Chapter 3: In Weakness and in Health

You're as cold as ice

You're willing to sacrifice our love

You never take advice

Someday you'll pay the price, I know

I've seen it before, it happens all the time

You're closing the door, you leave the world behind

You're digging for gold, you're throwing away

A fortune in feelings, but someday you'll pay

– "Cold As Ice" by Foreigner

Hot. So hot.

He was going to suffocate in this infernal heat.

Fire blazed all around him. There was no escape. A mad cackle rose in the crackle of the flames.

He had to get Homura out of the way. He wasn't Touga's target.

Kirinmaru was.

I'll kill him. That bastard will pay!

Touga's heart lurched, and he gasped as his eyes flew open. But even that little movement pained him. He groaned as a rush of heat enveloped his body.

So hot. Too hot!

He tried to throw off the blanket covering him, but his arm protested when he tried to lift it, feeling as if the skin was going to crack right off him. He glanced down to find his entire arm covered in bandages and reeking of poultices. His chest and legs felt similarly bound. He let his eyes—which also felt so scratchy, tears limned them without his permission—fall closed with a groan.

"So you're awake."

Touga's eyes fluttered back open and he glanced to the side. "Inu…kimi?"

What is she doing here? No…what am I doing here?

With a start, he realized he was back in their room at the palace rather than in his war tent. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was being surrounded by Homura's blistering flames.

"Do you think you're a god, Touga?"

Touga's brows furrowed in confusion. "Of course not," he whispered.

"Then why did you choose to fight one?"

Was she talking about Homura?

"If it weren't for your trusted warriors getting you out, you would have burned to a crisp on the battlefield," his wife said.

"Battle…requires risks." Gods, he needed water. A slight turn of his head brought pitcher into view. It sat next to his wife. "Kimi…."

"Oh, you want this?" she asked, holding up the pitcher. But she didn't pour him a cup. "First answer me this. What exactly did you think you were doing out there?"

Touga grunted in frustration and impatience. What was she even asking? He was at war, of course.

But she continued without waiting for him to answer. "I questioned your men, but all they could tell me was that you've been acting rasher these last few weeks than ever before. You refused to listen to any suggestions that did not involve 'barrel your way straight through Kirinmaru's armies.' I thought I married a dog demon strategist, not a muscle-headed bull demon."

Touga closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. He was too tired to get drawn into a lengthy argument with her right now. So he cut right to the chase. "He hurt you."

Inukimi's brows rose. "Who, Kirinmaru?"

"Yes."

"I see. So you thought to avenge my honor?" Touga grunted. His wife frowned. "I never asked you to do that."

"…Don't have to," he mumbled, too exhausted to form full sentences.

"Yes, I do," Inukimi rebuked. "If I want to exact revenge on someone, I am perfectly capable of doing that myself. But I will spare Kirinmaru this time, since the circumstances were my own fault. So, whatever ridiculous notions you have of fighting on my behalf, get rid of them now, before you end up in this state again."

Touga's eyes flew open and he pinned her with as hard a stare as his tired, burnt eyes could muster. "No," he growled, though it sounded pathetically weak even to his own ears.

Inukimi's eyes widened. "No?" she repeated in that tone of voice that brokered challenge.

He wasn't about to be roped into fighting her. She just needed to understand. "You're…my wife. He…tried to take…what was mine."

"Ahhh, so it was male pride," she chuckled. "Well, I suppose I can't fault you for that; I myself only learned the truth of the adage, 'Pride goeth before the fall,' because of Kirinmaru's advances."

She did?

Finally, she poured some water into a cup. "So I hope you've learned this lesson now as well. You're not invincible, Touga—much as you might like to think it." She held the cup to his lips, and he drank. "But I suppose if you must go and kill yourself for the sake of pride, I cannot overly complain, since you've fulfilled your obligation to me."

What obligation? he thought, more concerned with the liquid easing his parched throat.

"Though it would be a shame if I had to tell our child that the reason he never met his father was that he died from sheer pigheadedness."

Touga choked on the water, spitting half of it all over the blanket.

Inukimi tsked and took the cup away, shaking the water off her hand. She stood up. "I'll fetch the healer and tell him you're awake."

She took a step away, and a spike of adrenaline jolted through his body. "Kimi…wait."

