InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Every Heart ❯ Chapter 14
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: LuxKen27 
Just what does SessMom want?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.23.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 739 | Status: Work In Progress
Just what does SessMom want?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.23.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 739 | Status: Work In Progress
Author’s Note: Thank you so much for the views and reviews. Want to see the ultimate author’s notes for this story? Visit me! http:// luxken27. livejournal. com / (minus the spaces of course). Explanations, clarifications, spoilers available!
Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.
The characters Ded Moroz and Snegura are original to this story.
The title “House of the Moon” is original to Resmiranda’s Tales from the House of the Moon. It is used here in homage to said fantastic story.
This is merely one girl’s dream of life after “The End.”
Sesshoumaru showed no outward sign of emotion at the news of his mother’s arrival. He lifted his eyes away from Jaken’s face. “Jaken, show Rin to her rooms.”
“Yes, my lord,” the imp replied, a staggering sigh of relief escaping him. He turned to the young girl and gave a slight sniff. “Come along, Rin. Your little friend, too.”
Sesshoumaru didn’t notice the look on his ward’s face as she was dragged away by Jaken, Shippo still clinging to her shoulder. He instead concentrated on the task ahead of him, and began to move forward. As he approached the entrance hall of his home, he felt the call of her youki. The bond between a mother and her child was unbreakable; she could draw her offspring close in times of love or danger. It felt as if she was pulling him to her against his will.
“Mother,” he greeted her. She was standing at the top of the steps.
“Sesshoumaru,” she returned. The Most Venerable Lady of the West stood primly just inside the doors of his home. She was swathed in silk from head to foot, her kimonos colored in various shades of royal blue and purple. Around her slender neck was the large, black meidou stone, her birthright. She wore her mokomoko around her shoulders like a luxurious stole. Her face was beautifully drawn, her expression just as impassive as that of her son.
A smile creased her lips. “Will you not bid your mother a fond return?” she teased. When he did not respond, her smile fell.
He was surprised when she approached him and put her arms around his shoulders in a light embrace. It did not last long; to the discerning eye, it was merely an acknowledgement of their familial bond. But she had not embraced him like that since he was a small child.
She wanted something.
“Shall we talk in my office?” Sesshoumaru asked, his tone neutral. He made no move to return her embrace.
“As you wish,” she replied.
He led her down the hall and to the left, making sure to close the door behind her when she entered the room. He sat at his desk, but she took a slow turn around the room, marveling at its decoration.
“Sesshoumaru,” she mused, “you are so much like your father in so many ways.”
Is that supposed to be a compliment? he mused wryly, eyeing her suspiciously.
Finally, she settled in the chair opposite him. “You’ve done a lovely job rebuilding the castle,” she told him, a hint of a smile at her lips. “I’m proud that you didn’t forget this place, your childhood home.”
“Father was very clever, ruling his lands from this place. I am only following in his footsteps.” Sesshoumaru leaned forward and steepled his fingers, elbows resting on the surface of the desk.
His mother did smile then. “Yes – he ruled his lands from this place, but it was my birthright.” She took in the change in her son’s expression. “Don’t be so surprised, Sesshoumaru! The House of the Moon is a part of my family’s heritage. It was my dowry upon my union with your father.” She touched her forehead as she said this, indicating the crescent marking they shared.
“You were our perfect heir, the crowning achievement of our union. Then your father had to go and muck everything up.” She gave a slight sigh.
“You speak of Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru stated, his voice flat. He studied his mother, suspicion still clear in his eyes. Just what was it that she wanted?
She turned up her nose at his suggestion. “No. That little affair certainly didn’t help matters. I speak instead of the marriage contract he arranged for you.”
Aha! The light went on in Sesshoumaru’s mind. “So that’s why you’re here.”
She looked taken aback. “Can a mother not visit her son just to see after his wellbeing?” she asked, her voice full of shock and innocence.
“You can’t,” he replied plainly.
The innocence drained from her countenance. “Good eye,” she nodded. “You’ve always had a knack for observation.”
“So what was wrong with the marriage contract Father arranged for me?” he plowed on, hoping to bring her back to the subject at hand.
“You can’t tell me you approved of it?!” she said incredulously. This time, he suspected she wasn’t feigning her shock.
He shook his head. “I never had a chance to study it in great detail. All I know was that it was arranged without my knowledge or consent.”
His mother sighed and cast her eyes about the room as she mulled over her response.
