A/n: I’ve been dabbling with this idea for a while, and only now feel confident in its result. This is my first fic for Dokuga, and I’m excited to see what kind of response I get, So please, don’t hold back. While I write on FF.N as well, this fic is exclusively for Dokuga, and I’m so excited to be here.
Chapter 1
~*~*~*~
She stared in terror at the men approaching her, their weapons raised. There were so many.
“Where’s the demon, Child?” The middle one asked. There were three, and she could smell more approaching the house. One of the villagers was coming up with them as well. Kagome curled into herself and did not answer, her hands covering her head, and the ears that showed her true parentage.
One of the village men stormed in behind the three Taijia. “What are you doing? Why haven’t you killed her yet?”
“What?” One of the men asked.
“This is the demon that we called you for. She’s been terrorizing the village for months, stealing valuable crop. She needs to be disposed of.”
The lead Taijia turned and faced the small girl. “Let me see your face, child.”
“She’s no child. She’s lived fifty years in this village and hasn’t aged a day.” The old man said. “She is a demon.”
“Get him out of here.” The leader snarled.
The other men nodded and took the villager by his arms and removed him bodily from the hut.
“Tell me, Little One, why do these people hate you so?” The Taijia asked. “I know you can speak, if you’re as old as the villager claims. Speak to me.”
“They hurt Mama.” the little girl whimpered, removing her hands from her head to wrap around herself. “They threw stones at her and when she fell over, she never woke up. They were always mean to us. All was giving us less than what we paid for. Taking advantage of Mama’s kindness. And it’s all my fault.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’m a filthy half-breed.” The little girl cried. “Cause my Papa was Inu Yokai, Mama and I are condemned.”
“Come with me, little one.” The man said. “I can take you somewhere safe. If I don’t remove you from this place, they will kill you too, and that would be a sad thing indeed.”
“If they did, I could be with mama and papa again.” The little hanyou sniffed.
“No, you don’t want that.” The man said. “They wouldn’t want you to follow them to the grave, young one. I speak as a parent myself. I have a girl, just eight summers old, and a boy that’s just turning five.”
The little hanyou nodded and rose from her corner. She walked over to him and he picked her up, encouraging her to wrap her arms around his neck as he exited the hut. He nodded to his men who followed him back into the village.
The villagers were all congregated to see what had become of their plague and were shocked to see her still alive and in the arms of the lead Taijia.
“Well, you certainly are a disgusting lot of humans.” The leader said. “Never, in the history of our clan, have we been called to dispose of a child, simply because she is hanyou.”
“She’s a little thief.”
“And an orphan.” Roared the Clan Leader. “And I can’t help but wonder who made it such. Who allowed a woman to grow into old age before stoning her to death, out of fear for a child barely physically eight summers old. Explain this to me. Explain to me how this girl is the one you called me and my clan to dispatch.”
Silence reigned. Not a person moved or spoke.
“I didn’t think so.” one of the other Taijia said.
The leader nodded. “We will be removing the child from this village, but I refuse to take the life of a child when I have two of my own at home. And you people will be reported directly to our Demon Lord and our Human Lord. Your village is worse than any demon of the vilest I have had to slay.” That said, he turned on his heel and walked out of the village, his men behind him.
“I am truly sorry, young one.” The man said. “Tell me your name.”
“Kagome.” The child whispered. “Mama called me Kagome.”
“Caged bird.” One of the others murmured. “How fittingly tragic.”
Their leader nodded. “Kagome, our village is not far from here. Would you rest with us tonight, and then I will take you tomorrow to see the Western Lords.”
Kagome shook her head. “No. I don’t want to see them. I just want to go. Please let me go. I’ll stay away from the village, just please let me go.”
“What is it, Little One? Why are you scared all of a sudden?”
“Just lemme go!” The child screamed. The closer they got to the village, the more she struggled. “Just lemme go!!”
