AUTHOR'S NOTE: I AM NOT TOO SURE JUST WHERE THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS FIC CAME FROM; THAT SOMETIMES HAPPENS TO ME, BUT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR A LITTLE BIT NOW AND HOPE YOU FIND IT ENTERTAINING.
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HE REMEMBERS IT WELL
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He laid in the dark, remembering. It was all he had to do anymore, think and remember, and had been for some time. How long had it been since he was put there? A year? Two? Who knew anymore, for that was what happened when one was where he was; days ran together and before long a being lost track of time. Hell, it could have been more like five years since he had been incarcerated and he would not know it; they would not tell him and he would not ask, knowing what that would get him. Nothing, that was what. Curse them all.
He suppressed the small glimmer of hope that had been trying to plague him since they told him the news earlier; one did not dare to develop such in a place like that, it was annoying to him really. They had told him that he would be going before the committee to discuss the possibility of parole from the hell hole he currently dwelled in, but he was not about to risk looking forward to it. The chances for his conditional release would be all but nonexistent then. It would all depend on whether they felt he had ‘learned his lesson’ or not, that and if they were feeling particularly generous at that point in time. He was not counting on it though.
They never let him out, never was he allowed outside of the small, drab cell they kept him in for fear of him inciting more chaos and bedlam…just as they said he did before. His mind recalled the images, that haunted him incessantly and he fought to purge them from his thoughts; they did him no real service except to remind him of the price he paid for daring to fight for a just cause. Fair treatment.
His kind was never treated fairly, not like they were. The humans. They were the cause of the plights his people faced. Humans; such arrogant creatures they are. So convinced of their own superiority and dominance over all other species that they would inflict humiliation and degradation upon another living being was something he never could quite swallow.
It had not always been that way though, not according to his late father anyway. Once, all beings lived in peace, save for a few malcontents of both species, that would attempt to cause problems from time to time. Once, all species were held in equal regard and possessed exactly the same rights and privileges. Until IT happened, the coming of a vile and contemptible soul that sought nothing but the pain and suffering of all beings as he strove to enslave all under one tight, iron-fisted rule; his own. While the tyrant sought the eventual destruction of all who opposed him, he concentrated on the ones he saw as the most offensive…the humans.
His cruelty reached far and wide, spreading as an aggressive infection running rampant, and causing much pain and suffering to all while his insatiable need to rule supreme rose at an alarming rate. Despite his reputation, the abomination raised armies to do his bidding, following him out of fear or admiration, and it swiftly became a threat of great magnitude to crush those that opposed their leader. The bastard had nearly accomplished his goal of domination too. The bloodshed lasted for a very long time, for none could stand up against him on their own; but together...that was another story altogether. Humans and demons met in secret council, discussing the threat to their existence and devising strategies to fight the evil and defeat it.
Naraku had been his name, if the being remembered it correctly, and it had been he that brought about the insufferable oppression of all who could not make the claim that they were ‘human’. Because of his cruelty and malice, demons had been labeled as dangerous and untrustworthy; it had been him that made the humans seek to eradicate all beings with any type of demon heritage. Once the demons had assisted in nullifying the threat that was Naraku and all who served him, of course.
The humans had been aware that they could never rid the world of the contemptible half demon known as Naraku without aid. Yes, the bastard was but a half demon; parented by beings of both heritages-demon and human. Perhaps that was what the humans saw as the cause for the insanity that Naraku had suffered from? Maybe they believed that the two species should not have mixed and reproduced, thinking that it caused some sort of short circuit somewhere in the brain? Maybe they thought it would happen in all who were not like them and sought to eliminate the possibility? Who really knew what the cause was for the evils that man did… and continued to do?
As a result, the world had changed drastically, quite possibly irreparably, forever. Once Naraku had been defeated, the humans conspired against the demon species; they plotted and planned to see to it that such events did not happen again. The met in secret, lulling the demon species into a false sense of security under the guise of continuing alliance and cooperation, and all the while their leaders schemed to steal the very dignity and pride from the beings they had fought side by side with.