The silence began to grate on his nerves.
After what seemed like ages, she spoke. “I will never understand the way your father thought,” she began. “I don’t know why he thought of you as such a disappointment. The contract he arranged was with one of his cronies, a man who had a few minor holdings to the east. Yes, he had a vast amount of land under his control, and a union between you and said man’s daughter would’ve produced the largest empire in terms of land, but there was no proposed gain in power. Let me be frank: they were beneath us.”
Her eyes met his over the steeple of his claws. “You are literally the perfect child, a mixture of his might and my royalty. You have much more potential than he ever acknowledged. This contract was an insult to you in your position as the firstborn son and heir.”
Sesshoumaru was silent as the information sank in. His mother wasn’t trying to flatter his ego unnecessarily; what she said was only the logical truth. His father had been one of the most powerful youkai to ever grace this world. His mother was one of a long line in the prestigious, pureblood House of the Moon dynasty. Because of his father’s absolute power and might, Sesshoumaru had always assumed his father was also a member of this demonic dynasty.
Perhaps his father’s indifference towards him had something to do with his mother’s family. Perhaps his father resented the sheer magnitude that his mother brought to the table of their union. His parents had never acted as if they were in love, or even really liked each other.
So Father’s ultimate punishment of Mother was his treatment of me, Sesshoumaru realized. The unbreakable bond of the mother and the child – hurting him was the best way to get to her.
Yoking him, the literally perfect biological offspring of two powerful families, into a marriage contract with a minor minion, was the final move in his father’s manipulation of his mother. It was akin to betrothing the human royal prince to a commoner.
Finding Inuyasha’s human mother and mating with her was merely adding insult to injury.
No wonder his father favored Inuyasha. He loved the hanyou’s mother.
His mother’s voice broke into his revelations. “Sesshoumaru, I have always known your worth, and I opposed the contract from the start.”
“Is that so?” he asked, his voice rather droll.
“Indeed. There are daughters of other taiyoukai who are more suitable to make a match.”
“I don’t suppose you had someone in mind?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he regarded her.
She met his eyes with an intense glare of her own. “First, I must know – what is your intention with that human girl, Rin? I noticed that you retrieved her from the human village rather quickly.”
“She is my ward,” he ground out, “and thus, my responsibility.”
“You have no romantic notions?” The question was rounded with a note of wariness. No doubt she was remembering her own mate’s thoughts and feelings towards humanity.
“I have romantic notions about no one,” he replied.
His mother seemed to accept this. She leaned forward. “Have you heard of Ded Moroz, the taiyoukai of Russia?”
Sesshoumaru set his mouth in a thin line. “The snow demon.”
“Indeed.” She looked pleased that he recognized the name of the ancient demon. “He has a granddaughter, the heir to his title, his fortune, his power. Her name is –”
“Snegoritchka,” Sesshoumaru interrupted.
His mother was surprised. “You know of her, then?”
“I’ve heard of her,” he hedged. “Being the heir to her grandfather must bring her many enticing offers.”
“Perhaps,” his mother mused. “Ded Moroz is one of my family’s closest allies. A union between this girl and you would be unprecedented. You would gain control of territories not only in this country, but in Siberian Russia as well.”
“I will build my empire on my terms, Mother.” The statement was as cold as the youkai currently under discussion.
“Don’t be so stubborn, Sesshoumaru. I’m trying to give you what is rightly yours!” His mother sounded genuinely hurt.
He gave a cold little smile. “You worry that I have some sort of romantic love for the human child under my care, but then presume to betroth me to a youkai child? I am too old for this sort of manipulation, Mother. I will not take a child bride, under any circumstances.”
His mother’s shoulders sagged in some version of relief. “Is that what bothers you?” Her expression faded into laughter. “She is no child, Sesshoumaru. I believe she goes by her given name now – ‘Snegura’, the Snow Maiden.” She paused. “She is quite a lovely girl.”
He dismissed her thoughtful commentary on the girl’s appearance. “Why this new push for a marriage, Mother?”
Again, she gave him a leveling look. “You are establishing an empire. You will need an heir to this empire, especially if your way of conquest involves battle and bloodshed. Unless you wish to make your bastard half-brother your heir” – she shuddered at the thought – “you would do well to consider marriage and family. If, in the taking, you gain a mass of land and a powerful bride, well, where’s the harm in that?”
