A/N: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to their respective creator. Only the plot is mine.
They say that first impressions were everything. A person could be judged for the rest of their life on just the first few minutes of meeting them. Body language, posture, and just the manner one came off that first time could either make them or break them. Yet more often than not these impressions were made with haste, never doing an individual credit. The moods of others often dictated these impressions and the mood that was set on the night of the winter solstice was charged. An electric type of energy coursed through the air, the scent of excitement sharp in youkai noses. For you see it was on this night that the great and terrible General of the West was presenting his first born son to the higher nobility.
All who were invited were to attend. To refuse was to snub the Western Lord, which was a death sentence in itself. Even the other Lords knew better than to refuse, though they agreed with very little reluctance. The desire to lay eyes on what would be the future of the West was very high. And some of those wanting to see the pup were not of friendly aquaintance. Thus Inu no Taishou had decreed that the ball would be one of Mascarade. None would see his son until he deemed it appropriate. He would hide him in a disguise befitting his stature, or..he thought he would have.
Unfortunately for him his Lady Mate had other ideas. Still too weak from the difficult birth of the Heir she was unable to attend the ball itself. So she made her desire to choose the pups attire plane. At first Toga had flat out refused. But when steely eyes the same shade as their sons had flashed at him with promises of retribution, he wavered. It took her threatening to assure he fathered only one son to get him to cave in. He knew that his fiesty little mate was in no way shape or form kidding. Even weak from giving him his son, she was still formidable. When all was said and done, he beat a hasty retreat from her rooms. Discretion was the better part of Valor after all.
Gradually the hours leading up to the start of the ball began to dwindle. A swarm of servants had descended upon the Shiro, runnign helter skelter to complete everything on time. Delicious smells wafted up from the kitchens while the very walls around them were festooned with decorations. All was to be perfect, else the wrath of their Lord come down upon them. Up in her rooms the Western lady was preparing her pup. The small bundle fussed, shaking his soft-clawed fists at her in disgruntlement. She cooed at him, ghosting fingers over his moon marked brow to sooth him. But he'd have none of it, tiny features pulled into what would become a trade marked frown. He did not like his costume. It was too stuffy and covered his ears. He couldn't hear anything and it agitated him, making him issue forth tiny growls.
Those tiny growls were shushed by a sharp bark from his dam, the pups eyes opening wide as he looked up at her. "Settle down my little one. You must be brave, you must be good." Murmuring softly to her offspring Saito leaned in and brushed her lips over his twice striped cheeks. He wiggled at the attention, small hands reaching up to grab at her hair. She merely grinned, pianist fingers untangling his fists from the silken strands that were much like his own. "Just wait until they see you though! My adorable little puppy." Cooing at him again she picked him up and nestled him in her arms, smoothing out part of his costume. "I'm sure your father will be...surprised." Chuckling, she rose to her feet and moved with graceful ease towards the nurse maid waiting by the door. The pup put up a fuss when she handed him over, but settled into silence at the sound of her warning growl. A parting kiss was brushed to his brow, for luck, and she watched him go.
Pale from the exertion of simply walking from one end of her room to the other Saito moved to rest on her futon. As the Western Lady eased herself back on her pillows a grin riddled with mischief stretched along her befanged maw. She wondered what her mate would think when he saw their son all decked out in his costume. With a stretch and a yawn the Inu nestled down for a nap, wishing she could see the look on Togas face when he realized what she'd done.
Indeed, his expression was most interesting when he recieved his Heir. A look akin to horror now settled on his face. His right eye twitched and pale gold eyes were wide in shock. She was joking right? There was no way that she'd of dressed their son in such a manner, right? Wrong, if what the nurse maid had to say was anything to go about. The Lord dragged a clawed hand over his face and prinched the bridge of his nose, eyeing his pup. He didn't look very pleased about the matter either, but neither of them really had much choice.
With a sigh he reached for the whelp, taking him in his arms while continueing to frown at the costume. Shaking his head the great Inu squared his shoulders and turned to the giant wooden doors behind him. With a nod towards the guards, they were opened and he entered the Ball room.
Instantly all eyes turned towards the father and son pair. The lord himself was dressed as the very beast he was. Yet when their gazes fell upon the would be Heir, eyebrows rose. Silence was broken and whisperings started. Was he really..? Surly not..? Their mutterings were put to a swift end as Toga mounted the dias near the center of the room, holding one hand up to hush them all. "Lords and Ladies of the court you are all gathered here to bare witness to my acknowledgement of my first born son." His voice was that of stone, his expression challenging. "It gives me great honor to present to you my Heir and the future Lord of the West." Shifting, he twisted just enough so that the crowd could see his sons face, easing him up a bit with his arm. "This is Sesshoumaru, the Killing Perfection!" And the crowd gaped..
Two hundred pairs of eyes took in the boy and two hundred pairs of eyes soon filled with mirth. In a pink bunny costume the Western Heir rested, made of thick padded material that was meant to kept him warm. Two long ears sprouted from the hood that framed his face, his body completely covered in the plush fuzz except for his hands. He glowered at the crowd from his fluffy prison, glaring at any and all who dare find humor in his presence.
As the silence stretched on the tension in the air became thick enough to cut with a knife. But it was not a knife that gave end to the quiet, but a Nekomata woman in the front. "Awwwww! He's so cute! Look at those ears!"
And that folks was the first impression ever that Sesshoumaru ever gave. He who would be feared all over Japan, who would strike fear in even the most stout of hearts, who gave no quarter to his enemies, gave the impression of being a cute little fluffy bunny when he was but a day old. Oh how very wrong first impressions could be...how very..very wrong.
A/N: This was my first fic that I have written in a very long time. I do hope that you all enjoyed it and found humor in the crackiness of it! Feel free to review! XD