Yet more destruction and devastation ensued then, with demons suddenly defending their right to even exist. Unfortunately, the humans had the benefit of knowledge and preparation on their side while demon kind had only ignorance and surprise; they were not prepared for the betrayal of those they had called allies, and it had cost them dearly. Although they had put up quite a fight, from what he had been told by those who had been there, it was a futile effort. They were ill prepared and ultimately defeated. Bottom line, demons had become sloppy and too trusting.
His long elegant fingers went to the device the humans had placed upon him the very day he was born, he hardly noticed it anymore, for it was as much a part of him just as his hands, feet or eyes were. He recalled the day he asked his beloved father just what it was and that small, silver band a mere half an inch in width had made his father almost shed tears. It scared him then.
He had never thought his strong and proud sire would ever be brought to that point… he had been so wrong. In fact, there had been many times following that first one when his father appeared to be on the verge of breaking in that manner, and it made the young man furious at the world for it. As he grew, he was constantly bombarded with harsh reality while the world reminded him over and over of his ‘place’ in the order of things. He had no place really, he was just there. Period.
As time passed, he did see the one and final time his father broke and shed tears though, and it was a day he would never forget either. It was the very day his father was taken from him forever, never to return. His father had become involved in an illicit love affair with a woman and it brought about most devastating and permanent consequences. The woman’s name was Izayoi, and she was the daughter of a prominent member of society, something that was expressly forbidden. Not only because she was an immediate relative of a very influential member of society, but because Izayoi was also a human. That never happened…ever, at least not publicly anyway.
Their relationship became public when it was discovered that the woman was with child, setting the whole city into an uproar. The very fact that a demon had ‘seduced’ an innocent human female into laying with him was an unspeakable act in itself, but for said demon to impregnate that female as well…
They came for his father, they came in numbers far greater than necessary, and they took him away for what he had done. The woman had tried to plead for the demon’s release, stating that it had been she who seduced the great Inu, and that it was entirely her fault, but the so called judicial system saw it otherwise. The courts, and the girl’s family, made claims that his father had enchanted the female with his ‘demon charms’ and clouded her mind; making her unable to resist his advances and stating that he had actually forced Izayoi to carry his offspring. They claimed that his father should be incarcerated for his crimes, and never be let out for fear he would do it again. Claiming the demon would seek out other poor, unsuspecting human women, and have his sinful way with them; planting his vile seed in any womb he could to defile the human species and weaken it…the ignorant bastards.
Her family had Izayoi deemed mentally incompetent and committed to an institution, per a court order. It was done the exact same day his father went to trial for his alleged crime, and the woman was physically removed from the courtroom by two of her own kind. She was reported to have been kicking and screaming the entire time as she called out to his father while they dragged the impregnated human female roughly to the door. His father was rumored to have lost his prized self control then, becoming enraged at the woman’s harsh treatment for loving him. The demon could not stand the sight of the woman he himself had dared to love being manhandled in such a way; her belly swollen with his child and her tears streaming down her cheeks, it was too much for him to bear.
Ultimately, they managed to get his father, who had always been a being of immense control, so worked up that when the impudent pricks tried to forcibly drag that woman out the door, the demon snapped. He did what he could to get to her and protect her, as it was in his nature to do so, but they refused to let him. Father fought them like the devil himself, but he inevitably lost the fight. There was no doubt in the young demon’s mind that if his father had not been wearing that cursed silver band…he would not have been defeated; the humans would not have stood a snowball’s chance in hell of besting the Daiyoukai without that fucking device they had put on him.
They had to bury his father in a closed casket; he had been shot numerous times, and the damage had too been too extensive to allow him to be seen. The natural healing ability of the youkai species was significantly lessened due to the devices they were forced to wear, his father had sustained massive blood loss, as well as irreparable damage to his person were anyone to try to save him; which no one did. The entire courtroom, Izayoi included, all stood right there and watched his sire take his very last breath.
Since his father had refused to allow him to be present and see him restrained and degraded, he had not been present to witness his father’s valiant fight to protect the woman he loved, the young demon boy was told it had taken many bullets to get his father to go down. He believed it.
