Entwined Destinies by Bern

Glossary

All the vocabulary you need to know to follow the story. It will never be repeated beyond this page because I don't want to.

Tessaiga – Most of the time fanfic writers tend to spell / call it Tetsusaiga. I've checked my resources [namely by watching and listening to numerous episodes of Inuyasha and from that invaluable original full-Japanese tome the Inuyasha Illustration Collection; I don't own the manga although the Art book has some of the colour manga pages] and discovered that the spelling of the blade is Te-[tsu]-sa-i-ga.

Here the [tsu]is written small (I can't recall the 'proper' grammatical term for it, I think of it as a small 'hiccup' in the writing of the word). Thus, the romanji is Te-s-sa-i-ga. And after getting a hold of the Viz translated book, I can't vouch for the English spelling of the sword's name as someone over there has to go back to Japanese class 101.

*FYI: Sesshoumaru's name written in Hiragana also bears the small [tsu]; that is why it's generally spelled Se-s-sho-ma-ru.

** But if anybody wants to challenge me on this, please drop an email with the 'proof'. I'm not mean so I won't ask Sess to bite your head off. I want to know the Truth; and yeah, I can handle it!

Tenseiga – The sword that was bequeathed to Sess by his late father, Inutaisho. It is also Sess' Guardian sword although he refuses to acknowledge it's true worth. It's twin is Tessaiga; the slaying sword. Its power is to resurrect the dead and grant the power of healing when wielded with compassionate intention. Only goes to show how 'popular' it is with our dear 'heart of gold' Sess. *giggles*

Dokkasou – Sess' ultimate poison attack. The translated name is Toxic Flower Claw [which makes me cringe in its utter wussiness]. In his humanoid form, Sess' right hand glows green as a prelude to attack and the poison literally drips from his fingertips. It is capable of melting almost anything and forms a toxic killing gas when it touches the air.

From the anime, he's seen to spray it in the direction of Kagome causing her to be buried under the poisonous melted goo. However, in his true dog form it simply drips from his jaws. Needless to say, I wouldn't want puppy-boy to lick me then. I'll be using it depending on the situation it calls for.

Youkai – Simply means 'demon'. Had a blasted headache trying to figure out whether to use youkai for the 'bad' ones, and substituting 'demon' for the 'good' guys. Finally Sess told me in no uncertain terms that he is an inu (tai)youkai and so I put 'youkai' as the default. Inu means 'dog', while 'tai' indicates of a higher or more powerful form [Just right for Sess, eh?]

And just FYI – youkai are spelled similar to sheep or deer in its plural form. Now I'm embarrassed - I gotta go check for that boo-boo...

Youki – It's very different from "jaki" (see below). It's kind of like the 'ki' or 'life energy' in humans, only it's applicable to youkai. Sess appears to have the ability to manipulate his to form that cool cloud transport. If you've seen the anime, whenever he does that, his boa-thing suddenly grows and waves about giving the impression that it has multiplied. Rather weird in my opinion but then again, it's Sess. I also think that is what consists of his whip-like weapon too.

But if it's utter crap, you may correct me; but if nobody knows, then accept it as "Bern's fic truth".

Jaki – The dark energy Naraku is famous for possessing. Usually sensed and seen in the form of a palpable black cloud. Some translations have called it 'miasma'. Cool sounding but not everybody may get it. I think that guy is either a walking environmental hazard or he really needs to do something about that BO. Either way, it's lethal stuff. However, it's usually mentioned only when it's scented in the air by youkai due to their sensitive senses. Similar to when Sess' poison touches the air, it too gives off toxic fumes and capable of killing people and youkai. Sometimes, the word 'Shouki' comes into use but I'm a little unclear on that. It seems to be loosely translated as 'demon gas'. That, needless to say, conjures up thoughts that are best left unvoiced. I'll leave it as 'jaki' to minimise confusion (for myself as well as for readers)

Again, I'm open for correction if I'm wrong; or "Bern's fic truth" will automatically apply once more.

Sengoku Jidai – The 'Feudal Era' or the 'Warring States Period' of Japan. If I'm not wrong, this was just prior to the beginning of the unification of the country by Oda Nobunaga, and later consolidated under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Thus, it was a time of conflict and a major party time for youkai everywhere - death, torture, the whole bloodlust gig.

Kazaana – Miroku's Air Rip / Air Void. Personally, I think its cool to use the original names for the various weapons, armour, etc. Heck, if I could read and write in Japanese I'd be one happy camper.

Houshi-sama – Sango's means of addressing the Buddhist priest Miroku. It allows a degree of respect on her part and also distances her emotionally from the guy. Personally, it's an irony given the individual it refers to.

