Disclaimer – I don't own any Inuyasha characters; Rumiko Takahashi does. This is a bit OOC but we'll live, right? I happen to start a lot of paragraphs with 'Sesshomaru'; I'll see what I can do about it.
Chapter Three – Just a Day. Just an Ordinary Day
Sesshomaru woke up in the morning with the sun dancing across his face, mainly his eyes. He groaned, rolled over, shoved his head into his pillow and proceeded to go to sleep. Jaken, stationed outside his room, knocked on the door and called out, "Sesshomaru-sama, you're to eat breakfast with your family today. Your clothes are laid out on the sofa."
Sesshomaru sighed and rolled out of bed. He shuffled to the bathroom and showered. He wrapped a towel around his small frame and walked, shivering, to the sofa and dressed in his usual silk red and white clothing. Sesshomaru sighed. How he wished for steel armor and a furry pelt like his father but they're much too heavy for him.
Jaken began to complain so the fully prepared Sesshomaru swiftly opened the door and kicked Jaken on his head, plowing him into the polished marble floor, A/N - heh. Old habits die hard and feeling refreshed, continued to the dining hall.
Sesshomaru entered the dining hall and was assaulted by, silence? Instead of the usual chatter between his parents was replaced with utter attention to the delicate ceramic plates. Izayoi sat cross from Sesshomaru's seat, looking uncomfortable and quite out of place. Even the scent of the delectable food was muted by the awkward atmosphere. Inu Taisho was the first to notice Sesshomaru blinking perplexed at the situation. "Ohayo, Sesshomaru. How did you sleep?"
Sesshomaru moved back to life and took his seat. "Ohayo-Shimasu Otou-san, Okaa-san, Izayoi-san. Fine. I had a strange dream though."
Inu Taisho seemed pleased with the change in silence and pressed on, "What kind?" he asked, moving the conversation along.
"Huh? Oh! It's nothing." Inu Taisho furrowed his brows at Sesshomaru's hasty reply, but Sesshomaru plowed on "Anyways, can I go with you to patrol the lands today? Please?"
"Heh." Inu Taisho smiled, "Not today. Today I want you to keep Izayoi company."
Inu Kimi scoffed quietly while Sesshomaru happily agreed. "C'mon Izayoi-san! Let's go watch a play! Bye Okaa-san! See you later!" Izayoi politely excused herself and followed Sesshomaru into a brilliant room with many types of wallpaper. A stage filled one side of the room and around the room were silky plush pillows and sofas to watch the performers. A/N - kind of like a theater in their house
"What are we going to watch?' Izayoi asked quietly.
Sesshomaru blinked in surprise. 'This is the first time she's initiated a conversation.' A/N – Fluffy reads SAT prep books, thus his vocab. "Well, I really like Ayakashi. Ayakashi is actually a real anime and it is fantastic! You can watch it at www. animeepisodes (dot) net/anime/ AyakashiJapaneseClassicHorrorEpisodeList (dot) html. I highly suggest you do. There are three stories, Yotsuya Kaidan, Bake Neko, and Tenshu Monogatari. Do you know them?"
"Ah, no. Gomen." Izayoi replied sounding forlorn. "What are they about?"
"Well…" Sesshomaru grinned before launching into a 'simplified' summary. "Yotsuya Kaidan is about Tamiya Iemon is a ronin samurai who marries a beautiful woman named Oiwa. Oiwa is happy with her married life and the birth of their child, but Iemon feels the burden of their poverty. In return for the promise of a job by a rich man, Iemon promises to marry the man's daughter and conspires to murder his own wife. A servant is ordered by Iemon to put poison in Oiwa's food, killing her slowly until her face became disfigured and she died a despairing death. The servant was then killed and, along with the dead Oiwa, nailed to a piece of wooden board and tossed into the river. After Oiwa's death, Iemon married the rich man's daughter, as promised. However, Oiwa's vengeful spirit could not rest in peace, and she laid a curse on everyone involved with her demise. One by one, Oiwa's enemies die a horrible death, including the rich man and her daughter, and Iemon becomes plagued by visions of Oiwa's ghost."
Izayoi looked very pale. "Um. How about the next one."
'Sure!' replied Sesshomaru. "Bake Neko is about a granddaughter of the master of a samurai family was going to marry. However, at the moment they were going to celebrate the wedding, she was killed miserably. A druggist said it was the work of a bakeneko, or cat monster. As if prophesied by his words, the other members of the family began to be killed, one after another. The druggist claimed he had the means to destroy the bakeneko, but to do so, he must know not only his form but also the truth about what he wants and the reason for his appearance. That was when the family's dark secrets began to surface."
