Chapter Two
He looked up at the moon and stared at the blackness of it. It was a lunar eclipse but the faint outline of it could be seen. Frowning, he gritted his teeth at the small whimpers and cries that the hanyou made. Turning around sharply, he startled Izayoi at the suddenness of his movement and smirked at her.
"Silence that pup up!" He hissed.
Her mouth fell open in surprise. "He is cold, hungry and frightened. How dare you." She snapped.
Sesshoumaru stopped in surprise of his own. Did she just reprimand him? He felt the frown deepen on his forehead, and he spun around. "You are on your own." He snarled, and began walking away. Quickly jumping into the trees, he left Izayoi standing there in shock and fear.
"Wait!" She cried, holding her hand outstretched towards him.
Crouched low on his branch, he glanced over his shoulder.
"Please. I have no idea where we are. Please don't leave us." She whispered, tears filling her eyes.
He bit back a loud growl, and sniffed in irritation. "What makes you think I care what happens to you human?"
She looked down, and cradled the baby in her arms. Her mind scrambled for some reason why he had helped her in the first place, some reason why he led her to safety. This youkai was far different then her husband. This Sesshoumaru was cold, relentless and uncaring. Was he really the son of her husband? Or was this a trap and this youkai was leading her into danger? Looking up, then gasping stepping back a step seeing his eyes right in front of her she yelped in surprise.
He peered at her closely, sniffing the fear and uncertainty through her tears. Sesshoumaru smirked when she lifted her gaze and met his eyes, jumping back. "Stupid human." He muttered. Turning away, he began walking again. He didn't hear her following and he grunted turning around slowly. "Are you coming?"
She swallowed and held the pup closer to her and shivered. "I…where are we going?" She whispered.
Sesshoumaru snorted. "Follow, or don't. I care not." He turned away, and continued down the path. He heard her startled gasp and her feet racing after him and he inwardly nodded in satisfaction.
"Where are you taking us?" She whispered fearfully.
"Is your memory so short that you don't remember?" Sesshoumaru growled.
She shook her head. "You said where I can raise my son. Is that really where you are taking us?"
Sesshoumaru felt his forehead crease in anger. "I am doing this for my father, human. Not for you or that hanyou. Know this, I despise humans, and one day I will take the life of that hanyou!"
She stopped instantly, gasping. Izayoi clutched Inuyasha closer to her, and remained motionless. "I will never allow it."
Sesshoumaru stopped and glared at her. "What makes you think you can stop me?"
"If protecting my son from danger, results in my death, then I will gladly accept that. You will not lay a finger on my son." She hissed.
Smirking, Sesshoumaru descended on her instantly. Grabbing her up by her shoulders and holding her off the ground, he snarled. "Is that right?"
She struggled and kicked trying desperately to free herself from this youkai's strong grip. Tears filled her eyes and she cried out. "Let me go! Let me go!" The baby in her arms felt the distress and began crying a new, his wails filling the air.
Wincing, Sesshoumaru looked down at the crying infant, and frowned. Placing her back on her feet, he stared at the crying baby. The baby's golden eyes opened and tears filled them making them seem a dark amber color. Sesshoumaru snorted. "Inuyasha? Huh." He whispered. Lowering his hand, he touched the face, seemingly unaware of what he was doing.
Izayoi was frozen in fear when he reached down to touch her son, and she saw something flicker in the youkai's eyes as he softly whispered her son's name. Looking down at his clawed hand, she watched as he caressed the baby's face.
The baby's eyes widened, and glanced up, his cries stopping instantly. A tiny hand reached up and gripped the larger youkai's finger, and Sesshoumaru stilled his hand instantly. 'So this is life?' He thought to himself. Inuyasha cooed, and Sesshoumaru raised his brows startled.
Growling, he pulled his hand away, startling the baby as well as himself. Turning away, he growled for Izayoi to follow. Confused, Sesshoumaru pushed everything out of his mind. He had felt Izayoi's chilled body in his hands when he had picked her up, and had noticed how cold the baby's hands were, and he sighed. Reaching his hand to the pelt over his shoulder, he unwrapped it and stopped walking.
Izayoi stopped as well and stared at him. He was approaching her again. Sesshoumaru stopped and lifted his hands and wrapped his pelt around her shoulders. "Don't get your stench on it." He snarled turning away again.
Lowering his head, he pondered why he had felt the need to give her warmth. Perhaps it was his father's last words to him. 'Sesshoumaru, do you have something you want to protect?' The words flooded his mind, and he growled low in his throat trying to shove them out. His father was dead. He knew it the moment the palace had fallen. Felt it when his father used the last of his strength, when the flames licked at his flesh. Then fell into unconsciousness. Sesshoumaru had felt the slowing heart beat dim then die. He shuddered.