She turned back towards him with a questioning look on her face. But as he tried to sit up, she frowned and came back to his side, pushing him back down. "You're quite the fussy invalid."

"Are you…really…with child?" he asked, gritting his teeth through the pain as he looked up at her.

She cocked her head to the side and huffed. "Isn't that what I just said?"

Damn it, bitch—you were just going to drop that on me and leave? He would have laughed if it didn't hurt so much. His wife was something else. Would he ever understand her?

Taking a deep breath, he shifted his body, fighting through the pain until he placed his head in her lap. Inukimi's hands flew up in surprise. "Touga, what are you—?" Her words cut off as he practically shoved his nose against her belly. He closed his eyes and took a deep inhale, filtered out the scents of charred flesh and earthy balms that enveloped him. Her scent prickled his nose, familiar and yet…somehow different.

His heart picked up in anticipation, pounding in his ears so much that he had to really listen to find what he was looking for.

A heartbeat like the faintest flutter of a butterfly's wings.

He didn't realize he was crying—not from smoky eyes but from pure joy—until his wife reached down and lifted his tears from the bridge of his nose with her finger.

"Who knew you were so soft inside?" she remarked. "What am I going to do with you, my sentimental, foolish husband?"

From that moment on, Touga did not leave the Sky Palace unless it was for a short journey of the utmost importance. It was the longest he had stayed in one place since he began his campaigns, but he couldn't bring himself to leave his pregnant wife's side.

Even though she was safely pupped with his child, he bristled at any male who looked her way. He pampered her and brought her the freshest blood and choicest meats to nourish their growing heir. And he couldn't help but make sure she was smothered in his scent, rutting her often. Of course, as her libido increased, she initiated plenty of ruts herself, and he was only too happy to appease her.

And while he wouldn't have called her entirely expressionless before, her mood swings allowed him to see entirely new sides of her.

"I cannot take this any longer!" Inukimi snapped, slamming open the doors to their rooms. "How much longer do I have to put up with appearing like a dazed fool in front of my retainers?" she asked, putting a hand to her forehead and taking deep breaths.

"Kimi, calm down. No one believes you to be a fool," Touga answered in a mellow voice, shutting the doors. He wouldn't argue with "dazed," though. She had been losing her train of thought more often than not lately. "They realize your body is directing the bulk of your energy towards growing our pup. It's understandable."

"But I should have more than enough energy for the both of us!"

Until her pregnancy, he had never seen her so stressed and frazzled when she wasn't physically fighting someone. She's too hard on herself. No one would have blamed her for easing up on her royal duties as she gestated, but Inukimi had tried to continue on as normal. Over the last few weeks, however, it became obvious that the pregnancy had zapped both her wits and energy.

He didn't find her any weaker for it. But she obviously did.

Touga strode over and took her hands, bringing her to her chaise. He sat her down and knelt before her, rubbing her hands. "You're doing wonderfully, Kimi. Our child grows stronger every day. I can feel his energy surging, even now."

The day he had been able to sniff out that their child was male had been one of celebration. He would not have minded a female, of course, but he couldn't wait to teach his son the art of war as his father had taught him. Even if their boy was resistant at first, as he had been, Touga was sure he would grow to love fighting in time. It was in his blood.

Inukimi groaned, putting a hand to her belly. "That's because he's sparring with my organs right now." She squeezed her eyes shut, and in the whiniest tone he had ever heard from her, she wheedled, "I'm exhausted, Touga. And I hate it. I have hardly ever needed to sleep before. Now I need it every day. I just feel so weak."

"You are not weak," Touga reassured her, hopping up to sit next to her and pulling her head onto his shoulder. He placed a hand on her belly, instantly feeling a little foot kick. He had been teasing the child with his own energy almost since the beginning of his gestation, but in recent weeks, Touga learned that he could also apply a firm hand to settle the boy down. He summoned his demonic energy, asserting his dominance over the babe. Within seconds, he calmed, but Touga didn't let up, knowing that the child would start up again as soon as he did.

"This little one will be the death of me," Inukimi griped, her voice lethargic.

His wife needed a distraction from her woes. "Have you given anymore thought to a name?" Touga asked.

"He's a Sesshoumaru. The perfect assassin…killing me from the inside."

Touga laughed. "Well, that's a little dramatic, don't you think? Although it is a good, strong name for the son of two of the mightiest demons in the world."

