Work Text:
The Other Son
Golden eyes reflected the rays of sunshine which added to their radiant luster. He moved with grace and speed, practically dancing across the ground as his hair trailed behind. His hair twisted and swirled with each move he made. A slight breeze passed, tugging at the silky, silvery strands in every which way. The way his locks twirled in the wind was a tribute to his beautifully wild nature. And such a perfectly beautiful being he was….
“Mother?”
The childish plea pulled Izayoi from her daydreams of a man who had long since passed. She looked down into the inhuman, molten gold eyes of her only son. He watched her with much concern. Placing a gentle hand atop his head she asked, “Yes, my dearest? What is it?”
InuYasha’s frown didn’t falter as he held his mother’s gaze. The young boy held onto his gold-colored ball that was shades different from the color of his eyes or those of his sire. “Mother, are you thinking of father again? Are you sad?” He questioned her urgently, desperately hoping she would not cry. He had never seen his mother cry before and the thought of such unsettled him.
Izayoi blinked down at the pup, slightly taken aback by her son’s anxious tone. She watched as his little canine ears drooped, broadcasting his worry. She smiled down at him, “Of course not, my darling. As long as you are near, I have no reason to feel anything but the utmost joy.”
InuYasha studied his mother’s face for a moment longer before allowing himself to smile back. He dropped the ball and embraced his most precious person tightly.He let go only to turn around and lean back into her.
Izayoi folded her hands neatly on his stomach and held her son close. True to their routine, she kissed the tips of both his ears before releasing him. “Come, InuYasha,” she called playfully while trying to skip the best she could manage in the many extravagant layers of her clothing. “Toss the ball to me. We shall catch!”
InuYasha beamed at her. He loved these moments when it was just him and his mother, playing with no care in the world. Though sometimes he wondered if his father would have ever played with him like this had he not died. It was not that his mother didn’t love him enough, he just couldn’t help but wonder. He only knew his father through stories and his mother’s memories. And there was no one in the palace who spoke to him; some didn’t even spare him a glance. Even though he didn’t really understand it, InuYasha sometimes reasoned it was better when they didn’t. But out here, in the forest’s clearing away from his home, everything was perfect.
He picked up his little golden ball once more, “Here, mother!” InuYasha lifted the ball over his head to give it his mightiest throw he could muster for being a child.
Izayoi, standing only a handful of paces away, leaned forward and caught it. “Very good, my dear,” she called as she passed the ball back to the half-breed pup with an underhanded toss.
InuYasha caught the ball and giggled in delight. He lifted his arms to throw the ball once more. Just as it was leaving his grasp, his nose gave a sharp twitch. The ball bounced passed Izayoi as she studied his faced. His brows were furrowed, as if he were confused or trying to recall something he had forgotten
“InuYasha? What is it?”
“I, think I smell someone.” He tested the air again, and then once more, “Someone I don’t know.”
Izayoi had few experiences with youkai outside of her time with the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands. She had learned much from the Dog General in their short few years together however she wasn’t sure what was only true to inu youkai and what pertained to most demons. As she recalled, one of his most predominant senses was his sense of smell.
Izayoi turned as she watched the ball rolled to a stop at the feet of a stranger just outside of the clearing. InuYasha ran to the retrieve his toy before his mother could grab him. The boy was rarely outside the walls of his home and when he was he was never alone. He didn’t know to avoid those he was unfamiliar with.
He made it all the way to the man’s feet before looking up. “Hey, you smell different than my mother and other humans! Would you like, to--?” Looking up, InuYasha could only stare up at the tall man. He stood frozen, staring right up into golden eyes with slit pupils.
The stranger stared back down at the pup, curling his lip in disgust.
Izayoi stared at the man, too. His gold-colored eyes, his silver hair, the markings on his face…a sense of anticipation sparked through her being. “Are you his son?” She asked breathless.
The demon looked up slowly and glared at her.
“Y-you, must be. You must be the other son of my dearest,” she said, though it sounded almost like a plea.
She was pitiful, the way she stumbled forward with an arm outstretched. Still, his eyes narrowed at being called the other son. He was legitimate and not to be compared to his father’s bastard. Then, for a reason he couldn’t comprehend, the human woman smiled. “I’m so pleased to finally met y—“
“Silence.”
Izayoi’s lips immediately twisted downward into a confused frown. She was nobility...no one ordered her about. And yet this man stared at her with a deep disdain. That one word was enough for her to understand that this situation was not as joyous as she first hoped.
“You will not speak of my father, human,” he spoke with venom dripping off every word. “You are the reason for his miserable death, you, and this hanyou.”
InuYasha’s left ear cocked to the side announcing his utter confused. His mother always told him his father died protecting him and his mother. And, what was a ‘hanyou’? He’d never heard such a word. And, his mother had called him the ‘other son of me dearest’? Did that mean--?
