“You have nothing, insolent whelp,” the older demon sneered, easily dodging an attack.

His brother stumbled past him, following the arc of the sword he held.  “Shut up!” he snarled and swung again.

“No power… no lands… no security,” his brother remarked with each swing of the sword.  “You don’t even have a bed to take pleasures from your woman,” he smiled and dodged another swing.

“You fucking asshole!” the other spat in rage.

“Language, Inuyasha,” the older demon grinned.  “Oh, I’ve hit a nerve in you, haven’t I?” he cooed.  “Is it something you don’t want your woman to hear?” he asked, glancing towards the girl with the drawn bow.  “Do you plan to take her like a mongrel in the street with dust as your bed and rocks as your pillow… Like your whore of a mother and my father?”

Inuyasha swung at him in a blind rage, repeating “you fucking asshole” as a mantra, as if the words would help him land a blow.

“Will your woman spread her pretty legs for you, as your mother did for my father… or for me?”

Inuyasha stopped and stared at Sesshoumaru in horror.  “I’ll kill you,” he finally whispered.

Sesshoumaru smiled.  “I think not.  I’ll let you fester in that knowledge.  Goodbye, brother,” he whispered and left.

“No!” Inuyasha screamed, taking a step towards him, but he was already gone.  The half demon knelt on the ground.  “Mother,” he moaned.

Kagome walked cautiously to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Inuyasha turned his head to stare at her.  The pity in her eyes tore at his soul.  If it had been any other’s eyes, he would have gouged them out, but hers he endured.  He closed his eyes so he couldn’t see her looking at him.  The pain in his heart threatened to make him explode.  He threw back his head.  “Mother!”

*        *       *

“My darling,” she laughed, catching him and holding him close.

“Mama, look what I got for you,” the little half demon giggled, presenting her with a chubby fist.

“For me?” she asked, holding out her hand.

“It’s a rock,” he said proudly as he left it in the palm of her hand.

“A very pretty rock,” she said quietly, staring at the small, smooth stone.  “I have something for you too,” she said, carrying him to the cupboard.  She opened it and took out a package.

“What is it?” the little demon asked eagerly.

“Shh…” his mother whispered, kneeling with him on the floor.

He slid off her hip and investigated the package.  “Can I open it?”

She smiled and nodded.

He tore into the package excitedly and stood dumbfounded at its contents.  “Clothes,” he said quietly.

His mother lifted up the red haori to show him.  “This is special, Inu-chan.  You’re father had it made for you.  It’s magical.”

“Really?” the little boy’s eyes went wide in wonder.

“It is made from the fur of a firerat.  It will heal on its own and protect you.”

“Wow,” he replied, touching the jacket.

“Your father also made sure that it would grow with you, to protect you for your whole life.”

The little boy smiled and stood expectantly.  His mother dressed him as he inspected his new clothes with satisfaction.

“Your father would have been very proud of how grown up you are,” she smiled.

He collapsed against her and snuggled.  He loved to snuggle… to hear her heartbeat and smell her scent.

“Mama, where is my father?” he asked quietly.

“He died, my darling, protecting us,” she murmured and held him.

“Why?”

“Because he loved us, very much,” was her reply.

He lounged in her warm arms.

“Are you ready for sleep?” she asked, scratching behind his ears.

“No…” he responded, but he was already falling asleep.

She carried him to their futon and tucked him in.  She kissed him goodnight and went away. 

His mother shaking him awaked him late that night.  “Inu-chan, listen to me… I want you to hide in the cupboard and don’t come out no matter what you hear.  Do you understand?”

The little boy nodded and stumbled obediently to the cupboard.  He listened in the darkness.

There was a loud noise and a voice he didn’t know.  “You… you know why I’m here.”

“Leave, I don’t know where it is,” his mother said.

“Of course you do.  He created it for you.”

“Leave!”

“Don’t play with me, wench.  Tell me where it is.”

“I don’t know!”

“There are ways…”

An overwhelming silence filled the room followed by muffled movement.

“No…” his mother finally sobbed.  He wanted to go to her, but he promised.

There was a sound of movement and his mother’s ragged sobbing.

“Where is the bastard?”

“He’s not here, he’s gone out,” she replied laboriously.

“I daresay, he might know more…”

“No!  He’s just a child!  Please… spare him.”

“Insolent wench!”

His mother grunted.

“Can’t take it?  Am I too much for you?  Not like my father, am I?  He’d never force a lady… and you are such a lady, aren’t you?  Silently taking everything I give, with no thought of yourself.  You make me sick!”

A sound of metal sliced through the air.  There was a gurgling noise.  He wanted to see what was going on, but he had promised.  He waited in the darkness to the sound of silence.

Eventually he closed his eyes and began to dream.  He was standing in a field with a large dog and mother.  She held her arms open to him and he ran to her.  “Mama!” 

“My baby,” she cried, burying her face in his hair. 

“Don’t cry, mama,” he said quietly, observing the dog.

“I can’t help it… oh, my darling… I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Why?”

The dog shimmered and became a man with long, white hair and pointed ears.  “My son,” his voice rumbled.  “I need you to be strong.”

“Why?” the little boy demanded, staring at the strange man.

The man regarded him silently.  “Inuyasha… When you wake you are going to be alone.”

“What do you mean?” Inuyasha asked.  His mother shifted her hold on him so she could look in his eyes.

“I have to leave you, my child,” she said.

“No, mama…”

“I don’t want to, dearest.  But I can’t stop it.  I need you to be strong and remember everything I taught you, like a good boy.”

Inuyasha bowed his head in aching acceptance.  Tears welled up in his eyes.  “Can’t I come with you?”

“No, child.  You must live.  There are many things you have left to do.”

“But mama…”

His mother looked away and began to cry.  Strong arms took him away from her. 