The child his father had sired, the half-demon child, was delivered to his caretaker as soon as he was born. The woman had named the boy Inuyasha, the very name his father had wanted for the boy. He remembered the day the child was dropped off; wrapped in a worn blanket with no provisions, and no word he was even coming. No one had been prepared for Inuyasha’s arrival; it was a very trying time, as times were hard enough without the newborn hanyou adding to them. His care taker, Myoga, did not send the child away though; he did what he could for the boys as they grew. The old youkai watched over them, playing peacemaker between them whenever they fought; which was all the time it seemed, and it was always very brutal. The young, angry Daiyoukai child thought it was all the hanyou’s fault his father was gone; he believed that if it weren’t for the vile being’s conception, his sire would still be alive. Myoga grew frustrated with the constant battling between the siblings, making no qualms about letting them know that too. He would spend so much time scolding them for being at war with each other when they were all the other had that it almost became a day to day thing.
Myoga had been a close acquaintance of his father’s from the ‘old days’ , rumored to have been one of his father’s servants in his home, and he had always been around as far back as Sesshoumaru could remember. He had always been able to count on Myoga to be there, even when he did not want him to be. Eventually though, the boys realized that Myoga was right and had come to a sort of peaceful existence, even though Inuyasha and his human mother was still kind of blamed for the fact that he was growing up with no father. What helped the change come about was him finally understanding that, while he had lost his father just when he needed him the most, Inuyasha had neither a mother nor a father…it kind of made his issues pale in comparison really.
Inuyasha had not been allowed to see his mother, ever; it was forbidden. When Izayoi had become so distraught with her grief over losing her beloved and her son as well, she ended her own life in a tortured, seemingly hopeless moment of despair. They found her with her wrists slit while lying in a bathtub of hot water; Yasha was not even allowed to attend his own mother’s funeral.
So, he had taken up raising the boy, to a degree. He did his best to teach him what he needed to know to survive and he tried to help provide for the both of them, Myoga had little means of doing so, but he did try. It was just not enough.
From his late teens to date he took any job he could find so he could help put his little brother through the only school demons and half demons were allowed to go to, even though the humans had made getting an education almost impossible. By making it expensive, it was their way of furthering their dominance over demons and hanyous, by keeping them ignorant and incapable of holding any job requiring more than a high school certificate they continued their hold over the once proud species.
Once, a demon could be found in about every profession known, not now though. Now, a demon held no hope of entering a profession other than blue collar, and then they had to go through a lot of red tape just to do that. If a demon or hanyou did not have a special permit, they could not hold a job. Period. The humans kept them as oppressed as a being could be, and then some.
The clang of keys drew his attention, although he did not rise up from his cot in response, for he knew better than to do that. No, he stayed right where he was. “Takahashi! It’s time. You know the drill!”
He turned over onto his stomach, face buried into the thin mattress, and his arms behind his back with his ankles crossed while he waited for them to restrain him. As soon as the reinforced devices were in place, he was roughly jerked up off the cot and dragged to his feet. Yes, he knew the drill indeed.
He shuffled his feet, head down and eyes on the floor while he allowed them to lead him from his cell and down the long silent hall. He said nothing, just like he was told while he dared to let a tiny sliver of hope eek its way into his heart. He was going before the board to discuss his release, something he had been looking forward to since he was put there in that hell hole.
He had been allowed his ‘street clothes’ so that he could appear as respectable as possible when he went before the board to beg for his freedom, according to what he had been told, and although he did want to leave that place and return to the outside world so much; he was not about to beg anyone for anything, not even his freedom. He would be as polite as he had to be, he would not say a single solitary word that could be construed as argumentative or aggressive, but he would not grovel on his knees. He did have his pride.
The demon did not resist when they threw him into the holding room to wait for them to hear his case and render their decision. They were not fooling anyone, he was fully aware that they were only trying to rattle him, to get him to fuck up so they would have a reason to hold him longer, or worse. He was determined that they would get no such satisfaction from him. The entire time he had been incarcerated, he remained the model captive; he did not fuss or complain; since he saw no other beings, he could not cause any trouble on that end, and he followed every rule they threw at him, even the ones they made up on their own.
After what seemed like forever, they finally came for him. It was time. The being stood tall, took a deep, empowering breath and then stepped forward…
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