He gave a tug on the leg of the man’s hakama. “Sir, what’s a—“And with one swift kick, InuYasha fell to the ground, clutching his stomach as he howled, both out of surprise as well as out of pain. He had never had so much as a hand raised to him before, but for someone to actually strike him? Let alone this man who he never laid eyes on before? All these questions were storming into his mind at once but he was in too much pain and shock to focus on them. He bit his lip as he tried not to cry.
Izayoi gasped, one hand clasped over her heart, the other over her mouth. His previous threat forgotten, Izayoi’s adrenaline pulsed in her and she moved to run to her son’s defense. She only managed a single step before the man, who moved so swiftly, seemed to vanish from his stop on the edge of the clearing, only to reappear right before her. She jumped but made no move to back off. Her eyes darted to glance at her young prince.
“You dare allow yourself a distraction when facing me? Look at me, woman,” Sesshoumaru demanded coolly.
Izayoi’s eyes lingered on her son a second or two longer until a deep growl called her attention. She tried to keep her eyes from flickering to her boy from the demon as she desperately tried to think up a plan of escape. She couldn’t stop herself though. Her first and last concerns were always the safety and well-being of her child.
It was what he waited for. With that single glimpse, Sesshoumaru pounced. In response to her lack of focus upon him, a fearsome, taloned hand clasped around her neck. “I demanded simply your attention. Your inability to listen to orders will cost you dearly, woman.” His voice betrayed him, giving evidence to the fury and disdain his face did not.
Sesshoumaru’s hand gradually squeezed tighter and tighter. Izayoi gasped as she felt his claws press deeper and deeper into her neck. She was not used to such pain. She waited for the warm trickling of blood to tell her when his nails broke the delicate surface of her skin. She tried not to show her fear but she couldn’t stop the pain induced groan from escaping her throat. In her mind she cursed herself for leaving the safety of her home without any guards. This one mistake could very well cost her life and the life of her son. ‘I only wanted him to spend time away from all those discriminating eyes.’
InuYasha, meanwhile, opened his eyes, sorely sitting up when he heard his mother’s groan. “M-mother--?!” More and more questions buzzed in InuYasha’s head, a furious curiosity filled him like angry bees that wouldn’t leave him and grew quickly in number. He watched in horror as his mother was being choked right before him. His little world felt as if it was crumbling before his very eyes. No. He would protect his mother no matter what, just as she always had protected him. He tried to push his pain and fear aside as he bared his small fangs and stood up.
Izayoi’s eye cracked open just enough for her to see her young son rising to his feet. She prayed silently that he was running away, only to see him take a step toward her and her attacker. “N—nuh,” she tried to plead.
“’No’? Surely you can do better than that,” Sesshoumaru’s sadistic teasing was a misunderstanding. He didn’t realize she was trying to order her son to escape. She whimpered yet over that Sesshoumaru heard something else.
A small, pathetic excuse for a growl sounded behind him. “You not going to hurt my mother! I won’t let you!!” InuYasha tried to roar as he ran at Sesshoumaru, displaying his tiny claws. He had never tried to fight before, let alone had possessed a threatening thought. The closest he ever even gotten to witnessing a battle was whenever he managed to watch soldiers-in-training and samurai of the manor practice with their bamboo shinai in mock duels. He always hid, for should he be seen they would cease their activities and tell him to leave. Or worse, they would tell his mother when she had already told him not to do go the dojo.
He attached to Sessshomaru’s leg and began throwing his fists in an unfamiliar manner. InuYasha growled and flung his hands wildly and tried to hurt the demon. Unfortunately, his claws couldn’t scratch when he only managed to get them caught in the fabric of Sesshoumaru’s hakama.
“So, you wish to face me yourself?” It was humorous to Sesshoumaru that this mere half-pup thought he could possibly stand a chance against him. InuYasha’s distraction caused the demon’s grip on Izayoi’s neck slackened enough that she was able to take a gasping breath.
“No, you mustn’t harm him! I beg you, leave him, my lord! InuYasha, my dearest, run!”
Sesshoumaru released the woman and let her fall to the ground. He focused his attention on his little half-sibling. InuYasha let go of Sesshoumaru’s leg as soon as his mother hit the ground. In one smooth motion he bent down and snatched up InuYasha by the front of his red robes. They glared at one another, though InuYasha’s ear laid flat into his hair. Sesshoumaru finally broke the silence, “Are you ignorant of who I am?”
InuYasha swallowed hard, “Please don’t hurt my mother.” It was getting uncomfortable to be held up in such a manner and he wiggled in the demon’s grasp.
Sesshoumaru sighed in annoyance, “I am Sesshoumaru, the heir to the West; great and terrible like my father before me.”