'Well, that's better, but what about the last one." Izayoi replied in her placid manner.
"Girls like this one the most I think but it's good." Sesshomaru noted. "Izumi Kyoka tells the story of a forbidden love between a god and a human. Himekawa Zushonosuke is a falconer who is sent by his master Lord Harima to retrieve a precious falcon named Kojirou. Zushonosuke's search is initially fruitless, though it leads him to a chance encounter with a beautiful woman bathing in a lake. Zushonosuke more or less falls in love with her at first sight. When news reaches Lord Harima that the falcon has in fact fled to the castle keep of Shirasagi-jo, Zushonosuke is ordered there to bring the falcon back. Accompanied by two friendly demons, Zushonosuke makes his way to Shirasagi-jo, which is rumored to be inhabited by beings called Wasuregami or Forgotten Gods. At the castle, Zushonosuke is surprised to find the same beautiful woman he encountered before, who introduces herself as Tomi-hime, beginning their forbidden romance."
"I like that one." Smiled Izayoi, it reminded her of someone.
"Alright!" Sesshomaru grinned like a Cheshire cat and called out. "Nanboku! Hajime!" A slightly chubby, short man and a tall slender girl appeared in the stage. "Izayoi-san wants to see Ayakashi. The Izumi Kyoka story."
The two performers saluted Sesshomaru before hurrying back stage. In moments the lights were dimmed and the play was in progress.
In the duration of the play Sesshomaru noticed Izayoi's reactions to certain parts of the play. When Zushonosuke first meets the forgotten goddess and falls in love, Izayoi looked happy and seemed to understand the forbidden romance that was growing. When Zushonosuke admirer find him in an intimate moment with the forgotten goddess, Tomi-hime, her eyes water with compassion. When Zushonosuke's admirer tells the army about the location of Shirasagi-jo, the home of the forgotten gods, Izayoi looked fearful.
After the play Sesshomaru and Izayoi talked about the parts they liked, hated, and the most interesting scenes. They agreed on many parts of the play and were happy to get along. As the two chatted away, the topic roaming from the play, to types of food, favorite colors, and anything that came to mind, the sun began to set and soon the room had slipped into a semi-transparent night. The excited that still continued, oblivious to its surroundings, was interrupted by Jaken scurrying into the room, glancing dirtily at Izayoi and announcing that dinner would be served in a matter of minutes.
Izayoi and Sesshomaru rushed to the dinner hall; still ecstatic with the friendship they had developed so soon. They quieted instantly as they noticed the tense mood develop at the table. Sesshomaru wanting to leave fast began to eat faster and faster, and then he stopped abruptly when Inu Kimi commented in a strange way. "Sesshomaru! You have such appetite today! Do eat more!" Sesshomaru blinked at his mother then turned to look at his father who just added to the confusion by saying, "Your mother is right! But try not to bolt your food down."
Sesshomaru continued moving his head to stare at his mother to his father. 'This is weird! Normally I would have a plate thrown dangerously near my head. Hmm…"
After dinner Sesshomaru was under layers of soft silky blankets, when Inu Kimi entered his room. "Would you like me to sing to you?" she asked in a rare display of kindness. Sesshomaru nodded happily.
Inu Kimi parted her lips and began to sing.
"We all understand
That the wounds can't go away.
How long will it go on?
We don't need them anymore
We all wait for the day
That there will be no strife.
Wounded soldiers,
Remember now
Your mothers' warmth.
In this vast and endless world,
Drawing our own map,
And holding back our tears,
We'll continue on walking.
Stand up now,
See now, however many times
Sleeping lions are awakened,
Live on to tomorrow.
We all carry
A fragment of love,
Even if we feel hatred,
Nothing will be born of it.
That's something we don't need.
Within the limits of time,
Setting out for a paradise we've yet to see,
As far as it takes us,
We'll continue on walking.
Don't turn back,
Only look ahead.
Until your body wastes away,
Live on to the future
Remember now
Our mothers' warmth.
In this vast and endless world,
Drawing our own map,
And holding back our tears,
We'll continue on walking.
Don't turn back,
Only look ahead.
Until your body wastes away,
Live on to the future."
Izayoi finished her song and saw that Sesshomaru had fallen asleep with a smile on his face. "Look past the light and into the shadows. Look closely and discover something."
A/N - The song is Rakuen by Do As Infinity. Sry, I didn't put this when I first posted the chappie!