Inukimi didn't answer, and he realized she had fallen asleep.

And while he hadn't been entirely serious, Inukimi kept calling the baby Sesshoumaru throughout the rest of her term, claiming it was a placeholder name until they thought of something better.

But against his better judgement, Touga grew attached to the name.

In the last weeks of pregnancy, when the babe became uncomfortable for her to carry in her human guise, she transformed and stayed in a massive annex that had lain dormant for centuries. Touga learned it was the whelping house, and Inukimi had had servants restoring it for months.

At that point, Touga took on the entirety of their governing duties, and managing their province was far more complicated and tedious than he'd expected. He couldn't believe what his wife dealt with each day, but it made him prouder than ever to call her his.

Still, there was a part of him that couldn't wait for her to be back on her feet and managing these affairs so he could get back to the battlefield. He hadn't had a good fight in a year, and he was itching for one.

But he also remembered her censure, and so whenever he could escape his duties, he instead transformed and stayed in the whelping house with her in solidarity. Her constant whining let him know how much she hated staying cooped up, but with her due date so near and their enemies so many, they could not risk her leaving home to stretch her massive limbs across the land. And while the Sky Palace was enormous, it was not entirely conducive to a dog demon strolling around in its natural form.

Then one day, while he was working, a maid from the whelping house arrived with the news: Inukimi had gone into labor.

He took off running for the annex, but when he reached the doors to it, the guards barred him from entering. He growled at them. "Let me through."

"Apologies, my lord, but the midwife has informed us you are not to enter."

"The midwife? May I remind you that I am your lord—and my wife is in there!" he snapped, his eyes reddening. He would break open the doors in his demon form if he had to.

Just then, the smaller side door within the grand gates opened, and Inukimi's chief lady's maid bustled out. His wife's whines echoed from inside. The maid came and bowed to him. "My lord, the midwife bid me to remind you that the whelping house is no place for males."

"But—"

"She understands your urgency and excitement, my lord, but my lady is going to be feisty and protective of her pup after her ordeal. If you are too eager, she will chase you off, and she does not need that added stress."

Touga faltered, his teal irises flickering back to gold. "So…you're telling me I cannot see my wife and child?"

"I will fetch you when it is safe to come in." Without another word, she returned into the annex.

Touga didn't leave the area outside the gates. He paced back and forth, working off his nervous energy. Inside, every whine, yip, and growl made him flinch. Logically, he knew he had little to fear in terms of his wife's or the pup's safety (birthing was easier in their true forms, so the midwife had once explained), but he was anxious to see Inukimi well—and see the face of the pup he had been anticipating for the last year.

Finally, once the moon had risen high, the door opened. Touga rushed for it, but it was the midwife and not the lady's maid who barred his path and held up a hand to stop him.

"My lord, when you enter, you must remain in this form. I know you will be tempted to transform to bond with your wife and pup, but you must resist. She will feel less threatened if you appear in this guise. Approach her slowly. Show her that you mean neither to mount her nor—"

"Mount her?" Touga cried out, aghast. "Does she think I'm a barbarian?" Admittedly, his already hefty sexual appetite had increased during her pregnancy, but even he wouldn't touch a demoness fresh from labor.

"No, but you are an animal, my lord, and instinct is difficult to ignore. Trust me; I have delivered many a pup in my time, and males oft get confused by the scent of females that have given birth, thinking them receptive…much to their detriment."

Touga couldn't believe he was hearing this. "Anything else?" he asked in a terse voice, his patience wearing thin.

"Yes. Be gentle with the pup. He cannot see or play just yet—"

Did she think he would treat their Sesshoumaru like a doll? In disgust, he pushed past the midwife and into the whelping room. The odor of blood and offal hung like a haze over the room, triggering a rise in his demon. With some surprise, he shook his head to clear away the dark desire to follow that scent and bask in it. Maybe there was some merit to those warnings after all….

And then his eyes locked on Inukimi lying in her massive whelping box on the dais, licking something. Her stomach? Her foot?

Their pup?

Touga ran forward, and her red eyes rolled toward him as his boots clacked against the wooden floor. No sooner had he approached the bottom step of the dais than she turned her head toward him and growled softly.

