exposing herself to the world. Deciding to salvage her, he gently picked her up in his teeth and brought her back to his palace. Of course, when she woke up in such luxury, she screamed. And my father, thinking that she was being murdered, rushed into the room, sword at the ready. And, it was love at first sight. I can only imagine how they must have looked at each other; my father in his rich clothing of silk and gold and my mother in virtually nothing. Both must have looked completely scrumptious to each other! So, after a little persuading, my father got my mother to stay with him, even though he was already married. Today, I realize what was meant when I heard that she became a "servant" to him. And so (through her "servitude") I came about. But no one's complaining. I exist now, right?

"My liege. Inuyasha has informed me that you are to hold a festival in the coming week?" My mother had asked this demurely, practicing proper etiquette by holding her fan up in a coquettish way to hide part of her face. My father nodded, "Yes, I'm sure he'll be quite pleased with it, too. I've ordered the greatest performers in my domain to entertain." "And they will be…?" "Demon, of course." She nodded, "I see…" He could smell something in the air from her now; a kind of disappointment, almost, "You are not pleased?" She sighed, "My liege, I fear for my son. Yesterday, your courtesan's were playing with their ball and, when it happened to stray and Inuyasha went to retrieve it, they walked off as if his being a half-demon was contagious! He then asked me what it meant to be a half-demon, and I found it so hard to answer. I fear that, perhaps…" My father sat up so suddenly now, that he half scared my mother to death. Then, he leaned over and caressed her cheek, "My dear Nayama, do not worry so. Nothing will happen to our son on my watch. However, I must ask if you yourself feel comfortable. I know you've had some bad experiences in the past…" My mother just smiled now and bowed her head, "No. My concern was only for Inuyasha. My life is meaningless, so long as his endures." At this, my father growled low in this throat out of lust and leaned forward, rubbing his nose affectionately with that of my mother before taking her mouth to his.

And this was, of course, where all of my "sources" cut off their story, saying that it was not appropriate for little ears.