“Inuyasha… my son,” the man whispered, holding the boy gently.  They stared at each other for a long moment.  “You must live.  You must grow up.  We did all we could to protect you.  Do you understand?”

The boy nodded.  “Yes, father.”

The man gave him a small smile and gently kissed his cheek.  “Be strong,” he whispered.

His mother kissed him on the nose.  “Make us proud.”

“Yes, mama… father,” he whispered as darkness surrounded him.

He awoke in the cupboard.  For a moment he was confused as to how he got there.  He vaguely recalled his mother sending him off to hide while a strange voice came to taunt her.  She hadn’t come for him after the owner of the voice left.  Carefully he opened the door and stole a peek out.  The room was well lighted by the morning sunlight.  He could see his mother’s feet as she lay on their futon.  Cautiously he opened the door wider and poked his head out.  She seemed to be sleeping… perhaps she had forgotten about him.  He crept to her side and smelled a new scent.  “Mama?” he whispered, tentatively.  He touched her shoulder and noticed the blood.  He had never seen so much blood.  It held a horrid stench that made him swoon.  “Mama!” he whimpered, shaking her.  She didn’t move or open her eyes.  He could see an open wound on her throat, caked with congealed blood.  He leaned against her chest, listening for a heartbeat.  There was none.

He suddenly remembered the dream he had had the previous night.  His mother had whispered goodbye.  He stared down at her lifeless body.  “Mama, no!” he screamed, throwing himself onto her.  He held her and sobbed until his eyes were dry and his throat sore.

“Inuyasha…” a voice whispered to him.  He sat up and saw the man from his dream, shimmering before his eyes. 

“Father?” he sniffled.

His eyes softened for a moment in tenderness.  “She is gone.”

Inuyasha nodded. 

The spirit knelt gracefully beside Inuyasha’s mother.  “I loved her, my child.  I had to leave her and she was left alone to raise you.  I wish I could have been there for you both… but this is the youkai way.”

Inuyasha stared at him in silence, not knowing what to say to his sire.

“You were born from our love, don’t ever forget that.  You are my heir… in lands and power.  Use them for whatever hardships you must face… and survive.”

“Father,” Inuyasha began.  “I don’t want that.  I want mama.”

The demon’s shade moved towards his living son.  A phantom hand touched the child’s cheek.  “Be strong.”

Inuyasha felt power flood around and through him.  “Father?” he whispered.

“My gift to you… Never forget it.”

Inuyasha found himself alone once more in the room with his mother’s body.  He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her forehead before covering her with the blanket.  He stood and looked around the room.  This place had been his nest and now it was time to fly away.  He left without looking back.

*        *       *

“He helped me grow up.”  Inuyasha said quietly, opening his eyes.

“Who did?” Kagome asked, uncertainly. 

“My father… after my mother was killed, he came to me and helped me grow up.  I was only a small child before then,” he whispered.

Kagome knelt beside him and gently touched his arm.  He allowed her to take his hand.  “And your brother?”

Inuyasha felt his soul cloud over in pain.  “She died protecting me from him, letting him take out his anger on her.  So many sacrifices…” he whimpered and bowed his head.

“They both sacrificed themselves for you?” she asked quietly.

He nodded.  “I don’t want anymore,” he mumbled.

“What?”

“Sacrifices.”  He caught her hand tightly and stared into her eyes.  “Promise me… Promise me you won’t ever…” He broke off when he saw her look away, biting her lip.  “Why?  Why do you look away?”

“Inuyasha, I…”

“Don’t say it!  You’d die for me too, wouldn’t you?” he whispered.

She didn’t respond, only stared at him. 

“Why?”

She looked down at their clasped hands.  “I don’t care that you have no true demon powers, lands or security.  Those things mean nothing to me.”

“What about my bed?” he asked nervously. 

“That too,” she said with a blush. 

“Then why would you die for me?” he whispered hoarsely.  “Why would anyone sacrifice themselves for me?”

Kagome gave him a strange look.

“Why, Kagome, why?” he demanded and pulled her hands to his chest.  “Tell me why.”

She closed her eyes and looked away, helpless against the power he possessed… Probably how his mother felt when his brother had… He dropped her hands with the thought and leaned forward against her.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, feeling miserable.  He couldn’t understand her... he could only react.

“Do you really want to know?” she asked quietly.  “Or are you afraid to hear what I might say?”

He looked into her eyes.  “Yes, I want to know.”

She sighed helplessly.  “I love you.”

The words were simple, but… they were real.  His parents had died for love and so would she.  He could see that in her eyes.  To die for love… to protect the one that was loved.

For a brief moment everything seemed clear.  He realized that he too would die for her.  He would sacrifice his life and soul if it meant to keep her safe.

It sent a shiver through him.  She turned away from him, afraid of his reaction.  He watched as pain and confusion crossed over her face.  The same look she had given him when she found him with Kikyou.  All the things he couldn’t say then, because he was trapped between duty and his heart.

She would die for him… give up her life like mother and father did to keep him safe.  And he would do the same.

He reached for her and pulled her body to his.  He understood now, beyond words… He knew only one way to express it.  His lips touched hers.  “I love you…” he whispered against her lips.  The kiss wasn’t as deep as he hungered for.  Her lips were closed to his.  He moved to her neck, leaving little kisses along the path he took… over her chin, jaw line and under her ear… downwards to her collarbone. 

“Inuyasha,” she whispered in his ear, sending delightful shivers down his spine. 

He opened his eyes and saw movement beyond her.  A woman in a kimono watched them… A woman he knew.  “Mother,” he whispered to her longingly.

She silenced him with a gesture.  “Live for each other.”

He hugged the girl in his arms.  He would never let anyone harm her.

Back to the Gallery