"Kimi," he murmured, holding out his hand for her to sniff. She did, and when she didn't bite off his limb, he reached out and pet her snout, laying his forehead against her cold nose. "You've done well, wife." When he pulled back and looked into her eyes, he asked, "Will you show me our son?"

She huffed, the blast of air blowing his hair back, but when she turned towards the inside of the box, Touga walked up the rest of the steps and entered the cushioned area. Inukimi kept her head up as if it were a gate allowing him access into an inner sanctum—one she would close in an instant if it pleased her—and when he passed under her, he beheld a round lump of pure white fur, glistening in saliva, that burrowed against her belly.

He approached the pup in awe, reaching out to stroke his head, which already stood as high as his shoulder. He pet his crown, hoping to coax him away from Inukimi's tit so he could see his face. But when the pup didn't move, he scratched under his tiny, tufted ear, and the babe's little tail flicked back and forth a couple times.

Touga chuckled. "You like that, huh? Look at me, my little boy. Don't you recognize your father?" He exerted a little bit of demonic energy against the pup's, and the boy squeaked, shuffling in place, his head flopping over to face him.

Touga broke into a smile. "There you are, son," he breathed. He traced the crescent moon on his forehead and the V-shaped magenta markings beneath his eyes. "Beautiful. Just like your mother." Inukimi huffed in agreement above him, and Touga's grin widened even more. He looked up at his wife. "He looks too cute to be a Sesshoumaru, Kimi. Are you sure about that name?"

Inukimi yipped an affirmative.

Touga turned back to his son. "True. He can grow into the name. Very well. We will hold the naming ceremony in a week's time. Until then, rest as you are."

For dog demons, the child's naming ceremony coincided with the first time it would appear in its human guise. Of course, the child itself would be unable to perform such a feat on its own, so the parents used their energy to guide the child's form. And as puppies did not generally move around much for a few weeks after birth, their son would not feel completely disoriented in being unable to move in a human body—or so the midwife assured them.

Courtiers filled the annex, and Touga and Inukimi stood in their finest robes within the whelping box, the pup resting between them. When a servant rang the gong for the ceremony to begin, Sesshoumaru startled, whining. But both Touga and Inukimi placed their hands on his velvety back. They found the flow of his energy and compressed it, guiding him into his human form. In a flash of light, where once a pup lay, a pale, human-like baby with a little tuft of fur where his tail would be began to cry. Inukimi bent down and took the child into her arms, and the parents had their first look at their son's other form.

"He's magnificent," Touga murmured, caressing's the boy's arm and tracing the little magenta stripes at his wrists and along his ribcage. Thin wisps of silver hair glinted along his crown. A servant then held out a white hankimono to Touga, and he took it and wrapped the child in it as Inukimi held him. Once Sesshoumaru was clothed, he calmed down, blinking open his golden eyes.

Inukimi handed their son to Touga, and he held him up before the court. "I present to you Sesshoumaru, son of Touga of the Storm Clan and Inukimi of the Moon Clan and heir to the Western Province!"

The assembled military pounded the butts of their polearms against the floor, and the nobility all applauded. Then, Touga handed Sesshoumaru back to Inukimi, and he escorted them down the steps and out of the whelping house. They walked in a procession across the palace to begin this new chapter of their lives.

Touga extended his residence at the palace as they adjusted to having a newborn in their lives. It took weeks for Inukimi to recover her energy from pregnancy and birth, for even as she nursed their son, an air of tiredness hung about her. She continued to lament her vulnerability, thought Touga told her to take her time recuperating.

However, once Inukimi's body had returned to normal post-birth, Touga was disheartened to watch as she appeared to close herself off from him again. What happened to the demoness who tracked him down and romped with him in the woods? The one who sought his shoulder when she was exhausted carrying their child? Had her lowered barriers only been a result of her breeding instincts? Nevertheless, he stayed home, trying to deepen the bond not only between father and son but husband and wife.

Thus, for a few years, Touga's armies ceased invading and instead shored up their newest borders. But Kirinmaru did not rest, and as the beast king encroached on the Western Province, Touga couldn't turn a blind eye to him any longer.

He wouldn't admit it to Inukimi, but a part of him was excited by the prospect of returning to the battlefield. It had been too long since he last crossed blades with someone worthy. And as much as he enjoyed getting to know their Sesshoumaru, he wanted to do something for himself again.

