Cage
One of Inuyasha's earliest memories is of the village, where he lived with his mother.
In this memory, he is no more than five. It is the new moon, and he is human. They had not managed to make it home before the change set in, and the villagers pull him away from his hysterical mother.
They fence him in, cage him like some kind of exotic animal on display for their amusement. They are waiting, they say, waiting for the sun to rise so they can watch him change back.
He can hear his mother crying, hear her calling for them to let him go, please, let him go, he's just a child, what has he done?
One of the men, a small, horrible man, approaches his mother. Inuyasha starts to yell, to scream, leave her alone! Mama!
The man touches Izayoi, trails his fingers down her face, then down her throat.
Suddenly, the man is jerked back, his hands going to his throat, his eyes wide in horror.
It is the first time Inuyasha sees blood.
The villagers fall silent. There is a stranger there, someone he has never seen before. This person, this man, this demon, has long, silvery-white hair, and there are markings on his face. His cool amber gaze seems to regard, weigh and measure and dismiss, since they are not worthy of his attention.
He turns that gaze to Inuyasha, and the boy feels the same thing the villagers must have, the thought that he is being measured and judged and found wanting, but he doesn't know why.
The stranger steps forward, stops in front of his makeshift prison. One hand flashes out, and the bamboo falls away, and he is free.
He steps back, away from this terrifying specter, hunching around his fragile human body.
The stranger says one thing – Inuyasha.
Inuyasha blinks up at him, regards this frightening stranger, and then his mother steps forward, lays one small hand on the stranger's white sleeve. My Lord…
So this is what our father died for.
His mother flinches, and Inuyasha dives in front of her, clutching her kimono in his tiny hands. The stranger looks at both of them for a long moment, then turns to regard the villagers. This will not happen again, and then he walks away, and he does not look back.
Mother? Mama? Who was that man?
Inuyasha…that was Sesshomaru, your father's older son. That was your brother.
Inuyasha stares after Sesshomaru's retreating figure as he vanishes back into the forest, and decides he doesn't like him very much.
End
A/N – For Kat Hawkins – a compromise. Since Rebellions is going about as well as HP & the Middle-Earthians, I wrote a ficlet featuring Inuyasha. Of course, I threw Sesshomaru in there too, so it's a half-assed compromise, but it works, right?