The Sum of All Things
Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't have to spend my time writing fanfic.
Summary: Love and hate. Pride, awe, coldness, indifference. Here are the things, and the father, that shaped Sesshoumaru: the 'perfect' youkai.
Prologue
Cradling the small, oh-so-fragile newborn pup in his arms, the Inu no Taishou looked over what had once been a field of virgin snow, now reduced to slush, its pristine whiteness stained pink, marred by strewn bodies. Distantly, he is aware of thinking, This should not have happened. This – this is wrong. It should never have happened this way. Seiko, you headstrong, stubborn fool… But he is a general, and he knows that actions once done can never be undone.
The babe shivers as a coldly playful gust of wind swirls around the still figures, drawing the attention of the inuyoukai. Acutely, he is aware of the vulnerability of this child of his, this heir…and also the drying blood caked on his hands.
The tiny mouth opens in a sleepy yawn, revealing already the small canines – not sharp yet, but they will be, in time. Soft, silver-white tufts of hair crown the boy's head, and as eyelids flutter open – ah, yes, he has his father's colouring. Golden eyes peer upwards with an expression entirely too lucid for an infant, as if fully aware of its surroundings, though his sight could not have focused yet. Small hands clutched at the material confining it, fingers tipped with ten as-yet-blunt claws. His father's child, in every way, but for the single, crescent moon on his forehead, the indelible mark left by his mother. And the stripes; two crimson stripes mirrored on cheek and wrist, marking him taiyoukai.
He was perfect. A perfect child, born early, born on a field of blood in this season of death.
"Taishou-sama?" a gruff, not unexpected voice asked from behind him.
The wind sang its eerie, solitary song through the bare, abandoned branches of the forest not far distant. A mourning song.
"Sesshoumaru."
"Taishou-sama?" the voice repeated, confused.
"Sesshoumaru." The Inu no Taishou turned around, though his gaze never lifted from the watchful, golden eyes. "His name."
Those eyes blinked slowly, once, and then fluttered close, as if in acceptance. Content, the boy snuggled deeper within the bundle, and dozed off. Only then did the General look up to meet the expectant face of Masato, his second-in-command.
The two inuyoukai made quite a contrast; the former, tall and fair, could have blended into the landscape were it not for his armour, while the latter was dark of hair and eye, shorter, and stockier in build. A strong-featured face, an honest face, a reliable character…and most of all, loyal. Loyal to him, and awaiting the next orders he would give, to be carried out exactly as he wished, down to the last detail.
His tone when he gave the order was hard, and easily as cold as the air surrounding them. "Gather the bodies within sight of the castle and burn them. Leave the rest." It was winter, and the majority of them were scattered near the tree line anyway. Let them be a warning to any others who would dare rise against him.
"…And the Lady Seiko?"
This time, it was his turn to hesitate. "I shall bury her later."
As he turned to go, Masato spoke. "It is a heavy name, for a child to bear, Taishou-sama."
"Perhaps." The reply was noncommittal. "It is also a fitting name."
With the pup in his arms, he made his way towards the white castle rising in the distance. Ruthlessly, economically, he took firm hold of the faint stirrings of his heart that the child had caused in such a short amount of time, and chained it fast. He could ill afford such luxuries, especially now.
Sesshoumaru. A death for a life. Yes, a fitting name indeed.
A/N: Sparked by a line in the third movie, when Inu no Taishou asks Sesshoumaru, "Would you kill your own father?" So, of course, I started wondering just what would cause him to ask that, and I had to write a back story, though I don't think I'm actually going to included any of the events in the movie.
With Sesshoumaru's name, I'm going with the interpretation 'destruction of the circle of life' because it fits neatly into the plot, though I also like 'killing perfection'. Maybe I'll bring that in later. And I'll stop rambling now.
Feedback will be much appreciated.