Chapter 2 - Sesshoumaru
The sound of an enchanted lute echoed through the night.
Somewhere deep in the Fuji Mountain, Sesshoumaru lay dormant. The purification powers of the Spiritual Spring made him oozy even though he retained himself from admitting so. Sesshoumaru stumbled upon a waterfall, the one that drained from the Spiritual Spring overtime. Tiny droplets of fresh water spattered, he felt the cool refreshing feeling of the moist air. He allowed himself to be filled with the lutes music and closed his eyes.
Suddenly the mist began to thicken; the booming of the waterfall faded and was replaced with the sound of laughter from a child. At first, Sesshoumaru thought it was only Rin, but as the laugher went on, he realized his surroundings begin to change. Everything turned cold. All that was visible were his own features blowing in the wind.
First came the grass, then cobble stone pavement appeared before him. He was in a courtyard. All seemed so familiar as if he'd been here, lived here. As the laughter became louder, Sesshoumaru concluded that is was no longer Rin. In the distance he could barely make out the silhouette of a woman through the mist. No, a demon, a female demon. When the mist finally began to lift, Sesshoumaru caught a glimpse of her face.
His heart skipped a beat. Everything from the neck down became frozen like the early morning dew drops. He tried to blink and test if what he's seeing is real, but his eyes kept focus on the female demon. Her eyes were light green, a reflection of the evening moon. Her long silver hair flowed all the way down to her waist. Dispute her human body shape, her fangs were clearly shown through her pale blue lips and her ears pointed, clearly not human. She wore no robes but armor. As if preparing for a battle and her tail rested on her hips. Mother.
She turned to Sesshoumaru yet looked pass him. From behind, came the laughter again. A young demon came running. Sesshoumaru recognized who it was right away. He was astonished, but refused to let it show on his face. It was him, when he was only a child. His child form disgusted Sesshoumaru. Surely a great and powerful demon such as himself could not have had such a pathetic childhood. But there was no doubt. The child ran past him and towards his mother. His feet splashing across the early morning dew drenching his robes in water. He ran across the courtyard and leaped into Mothers arms. They embraced. She kissed him. He looked so happy. He looked so relaxed and carefree. Then, through the lips of Mother, sent chills down Sesshoumarus back, "I love you, my youth."
"I love you too, mother," came the reply.
Sesshoumaru had enough. This was not his childhood. It couldn't be. He lifted his claws and lunged forth to destroy the illusion. But with every step he took, the image faded farther and farther, until he was left standing in the emptiness.
The laughter disappeared, the sound of the waterfall returning, he opened his eyes. And there was Rin, humming the same familiar tune. Sesshoumaru had returned to normal, yet the image of his embrace with Mother so long ago lingered in his memory.