'Something to protect?' He thought silently. Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Turning back to face forward he gritted his teeth in annoyance 'Why am I protecting her?' Frowning, he added another thought. 'Am I protecting her?'
Hearing her struggling steps behind him, and he slowed his gait slightly. The hanyou had stopped crying, and he sighed in relief. His mind trailed past his father's image, to the baby held tightly in Izayoi's arms. 'Inuyasha?' He thought. The tiny baby had gripped his finger tightly, asking him for something. 'But what? Why?' Keeping his head forward, he pondered this child. Inuyasha would grow up being neither accepted by humans, for them being fearful of the youkai kind, but he would also not be accepted by youkai either.
Taking a deep breath, this pup would live in a world of hate, misunderstandings, and contempt. Sesshoumaru jerked at that last thought. 'Contempt?' That was exactly what he was doing. Snarling under his breath, he shifted his gaze to the side seeing Izayoi out of the corner of his eye.
Her skin was red from the weather, and the small baby's lips were blue. Turning his head fully now, he stopped walking. Izayoi lifted her gaze, shivering. "Is…is something wrong?" She glanced around them fearfully.
Shaking his head, he lifted his eyes to the dark sky, and then looked back down at her. "We'll stop; do you know how to start a fire?"
She nodded.
"Go gather some wood then."
She frowned. "What?" She was a princess, and he expected her to gather wood with a newborn?
"I'll watch the hanyou."
"I think not!" She snapped. "If I am not mistaken, you threatened his life!"
He clenched his teeth. "The cold does not bother me human. If you wish to be warm, and keep your child warm, then you will gather wood. If you don't then I will just continue on."
Sesshoumaru saw her fighting with herself over that.
"I will not harm him." Sesshoumaru whispered, turning away. 'Why did I just say that?'
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he recoiled in shock. Izayoi wrapped her baby tightly, and then looked at Sesshoumaru with fear in her eyes. She had heard his whispered words, and had taken a deep breath.
Holding Inuyasha out to him, she waited for him to take her baby. Sesshoumaru stilled and looked down at her curiously.
"What? Do you expect me to lay him on the cold snow so he gets chilled? I think not, I will gather wood for a fire, and you will hold the baby." She sneered. Placing the baby against Sesshoumaru's chest, she used one hand to grab the youkai lords and placed the arm under her son. Once she was satisfied that Sesshoumaru held her son properly so he wouldn't fall, she strolled away, stooping down to pick up branches from the edge of the path.
Sesshoumaru blinked, and then shifted his gaze down to the extremely tiny pup in his arms. Bright golden eyes blinked back at him, and the baby wriggled in his arms. Frowning, Sesshoumaru tightened his arms around the small hanyou, and he felt the corners of his lips curve upward slightly.
Inuyasha cooed, his little fists opening and closing, waving around excitedly. Even though the small child was cold, he seemed to not care. Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and pulled the pup closer to his chest, and wrapped his hakama sleeves around Inuyasha.
'What am I doing?' He scolded himself. Try as he might, he couldn't tear his gaze from the infants in his arms. The baby seemed to giggle then, catching a stray strand of hair that flew over Sesshoumaru's shoulder and into the baby's face. Frowning, Sesshoumaru watched the little baby stuff the hair into his mouth, and he snorted. 'Sure, slobber all over my hair.' Shaking his head, he lifted his gaze watching Izayoi place the wood down and started placing them to start a fire.
Sesshoumaru felt a yank on his hair and he winced, looking down. Sighing, he pulled his hair out of the baby's mouth, noticing more of it was being stuffed inside. "Stop that." He scolded. The baby cooed again. "That too." Sesshoumaru groaned.
Inuyasha ignored him, quite enthralled with the silver hair that flew around him like a sheet. Giggling again, he reached up grasping more strands into his hands, and pulled them down towards him.
Sighing again, Sesshoumaru growled. "Hurry up human. I think the hanyou is hungry." Wrinkling his nose, he found Inuyasha quite strong for being a newborn. "Stop pulling my hair, pup." He snorted.
Izayoi looked up from blowing on the fire. "Move your hair out of his way then, Sesshoumaru."
Looking up he felt his brows crease slightly, but did as she said, and pulled his hair back over his shoulder. Gazing down at the baby, he smirked at the small mouth that seemed to pout at this action.
Noticing the fire catching nicely, Sesshoumaru walked over to Izayoi and held the infant out to her. She grinned mischievously. "Hold him for awhile. It seems to quiet your temper."
Sesshoumaru growled. "I have no temper."
She nodded. "Sure." Rolling her eyes, she pushed the baby back into his arms, and turned her back smirking to herself. She placed her hands in her lap, scooting closer to the fire. Looking down she whispered softly as Sesshoumaru knelt down beside the fire, holding the baby in his grasp tightly again. "Your father used to talk about you a lot."
Sesshoumaru glanced up surprised. "Huh." He huffed.