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His little fingers extended, further until his haori's sleeves could no longer cover them. Towards the clouds, to the top. His father's silver hair moved in the wind and fluttered between his fingers, tickling him, while the demon wrapped him with an arm and his stole. Inuyasha had his chin resting on his shoulder, he was looking towards the lands they left behind, towards the castle that was leaving in the distance, that place where he lived with his mother until the mortality of human nature took her from him.
Riding the sky in the arms of a demon was bustling, he realized. The noise of the wind thundered annoyingly on his ears, the small appendages contracted towards his also silver hair in search of refuge. But his fingers kept stretching, trying to reach some clouds that would soon be in the past.
He didn't want to leave them, he wanted to keep a handful of clouds with him. A handful of the clouds he had admired with his mother on sunny afternoons, a handful of the clouds that had provided pleasant shade during his long hours of play in the palace garden.
The same clouds that had dropped rainwater in his delicate ears, the clouds that served to leave his mother amazed by his imagination, when he saw horses and hares furrowing the sky.
Inuyasha wanted to keep them between the folds of his clothes, inside his red haori, to always carry his handful of clouds that would remind him of his mother's love. The warmth of her affection, the softness of her caresses, the scent of her protective embrace.
He closed his eyes and let his father's hair tickle in the palm of his outstretched hand, he had no idea how long they had been flying through the clouds, over the top of the mountains. All he knew is that his mother's palace would be left behind, now it would be other clouds that would see him grow slowly because of his demon blood, now it would be other clouds that would have to accompany him in the pain of his loss.
He wouldn't cry anymore, he wouldn't. Despite his young age he understood that his mother would not return, the decades had passed quickly and while he continued to look like a five-year-old boy, his mother had been fully affected by the passage of time, a fact that no human could circumvent.
In life Izayoi had filled her little son with tenderness and love, she had fought against the old age of her last years to give Inuyasha all the affection she knew, he would need once her life ended.
Now his father would take care of him, Inu no Taishou had not been an absent figure during his growth, but the love of a mother couldn't be replaced by even the sincerest affection, nor by the purest devotion.
The clouds continued to change, now showing a slight orange coloration as the sunset began to fall. The wind no longer bothered his ears, first he thought he was already used to it, then he realized that his father's stole now also protected his head, hiding him inside a cocoon of soft white fur. It was warm as a blanket would be on a cold winter afternoon, or so would his mother's hug during the darkest nights, when he had nightmares and couldn't sleep.
Inuyasha snuggled a little deeper into that shelter and heaved a shaky sigh, a melancholy sigh, a sigh that was not meant to manifest itself in the mouth of a child at such a young age.
Everything hurt, his chest was tight and he really didn't want to cry anymore. His fingertips were frozen from being exposed so long to the blast wind around them, when he contracted his hand it was only to hold on with both fists to his father's clothes. He hid his face in the hollow of the demon's neck, his sense of smell captured his scent, and then he closed his eyes more tightly than before. His hands trembled, but they didn't release.
He tried to hide a first cry of lament, his father's scent had always symbolized calm, but it wasn't at all similar to his mother's, to the sweetness of her concern. He didn't want to forget it, he didn't want to leave it behind as he was leaving behind the palace and his childhood clouds.
A large warm palm rested on his head, the stole tickled at the tips of his ears, a tilt from his father's face sent some of the demon's hair brushing against the child's cheek.
“I'm going to miss her too.”
It was a solid and serious statement, but Inuyasha sensed the feeling within those words. His father's voice didn't tremble at any time, his speed through the sky didn't decrease, they were still moving forward, towards a new palace, towards a place where he would have no memories of his mother and where he wouldn't find her faint fragance that would fade away over the weeks.
Despite his young age, Inuyasha also understood that his mother had left an imprint on Inu no Taishou's soul. A powerful demon, capable of living thousands of years, he had been touched by the fragility of a human woman, who with her departure all she left behind were memories and a saddened child in his arms.
Fifty-eight years could be a brief blink in the life of someone like Inu no Taishou, but here he was, flying through the clouds with a half-breed son in his arms, after having buried a human who had been overcome by age.
Then Inuyasha sought to hide further in his father's neck, and finally cried. He cried like a child would when he knew he was clinging to the only person he had left in the world, the only person who cares about him.
_______________________
Inuyasha's eyelashes fluttered in his awakening, seeking to scare away some tears that still clung to them. He was still surrounded by his father's warm fur, but what once felt like a silky glide through the clouds was now footsteps. The demon was walking, they had arrived, but Inuyasha didn't know where.
Around him murmurs were heard, instinctively the child contracted due to the unknown environment, and then he noticed how his father's body tensed as a sign of protection. Something that gave him slight relief.
“My Lord, your son is waiting for you after the announcement of your arrival, just as you requested.” A woman said.
Son?
Inuyasha wanted to lift his face to look questioningly at his father, but due to the stole that still covered him, under the fur he only caught a glimpse of his scratched cheek when he nodded.
The demon seemed to change the direction of his steps, Inuyasha could only cling a little more with his small fists to the other's clothes, feeling invaded by some uncertainty and fear.
He didn't hear any more voices surrounding them, he didn't know if that calmed him down or if it only made him more uneasy than before. His father moved with firmness and pride in his walk, probably wearing an impressive presence and height, the child felt even smaller in his arms.
The sound of a door opening and he imagined that they had entered a room, the smells changed, he no longer heard the soft whistle of the wind, perhaps before they walked through a hallway or a similar place.
“Father.”
Someone mentioned.
Instantly Inuyasha's curiosity shot up, not noticing that he had stirred as a restless little lump under Inu no Taishou's stole.
“Sesshoumaru, I was hoping that you would finally meet Inuyasha.” His father said.
Such words twitched Inuyasha again, he didn't realize when his hands had let go of the demon's haori, but he couldn't hold it again, the soft fur untangled from his body and suddenly he was being placed on the ground, standing in front of a stranger.
Is this how calves felt at birth? Disoriented, being suddenly pulled out of their warm lair, their legs trembling like jelly and each sense on high alert.
He immediately decided that he didn't like freedom, he turned to his father who was watching him with a calm smile and determination in his eyes.
“Inuyasha, he is your brother.” The demon revealed.
His small ears blinked with interest, before turning back to the third presence in the room.
It was a man who looked much younger than his father, who wore black hakama, white haori with gray cranes on the fold of the sleeves, and dark blue obi. Inuyasha saw at once the similarities, the shiny silver hair, the golden eyes. The man had marks on his cheeks just like his father, almost human but pointed ears, unlike his own.
Does that mean he is also a demon?
Inuyasha felt the question a little absurd, this person was practically the same as his father, with different marks on his cheeks, but still there. The moon on his forehead made him hesitate for a moment, although all the other elements quickly formed a more solid theory about it.
My brother.
He didn't dare say it out loud, but his big boyish eyes couldn't hide the impending intrigue and curiosity. He was still frozen in place, one step from his father, the feeling of being unprotected was gone and now he was only focused on looking into those golden eyes like his. Not even worried if that was uncomfortable or annoying to the other.
The man looked back at him without saying anything either, his face so calm it could have been unsettling, but Inuyasha didn't seem to notice it within his childhood innocence.
Finally, overcome by the fascination of discovery, Inuyasha took a first step forward to approach the other man, while a genuine smile appeared on his face for the first time in a long time.