She squirmed her way out of the man’s arms and dropped onto all fours before she took off running through the woods at a pace no human could match.
“What caused her to do that.” One of the men asked.
“She must have felt the aura of Lady Midoriko’s cave.” another concluded.
“We must go after her.” The leader demanded. “She’ll die if she’s left alone.”
“We’ll take care of it, sir. Your family is waiting.” his second in command said, smiling at him.
The man nodded. “Thank you.”
~*~
Kagome ran. She couldn’t help herself. She could feel something that didn’t want her anywhere near that village. She didn’t look over her shoulder to see if the nice men where following her, and she would keep her promise not to go back to that village, but she had to get away from them. Humans were fickle. Her mother was the only human in the world who would have taken care of her.
She didn’t look up at where she was running until she crashed into something solid. Hands wrapped around her and she began to struggle. A low growl echoed through the forest and she whimpered in response, ceasing her struggle. She looked up and saw the gold eyes of the Western Inu Daiyoukai, Inu no Taisho. She swallowed a lump in her throat and lowered her eyes again, knowing that she could very well lose her life this night.
“Tell me, Pup, why you run as if Bringers of Hell were on your tail.” Inu no Taisho demanded.
“I can’t … I can’t go to that village. Something … Please let me go. I won’t trouble anyone, I promise. Just let me go.” Kagome cried, tears streaming down her face.
Inu no Taisho took in the girl’s appearance, from the tip of her furry little black years to her toes. Someone had wronged this child grievously. He could only wonder who briefly before a small band of Taijia approached.
“Lord Inu no Taisho.” One of them bowed.
Inu no Taisho nodded in acknowledgement and crouched down in front of the child, lifting her face to look at him. “Listen to me, Pup. When I release you, do not run away. I need to speak to the Taijia, and then I wish to speak to you. Do you understand?”
Kagome nodded, her ears flattening to her head. It was a look he recognized from his own son. One of pure terror.
Inu no Taisho let the girl go and she fell to her knees, sobbing and whimpering quietly. Inu no Taisho approached the slayers, keeping his mokomoko wrapped tightly around the girl in comfort. “What happened to this child?”
“We found her in a village not far from here.” One of the men said. “The villagers had called us in to dispatch her, but our leader refused. We were going to take her back to our own village for the night and then bring her to you and your human counterpart in the morn to report what this village has done. She’s barely eight summers old and they wished us to kill her because they recently stoned her mother to death.”
Inu no Taisho frowned. “Do you know the location of her father?”
“From what we gathered, he’s dead as well, Milord.”
“I see.” Inu no Taisho sighed. It was still frowned upon to mate a human in demonic society, though they understood the limitlessness of love far better than any other society in the world. For humans, mating a demon was condemnation in the highest. “Inform your Clan Leader that I will be taking the child with me. Midoriko, benevolent as she is, wishes no demons to enter your village at this time. I can feel her Reiki from here pushing the child and I away. While it will not purify any approaching demon, it will warn them off. You may have pregnant women in your fold at this time. She usually only does this when there are.”
The Slayers nodded and bowed low to him before turning to depart. Inu no Taisho walked back over to the child. “Pup, you’re going to be coming to my home with me.”
The girl looked up with a hiccup. “What?”
Inu no Taisho smiled. “Come with me, Pup, to my home. I will introduce you to my mate and sons and I will discuss with the councils what to do about the crimes those humans committed against you.”
Kagome sniffed and nodded. “Ok.”
Inu no Taisho picked her up and wrapped her again in his Mokomoko. Holding her tightly he soared into the air toward his castle.
Kagome clutched the hakama of the demon holding her, scared out of her wits. What did this demon want with her? Her mother had told her that demons would attack her for being part human, same as the humans would for her being part demon. They had chosen to stay with the humans because, against them at least, she would have a chance at defending herself. She’d fought demons before, because they had attacked her mama and her, but they had all been weaker than she was, so she could fend them off. This demon was lots stronger than she was. She didn’t have a chance against him.
