Devotion by Leloi Human lovers… That’s what they call my family… and though it bothers me, there’s nothing I can really say to disprove it.  My father mated with another demon, his twin sister to produce me, but deep down his devotion had always been to humans.  Just as my mother was devoted… just as I am destined to be.  Then he had to go and prove it by mating with a human female.  Their offspring… my half-brother too is devoted to humans.  Already he has fallen for one woman… and now another.  Fidelity is strong in my family, but sometimes the circumstances change and we have to adapt.  For instance… my mother’s death let my father seek out another mate to take her place.  My brother did the same… His first woman stands before me, her eyes showing all the contempt she holds for those with demon blood.  I could argue that my brother carries the same blood in his veins, but I know she would never understand that.  And whereas she was beautiful in life, her spirit wasn’t strong enough to get past that one flaw in her reasoning.  The only reason my brother ever had a chance with her was his humanity.  His new woman is… stronger.  Perhaps his first woman glares at me because she KNOWS this to be true.  “You really hate her that much?”  I can understand jealousy.  It’s an emotion that some demons know all too well.  I too have fallen under its spell.  The attention my father gave his human mate and their child made me burn with contempt… that he would cast away his life with no thought to me… his own heir. “I hate all living things.”  Those are typical words from those that are dead.  They envy all that have life. “Don’t underestimate Kagome.”  I know first hand how dedicated she is to my brother.  I have seen the things her spirit can do without even trying, just because he needs her to.  And I daresay… he needs her a lot more than his pride cares to admit.  The woman before me studied all her life to do what his new woman does effortlessly and without shame of loving one with demon blood.  “Are you, perhaps testing her?”  My words seem to strike a chord in the resurrected miko.  I know she constantly tests her incarnation’s devotion to the man she once claimed to love… to see if she’s worthy of him.  But I think she also does it to see how devoted he is to Kagome.  In her own way she is strengthening the bond between my brother and his current woman.  With each slight and transgression, the hanyou just seems to grow stronger and more confident of his relationship… enough to open up to her and trust her with his life.  But there is hatred in this resurrection.  It is the way of restless souls.  Her very nature demands that she make retribution.  I know she means to take him away from this world.  “Just remember, the one who will take Inuyasha’s life is me.”  The former miko seems bothered by my statement.  Good. As I leave her there, I ponder my own words.  Did I have any real intention of killing my brother?  I am certain that if he ever went too far and he had to be stopped, it would be by my own hand.  Let his blood be spilled by one of his own blood… not of one that hates him.  Hates him?  Do I not hate him?  His existence is proof that my family is nothing more than human lovers… and perhaps I too have become a stronger demon by learning first hand about that love.  But kill him?  Not unless I had to.  But I claim that right above all others that would wish to destroy him.  It’s a matter of family honor, not hate. Rin runs around me, excited to see my return.  Little things like my return to her make her happy.  Yes… I’m beginning to grow stronger, understanding the devotion.  That is a dog demon’s nature.    Back to the Gallery