By this point, Izayoi sat up, the black spots disappearing from her vision. She moved to her knees and implored, “Please, leave him be, my lord. His is only a child.”
InuYasha’s ear perked up, “My father was Lord of the West, too. He died.”
Sesshoumaru arched one slender eyebrow at the hanyou, “Do you understand?” He let the boy drop to the ground and InuYasha yelped in surprised. He landed on his hands and feet but looked up to see Sesshoumaru looming over him. He covered his nose and gagged when a new, vicious scent reached his nose. Izayoi could smell it, too. It was the sweet and stinging scent of poison that clung in the air.
Sesshoumaru’s claws were glowing a terrifying green. His knuckles crackled as he raised his hand over the child.
Izayoi cried out, “Why seek us out? What would your father have to say about your actions?”
Sesshoumaru’s glare slanted towards her. He looked her over once before retorting, “I believe it is quite clear that I do not agree with all of my late father’s choices, you miserable wretch.” He then focused his glare on InuYasha.
Izayoi’s heart was beating rapidly. Her child quivered with fear as his elder sibling loomed over him. She caught the way the sun reflected off of Sesshoumaru’s claws and tears sprung to her eyes. He was going to strike and her only child would be dead! She grasped at the last straw she could think of to save her child’s life, “He has your father’s blood!”
She was relieved and almost shocked at his falter in movement. Sesshoumaru growled, “Only half of his blood belongs to my father. The other half of it is your vermin blood that runs through his veins which defines his scandalous conception and worthless existence.”
It took Izayoi everything she had inside to not comment on his verbal abuse. She persisted desperately with her argument, “Yes, he is only your half-brother but he is your kin nonetheless. That half is your link to him and his link to your father. And I know you can see the resemblance as clear as I; he will have his eyebrows; you both have his nose and eyes and his hair! Hating him is like denying yourself one final connection to your father!”
Again, Sesshoumaru paused. His nostrils flared as he glared down his nose at her. The slight twitch of his nose did not go unnoticed by Izayoi. She remembered how her dearly-departed lover would do the same thing, especially when she challenged him or when he went into deep thought. It provided an out-of-place sense of comfort, despite the situation at hand. Up until that moment, Izayoi was almost sure that this day would her son’s last. Her heart skipped a beat, hoping that Sesshoumaru’s reaction was not out of annoyance, or worse, rage.
Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru let Izayoi’s words run through his mind once more. ‘Connection to father? He is no connection of mine to father. Nor would he be the last. There is only one thing for which this Sesshoumaru desires that is a link to father and that is the fang I seek.’
A tense moment passed until Sesshoumaru hissed, “My connections to my Father do not lie in the hands of a dirty, little half-breed.” With that, the energy and poison that illuminated his brilliant claws dissipated into thin air.
InuYasha was frozen where he sat in the grass as the youkai glared down at him. Then without another word, The taiyoukai turned on his heels and walked out of the clearing the way he came. “Remember this Sesshoumaru’s face and scent, little brother. I promise this meeting shall not be our last.” And as fast as he had appeared, Sesshoumaru was gone.
Izayoi remained on her knees, staring at the now empty space where Sesshoumaru had stood just moments ago.
“Mother!” InuYasha ran to her.
Drained of all her energy she crawled on her hands and knees to him.
He collapsed into her arms, “Mother, are you okay?” He whispered.
Izayoi held her young prince in a fierce hug. Her heart was beating intensely, frightened and overwhelmed. “My dearest,” she shuddered, holding her son close to her heart, “it is you that I am concerned about!” The princess kissed and hugged and cradled and rocked her little boy back and forth as she made soothing sounds and whispered reassurances while she checked him for injuries.
‘Sesshoumaru….’ InuYasha repeated the name in his head as he memorized his face and scent. He still didn’t really know him but what he thought he understood disturbed him. Furthermore, Sesshoumaru hurt his mother. InuYasha could smell the fear and sadness seeping through his mother’s scent. He squeezed his eyes shut, holding her even tighter and burying his face into her clothing.
The tears of hurt and confusion in InuYash’s eyes threaten to spill over. He bit his lower lip as he turned his head, staring into the empty space where the dog demon once stood. ‘If you’re what whole is, Sesshoumaru,, I’m glad I’m only half. I never want to be whole like you,’ he thought painfully. He hugged his mother tighter.
Izayoi looked to where Sesshoumaru had gone and shuddered as she reflected on the encounter.
His golden eyes had reflected the sun, gleaming with the deadly intent of a predator. He had moved with practiced stealth and speed, stalking his prey and trailed behind him a path of devastation and fear. His hair, long and silk-like was much like his father’s. The powerful aura of youki had rolled off him in waves, moving entire locks of hair like a breeze. Such a horrifying and cruel being he was.