They began their descent to the ground and Kagome bit back a whimper of fear. Her ears were still pressed flat against her head and Inu no Taisho noted that she was trembling. The scent of fear was heady, coming from the girl. He felt his beast whimper in response to it. It didn’t want this girl scared of him any more than he did. He only hoped the girl didn’t bolt when he landed. If the guards caught her on the grounds before they’d been informed that she was under his protection … he didn’t want to think about what would happen.
He looked down at the girl. “When we land, do not run. You will put yourself in very real danger from demons vastly stronger than yourself. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Daiyoukai-sama.”
Inu no Taisho touched down and, keeping the child wrapped in his mokomoko, headed straight for the main room. He sent a maid to fetch Izayoi, Shiruba, and the children. The young hanyou clutching to him tightly, looking around in amazement. He smiled and bent down beside her.
“What is your name, pup?” he asked.
“Kagome.” the girl whimpered.
Inu no Taisho smiled and nodded. “It is a beautiful name, and quite fitting.”
The child bit her lip and blushed prettily at the compliment. She cast her eyes downward, her turmoil evident. She wanted to say something, she simply couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“What is on your mind, little Kagome.”
“Did you know my papa?” she blurted, covering her mouth with a small, clawed hand.
“Do you know your papa’s name?” Inu no Taisho asked.
“Ochita.” Kagome told him, pride in her eyes. “Mama told me his name was Ochita. She said that he was a brave warrior who fought with the Great General to protect us from the Panthers. She said that when he returned from the battle, he took her as his mate and they had me, but then Papa had to go away again, to fight, and he never came home.”
Inu no Taisho hung his head. Ochita had been a packmate and as near to a brother as Inu no Taisho could get. “I knew him, pup. He was a great demon in his own right. He died saving my life.”
Kagome felt her eyes bloom with tears. Her father was as noble as her mama had said.
Inu no Taisho wiped the tear away from her cheek and smiled at her. “I want you to stay with me, Kagome. Here, in my home.”
Kagome frowned. She could smell others, and one of them was human. Inu no Taisho rose from his crouched position and turned to face his family. It wasn’t odd for a demon like him to have two mates. What was odd about their situation is that the females adored each other. Izayoi and Shiruba had a very delicate agreement between the two of them. As long as Sesshomaru was the heir, they had no problems. Izayoi didn’t want the titles and work that came with being Lady of the West. Shiruba had been groomed from birth for the role. Sesshomaru was being trained by his father to one day take over the clan, and Inuyasha was being trained as the beta male, to care for the pack when Sesshomaru wasn’t able, and to keep the peace.
“Inu, what’s so important that you called us down here, and the boys away from their lessons?” Shiruba asked impatiently.
Inu no Taisho noted the smirks on his son’s faces that told him they were more than happy to be away from that stuffy old professor their mothers had hired for them.
“I’ve come home with a bit of a surprise for everyone. However, she’s a bit skittish.” Inu no Taisho told them. He moved his mokomoko aside and Kagome poked her head around his hip before ducking back behind him.
“Inu …” Izayoi asked.
“She is Ochita’s.” Inu no Taisho explained. “I found her while I was on patrols. She was removed from her village by the taijia because the humans had hired them to dispatch her.”
Izayoi covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, the poor thing. What happened to her mother.”
“She was well into old age and the village stoned her.” Inu no Taisho sighed.
“She is Hanyou?” Shiruba asked.
Inu no Taisho nodded. “As I said, she is skittish. I’ve barely begun to gain her trust myself.”
Shiruba rolled her eyes and looked over at Inuyasha. “I wonder if she would react to Inuyasha best.”
“Why do you say that?” Inuyasha asked.
Shiruba crouched down with a nod from Izayoi. “Because you are both half demon. Full demons and Humans have treated this girl very badly. I think that you might be able to help her.”
Inuyasha scratched his ear. “I’ll try.”