On the day he was to depart, he knelt over Sesshoumaru's cradle, playing with him one last time and saying goodbye. Inukimi entered the room just then with a servant in tow. Touga pressed a kiss to Sesshoumaru's moon mark and stood up. His wife beckoned the servant, who held out what appeared to be red robes to him.

"What's this? A parting gift?" he asked, taking them and holding up the red haori and hakama.

"The Robe of the Fire Rat," Inukimi replied. "It is immune to fire. This time, should you face Homura again, you will not return to me as charred meat."

Touga's heart soared. He had heard of the fire rat tribe. Their wares were notoriously expensive—or they came with a tricky price. Yet his wife had gone through the trouble to procure one for him?

She does care, he realized. She just doesn't show it well. Why was I worried all this time?

"Thank you, Kimi. I'll wear it proudly," he said, bending down and pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

She sucked in a breath and pulled back while the servant glanced away. "Touga, what have I said about public displays of affection?"

"Isn't giving me this gift a public display of affection, my wife?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

Inukimi looked away, and in that moment, Touga wished he didn't have to go. He wanted to take her then and there and make her cheeks flush in the way he knew only he could. Perhaps he could delay his departure by another day. He would drive her so wild with pleasure that she would have no choice but to admit that she cared for him.

"Does this mean you'll miss me?" he asked.

"General Touga!" a dog demon called out from the hallway. "We are ready to depart on your orders."

He clicked his tongue and looked back to his wife for her answer.

Instead, she gestured to the door. "You should go. They're waiting for you."

Disappointment doused the embers of his excitement, and he nodded in resignation, walking past her.

"But remember that Sesshoumaru and I are waiting for you as well," she added.

Touga stopped at the door and smiled. He looked over his shoulder. "I won't keep you waiting long."

Nara Period, Reiki Era, 3rd Year (717 CE)

The second time Touga woke up at home without remembering how he'd gotten there, his first reaction was panic.

His torso felt as if hot pokers had skewered it at random. Which made sense, now that he thought about it. Somehow, that damn Panther King had slipped past his defenses and impaled him on his insanely long talons. Touga reached up towards his heart, surprised to find it still beating. An abyss of pain throbbed just beneath it.

That had been too close a call.

"Does it hurt?" his wife asked.

Touga glanced over, finding her once again seated at his side, though her blasé expression masked any emotion she might have felt. "Yes."

"Good. Maybe you'll remember that pain next time you rush into battle again."

He gave a halfhearted chuckle and closed his eyes. "I suppose it was stupid of me to expect pity from my dear wife."

"You underestimated them because they are cats. Just because they are inferior lifeforms does not make them poor warriors."

Touga sighed. "You can chasten me another time, Kimi. Just let me rest."

She was silent for several seconds before saying, "Sesshoumaru is worried about you, you know."

Touga smiled. "Yes, I can hear him pacing outside."

"He wants to be just like his father when he grows up. But I keep telling him to be smarter than his father, so he doesn't end up dead." Her voice softened. "It will devastate him if something happens to you."

"And will it devastate you if something happens to me?" Touga asked, meeting her gaze.

Inukimi held his stare. Finally, she admitted. "Of course."

His heart lifted until her next words came out.

"I pride myself on having married the strongest demon alive. If something happens to you, what does that say about me?"

He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Of course she wouldn't admit it. To Inukimi, having feelings was a vulnerability. But they had been married for almost two centuries. Couldn't she open up to him, at least, by now?

I wish I could read or mind. Or at least know what she's feeling.

That thought triggered a memory. What was it?

Mate, his demon supplied.

His heart lurched. Mate her?

For a second, the idea appealed. Mating was supposed to let the couple feel each other's emotions. His wife wouldn't be such a mystery to him anymore.

And yet, mating was so…permanent. He wasn't bothered by the fact that she would feel his emotions as well. But their lives would be tied together; if one died, the other would follow. That involved an incredible amount of trust.

Touga looked down at the bloody bandages wrapped around his torso. She would never agree to it. Not now, at least. Maybe in a few hundred years, when she's forgotten this little episode.

Of course, that meant he would have to be more careful as well. Would he have to forgo the choicest of fights if he mated her, out of respect for her life?

Did he even want to mate her? Mating had always been described to him as a bond of love. Did he love her? He had always been in awe of Inukimi, and it was because of her that he had striven to conquer this land. She had been his goal as a youth, and now he had her, and he was happy. So did that mean…?

