Inuvember:

Sesshomaru

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

A/N: Please do not leave any hateful or toxic comments regarding SessRin.

He was Sesshomaru, the firstborn son of the Great Dog General Toga. By birthright, he was set to inherit his father's domain...but that wasn't good enough for him. He wanted more...he sought power and he would gain by any means necessary...even defeating his own father.

He was Sesshomaru...the one who had no one to protect. Why should he? He was a lone wolf, not relying on anyone but his own strength. He could lead an army, but what would be the use? He had the power of at least twice as much...but with the power of the Tetsusaiga, he could be even more so.

He was Sesshomaru...the older brother of the half-demon that his father left behind. How? How could his father, the great and powerful Toga, fall in love with a mortal woman, and conceive this half-breed? And his father expected him to care for this scourge? Not likely...especially because this impure, lowly creature was bequeathed a sword that he was meant to have!

He would punish him for even being born...so whenever they encountered each other, he would always make an attempt on his life...but through the years, even that grew boring, for the half-demon managed to slip away from his grasp, each and every time.

He was Sesshomaru...the son who felt betrayed. He didn't understand it. What did he do to earn his father's distrust of him? Why was he left with this useless sword, the Tenseiga? What good was a blade that could not cut, but only heal?

He was Sesshomaru...the demon who was found by a young girl. After he was struck the first time by Inuyasha's Wind Scar, he could only lie motionless in the forest, waiting for his wounds to heal...but his bitterness toward the half-demon continued to fester. During that time...he met her. She approached him, cautious yet curious. She brought him food and medicinal herbs, even though he insisted that he did not want such things from her...but time and time again, she continued to appear before him, silent and unspeaking.

Humans were such complex things. They are supposed to fear demons, and yet she did not fear him.

So on the day his wound finally healed...he found her...dead.

He couldn't quite explain...but something inside him...it clenched and it ached him. His sword almost seemed to sense this, for it pulsed and quivered in its sheath. So he decides to "test" it once more on this girl...whose heart began to beat, once more, and breath returned to her lungs.

He was Sesshomaru, the demon who traveled the land, searching for the one known as Naraku...but during his travels, he met a woman born of the demon's flesh. She offered him a chance to defeat the madman by giving him fragments of the Sacred Jewel. However, he declined. He did not wish to rely on silly gems to increase his power. He would defeat Naraku on his own strength.

Irritated, the woman left...but it would not be the last time he saw her.

He was Sesshomaru, the demon who started to realize that even the power of the Tenseiga could not save everyone. When he found that woman again, he felt this strange heaviness in his heart as he watched her sitting on the grass, the white flowers around her stained red with her blood...and yet, she smiled, taking comfort in his presence alone. Thus, she whispered this one last utterance to him as she faded to nothing.

"I am the wind...the free wind..."

As the days went on, he would later come to realize that this also applied to the one human he actually came to care for. In going to his mother, seeking to improve on the Meido's enlargement...he realized that in his quest for power, he would lose the one person that was actually precious to him. He realized that nothing was worth losing Rin.

In the emptiness of the netherworld...he quietly wept for the girl.

His mother realized his distress and allowed the child one last chance at life...but after that, there would be no more.

He was Sesshomaru, the demon who began to realize that he did not need the Tetsusaiga to be powerful. If nothing else, he would become a great demon in his own right. He did not need to use his father's power to gain power for himself...and in realizing such, he not only regained his left arm but a sword of his very own: the Bakusaiga.

He was Sesshomaru...the demon who fell in love with a mortal woman. He visited her at times, leaving presents in the form of fine kimonos and jewelry...but as time went on and he saw her again...he was amazed at how she had grown. He never once thought that he would ever fall in love, let alone with a mortal...and yet, here she was. Beautiful, long, dark brown hair...brown eyes...and the scent of soil, honey, and wildflowers just permeated off of her. Even more so, she still held that kind and gentle personality she had with her.

...But no...he couldn't be near her. How could he? What would he tell her if it was ever said that he had now fallen in love with her? Would she turn away in disgust? Demand that she never see him again?

He honestly wouldn't blame her at all...so on the night he came again, he gave her a choice: would she stay in the village? Or leave and be with him again?

In the end...she chose him.

He was Sesshomaru...the demon who married his beloved and in doing so, sired two children...two half-demons of their own. In doing so, he realized another folly he had made but resolved to make it right. He turned to his younger brother for advice...and received this warning: if he should ever mistreat his new nephew and niece the same way he mistreated him in the past, Inuyasha would rip off both his arms in kind.

"As if I would ever mistreat my children..."

And now, as he sits on the futon with nothing but the glow of the lantern's light...he glances over at his son and daughter, who both quietly doze under their father's gaze, puppy ears twitching slightly. Beside him is Rin, who smiles at them lovingly before she looks up at her beloved, who gives her a warm smile in turn before gently cupping her chin and pulling her in for a kiss.

He is Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, a father...and a protector.

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