Hiraikotsu – Sango's super 6-foot long bone boomerang capable of mass destruction and/or decapitation as well as general assault. Also affectionately known as the 'Hentai Hitter'. Just ask Miroku...

Nintoujou – Jaken's 2-feet-tall cackling/shrieking-cum-fire-spewing two-headed staff. A pretty nifty weapon to wield when you're barely a foot tall. Hmm, now what's that thing about it being Freudian?

** Just a point of interest - Viz has translated it to Jintojo. Now, this has definitely confirmed my opinion that someone over there needs to memorise his/her basic Hiragana. >_<*

Shikon no Tama aka The Shikon - If you don't know this one, why are you even reading an Inuyasha fic? Its English translation is The Jewel of the Four Souls or the somewhat strange, The Ball of Four Spirits. Now you see why I prefer the Japanese version? It'll take me an extra week just to type out the chapter if I had to spell that one out.

That's all I can think of for now. This page may be updated as the story progresses so look out for it now and then.

I have to inform you that I get the meanings through the translations and subtitles from my anime and manga sources. I suck at Internet research as the search engines hate me and it always takes me ten times longer to find something that would take a grade school kid less than half an hour. So, I use books and TV to actually do this - plus, it's much more fun! Please don't attempt to teach me how to do web-based research as I have enough well meaning friends to do so, but to little avail - I still suck.

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Just some additional notes before the story or 'My drivel to take up space'

I have little idea as to what that huge fluffy boa Sess sports over his right shoulder truly is. Since a number of people believe it to be his tail, I've also decided to swing my vote that way and utilise it in my story. And after having visited the website

Sesshoumaru – The Killing Perfection [ tea.rakuen.nu/sesshoumaru/sess_main.html ],

it has helped to give me a clearer understanding of His Absolute Youkainess. While this resource came to my knowledge after I had pretty much drafted out the first eleven chapters of the story, I've still found it to be invaluable. A big "Arigatou!" to Téa-san for the incredible site! I absolutely love it for all the Sesshy goodness!

With regards to my writing style

I use British English so that means the 'u' and 's' appear in certain words like 'colour' and 'realisation'. There are almost NO spelling errors as I'm rather anal-retentive on that. While I can't vouch for the grammar 100% of the time, I DO my best to make it as readable and fluid as possible. I could blame my convent school upbringing, but I have little regrets on learning to use the English language properly. After all, as a reader I expect to be entertained, not exasperated by weird language structure and non-existent spelling. Those who've actually received personal emails from me know that I hardly ever abbreviate words or dump the capitals. Very 'old school' here, folks...

Note that I rarely describe the characters' general appearance simply because I take it for granted that readers can 'see' how the characters are. Unless it's very necessary, I reserve my descriptive prose for the actual story itself. I'm not all that big on dialogue and have a tendency to write in the third-person narrative even as the character is thinking his or her thoughts.

I also like to build up a story, 'setting the stage' as it were. While some readers may not like this style of writing, I can't and won't change it, simply because I write according to what I like to read. Each chapter averages 4-6 pages depending on the degree of action or plot building, so updates take at least a minimum of 2 weeks to 20 days. That also allows me time to come up with the next chapter and to type it out while the muse is around. I suffer from the horrible writer's block so at the very least, readers will still have something while I attempt to summon the muse with assorted rituals and blood-letting... I know I've said that I have written several chapters ahead, but they are unedited with very embarrassing mistakes and odd syntax. I would rather have Sess stick his fingers in my right eye before I'll post them online.

I generally type as I think, so sometimes re-reading the chapter once it's done can result in a major headache. I sometimes drop words, misspell others and use the same word one too many times over even in the same sentence. It's largely the editing and fine-tuning that takes up the time. On top of that, I have to re-read the earlier chapters to make sure that I haven't lost track of the story's sequence and overall plot. It can happen – Sess and Kag moments are really just too fun to write! I do, however, promise to make each chapter count once it's posted (or die trying!)

I'm currently setting up a website to store my works and other assorted things I like online to share with other people who have too much free time on their hands. I'm also juggling another non-yaoi Weiss Kreuz fic Dark Moon Ascendant II: The Summoning, [Part 2 of 3], so please be patient. Those of you who are interested in another action fic with NO male-male 'relationships', and a blend of 'Dark Angel meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer' with a female protagonist, could try this story [Part 1, that is] out and tell me what you think. Yes everybody, I'm advertising here!

My website [still under construction] is: [ www.tougenkyou.net/~bern/ ] I have added the link in my personal Bio page on ff.net as well. It's made to be reader friendly, so do drop by.

Well, I guess that's all I can think of for now. This foreword-cum-glossary may be updated in future as the story progresses so you might want to check it out periodically. And now, on with the story - that is, if you haven't skipped everything and simply started... I probably would have.

~ Bern. (2003)