A knock brought him out of his thoughts. The door cracked open and a little head of smooth, white hair peeked inside. "Father?" Sesshoumaru's soft voice called out. Touga smiled, his pain momentarily banished. His campaign against the Panther Tribe took longer than he'd expected, and he hadn't seen his son in ages.

I just wish he didn't have to see me looking so defeated….

"Your father's resting, Sesshoumaru," Inukimi said, standing up. "I was just leaving myself."

"It's fine. Let him come," Touga replied, his desire to see the boy winning over his shame.

Sesshoumaru ran inside with the bouncing energy of a child. His shoulder-length silver hair brushed his shoulders as he bounded over, but when he saw Touga's bandaged form, he stopped, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Father, what happened? How did you get hurt so badly?"

"Ah, take this as a lesson, son. Never pull a cat by the tail. They're particularly sensitive about them," he said. He reached out and tugged on Sesshoumaru's little fur, but even that much movement made his wounds pull. He winced and groaned in pain.

"Tsk. You brought that on yourself," Inukimi muttered.

"Father, you're not going to die, are you?" Sesshoumaru asked, his golden eyes growing wide with concern.

Touga forced on a tiny smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "No, son. Your father would never succumb to the likes of a mere cat." He cut a dark look at his wife. Sesshoumaru had likely heard his mother's criticisms, no matter that she'd tried to keep quiet.

He decided to redirect the boy's attention. "Have you been practicing your fighting skills while I've been away?"

Sesshoumaru beamed, and Touga was pleased to see that some of his own personality had rubbed off onto their son. He admired Inukimi, but he didn't want Sesshoumaru to be as emotionally constipated as she was. He hoped the boy would enjoy life and not make a pretense out of everything.

"Yes! And I've been practicing my flying too." Sesshoumaru scrunched his brows together and then levitated into the air—a little wobbly, but soon enough, he was hovering above Touga and the futon.

Touga grinned at him. "Very good, son. Now, show me your fighting form."

"Yes, sir!" Sesshoumaru called out. He threw a punch at an invisible enemy and then a kick. "And when someone tries to attack me from behind, I'll use my special move!" He tried to fly up in a loop, but just as he got to the apex of the circle, he wobbled. With a cry, he lost hold of his concentration and fell—heading straight for Touga's injured body. Touga braced himself for the pain and impact, but Inukimi reached out and snagged the boy, setting him down on his feet.

"Sesshoumaru, enough roughhousing. You could have seriously injured your father. Now return to your room."

"But Mother, I want to talk with Father more."

"Now," Inukimi growled. Sesshoumaru flinched and slumped away, his fur dragging languidly along the ground.

"You didn't have to banish him, Kimi," Touga said as Sesshoumaru closed the door. "I want to see him too. It's been months."

Inukimi frowned. "Then come home more often. He'll be a grown demon before you know it."

The bite in her words surprised him. "I want to, but I need to keep you and our people safe." Kirinmaru had been only the first of the powerful demons he'd come across during his wars, and the beast king was still a threat. Now there was the Panther King too.

And yet, despite the danger, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of their battles. These were the rare adversaries who lit a fire in his blood. He knew Inukimi would understand. After all, she had felt the same upon meeting him again, hadn't she?

Inukimi narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps you could keep us safe by no longer picking fights."

Touga frowned. "What?"

"Haven't you conquered enough, Touga?"

His brows puckered in confusion. "I walk The Way of Supreme Conquest. You know this. Not only is there so much of the main island alone I have yet to take, but I hear that the land to the north is a challenge all on its own." When Inukimi's expression didn't change, he took a deep breath, fighting through the pain, and added, "This is my dream, Kimi, and you've always supported it. …Has that changed?"

"No, Touga. But our situation has changed. Sesshoumaru is that change. Perhaps it's time you put these dreams on hold. Japan will still be here when he's grown up. But if you keep going on like this…I fear that you won't."

She left, and her words burned like another gouge in his heart.

AN: Were you surprised that Sesshoumaru was a happy child? I like to think of that one Hisako Sato drawing of Touga with a young, smiling Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. Think about it—a lot of kids have a different temperament when they get older! But also, no worries—I will be addressing Sesshoumaru's drastic change into the stoic grump we all know and love.