“That’s our good boy.” Shiruba said, smiling at him as she ran her claws through his hair. “Go on.”
Inuyasha approached the girl and sniffed. She was scared out of her wits of his mother, because she was human. She was scared of the demons because they were stronger than she was. Inuyasha walked around his father, who was watching curiously and faced the girl. “I’m Inuyasha.” he said, holding out his hand.
“Kagome.” She muttered.
Inuyasha looked up at her ears. “How did you get black ears?”
“I don’t know.” Kagome said. “How did you get white?”
Inuyasha grinned. “Cause I take after my Dad.”
Kagome frowned. “I don’t know what my dad looked like.”
Inuyasha’s ears fell. “Oh.” He thought for a minute. “Come on, lets go play. I can show you around.”
Kagome looked up at Inu no Taisho, who nodded to her. She took Inuyasha’s proffered hand and the two took off.
“Father, would you like me to keep an eye on them?” Sesshomaru asked.
Inu no Taisho shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s going to be necessary. Let her get comfortable with him for now.”
Sesshomaru nodded. “May I ask why the village that did this to her wasn’t slaughtered?”
“Because I must take it up with the human lords as well.” Inu no Taisho explained. “While she is one of our own pack, her mother was human, and it was her mother who was murdered. I will be dealing with it in the morning.”
“I would like to accompany you.” Sesshomaru said. “It is one of the few areas I have not been able to observe.”
Inu no Taisho nodded. “Very well. Inform your professor that you’ve been freed from your lessons for the rest of the evening.”
Sesshomaru nodded and left the room.
“So what are we going to do?” Shiruba asked. “The girl is scared spitless of the three of us.”
“I know that.” Inu no Taisho said. “Well discuss it shortly. Meet me in my study, I need to send messengers to the guards about the girl so that they don’t cause more trouble than we already have.”
The women nodded and turned away. Inu no Taisho summoned a messenger and gave him his instructions before following his mates.
~*~
Sesshomaru did as told and informed his teacher of the recent developments. The old geezer seemed happy enough to be rid of the two brothers for the evening. Sesshomaru was curious, however, and hunted down his brother and his father’s new ward. He had know Ochita well the girl looked quite a bit like him, though her coloring must have come from her mother, because the soldier had born the coloring of his clan.
He found them in the north garden. Inuyasha had perched himself on one of the lower branches of the Sakura tree, while the girl was seated at the base of it, asleep. Sesshomaru approached slowly, so not to startle the girl.
Inuyasha noticed him first and dropped out of the tree. He approached his older brother with a frown on his face.
“What have you learned?”
“She’s scared of everyone.” Inuyasha said. “You, not as much as the others, but she’s especially scared of Mother.”
“I can’t help but wonder why.” Sesshomaru murmured.
“Because of what the humans did to her.” Inuyasha explained. “She and her mother were severely abused by the humans of their village. She said that they attacked her as well, but she was more than capable of defending herself against them. Her mother, on the other hand, was not, and took everything in stride, like Mother did before father took us from our village.”
Sesshomaru nodded. It seemed the trend in these mothers of hanyou children to bear all the suffering themselves, so that their child would be sheltered from it. “Keep an eye on her, Inuyasha, until she is comfortable with the rest of us as well. I’m going with father tomorrow so that we can deal with the humans that have done this to her.”
“Will they be killed?” Inuyasha asked.
“I don’t know.” Sesshomaru said. “It depends on what the councils decide.”
“I hope they are.” Inuyasha growled. “They’d deserve it.”
I couldn’t agree more, little brother, Sesshomaru thought as he turned away from the two children. He had some research to do in the library before tomorrow’s meeting.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/n: Despite all my attempts to make the discovery, I’ve been as of yet unable to find out the name of Sesshomaru’s mother, so I’ve named her Shiruba, so no getting all bent out of shape about it.
Let me know what you think. I’d really love to hear from you.