She looked at him, trying to read between the lines of his expression. “She is your match, Sesshoumaru. She can already control the weather at her whim. As the Snow Maiden, all forms of frozen precipitation are under her control. Think of what she will inherit from Ded Moroz when he finally dies. She could be a very useful ally, in your battles with the dragons.”
“I will consider your words, Mother,” he finally relented.
“Consider this as well: others are contriving to gain control of her powers, of her lands. Do you wish to fight against her, or have her at your side? Do you wish for those youkai who rule the European lands to gain an access point to you through her?”
She gave a small, cold smile of her own. “One word from you, and I can have the papers drawn up on the spot and couriered to Ded Moroz within a week.”
Sesshoumaru folded his arms flat on top of the desk. “I will consider it,” he repeated, letting his golden gaze bore into his mother’s face. “I will give you a response by the end of the moon cycle.”
She bowed her head. “As you wish,” she murmured.
He looked down at the top of her head, at hair silvery and shimmering, so much like his own. You will not force my hand in this, he thought fiercely. You will not repay Father his courtesy through me.
Disclaimer: The Inuyasha concept, story, and characters are copyright Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.
The characters Ded Moroz and Snegura are original to this story.
The title “House of the Moon” is original to Resmiranda’s Tales from the House of the Moon. It is used here in homage to said fantastic story.
This is merely one girl’s dream of life after “The End.”
Sesshoumaru showed no outward sign of emotion at the news of his mother’s arrival. He lifted his eyes away from Jaken’s face. “Jaken, show Rin to her rooms.”
“Yes, my lord,” the imp replied, a staggering sigh of relief escaping him. He turned to the young girl and gave a slight sniff. “Come along, Rin. Your little friend, too.”
Sesshoumaru didn’t notice the look on his ward’s face as she was dragged away by Jaken, Shippo still clinging to her shoulder. He instead concentrated on the task ahead of him, and began to move forward. As he approached the entrance hall of his home, he felt the call of her youki. The bond between a mother and her child was unbreakable; she could draw her offspring close in times of love or danger. It felt as if she was pulling him to her against his will.
“Mother,” he greeted her. She was standing at the top of the steps.
“Sesshoumaru,” she returned. The Most Venerable Lady of the West stood primly just inside the doors of his home. She was swathed in silk from head to foot, her kimonos colored in various shades of royal blue and purple. Around her slender neck was the large, black meidou stone, her birthright. She wore her mokomoko around her shoulders like a luxurious stole. Her face was beautifully drawn, her expression just as impassive as that of her son.
A smile creased her lips. “Will you not bid your mother a fond return?” she teased. When he did not respond, her smile fell.
He was surprised when she approached him and put her arms around his shoulders in a light embrace. It did not last long; to the discerning eye, it was merely an acknowledgement of their familial bond. But she had not embraced him like that since he was a small child.
She wanted something.
“Shall we talk in my office?” Sesshoumaru asked, his tone neutral. He made no move to return her embrace.
“As you wish,” she replied.
He led her down the hall and to the left, making sure to close the door behind her when she entered the room. He sat at his desk, but she took a slow turn around the room, marveling at its decoration.
“Sesshoumaru,” she mused, “you are so much like your father in so many ways.”
Is that supposed to be a compliment? he mused wryly, eyeing her suspiciously.
Finally, she settled in the chair opposite him. “You’ve done a lovely job rebuilding the castle,” she told him, a hint of a smile at her lips. “I’m proud that you didn’t forget this place, your childhood home.”
“Father was very clever, ruling his lands from this place. I am only following in his footsteps.” Sesshoumaru leaned forward and steepled his fingers, elbows resting on the surface of the desk.
His mother did smile then. “Yes – he ruled his lands from this place, but it was my birthright.” She took in the change in her son’s expression. “Don’t be so surprised, Sesshoumaru! The House of the Moon is a part of my family’s heritage. It was my dowry upon my union with your father.” She touched her forehead as she said this, indicating the crescent marking they shared.
“You were our perfect heir, the crowning achievement of our union. Then your father had to go and muck everything up.” She gave a slight sigh.
“You speak of Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru stated, his voice flat. He studied his mother, suspicion still clear in his eyes. Just what was it that she wanted?
She turned up her nose at his suggestion. “No. That little affair certainly didn’t help matters. I speak instead of the marriage contract he arranged for you.”
Aha! The light went on in Sesshoumaru’s mind. “So that’s why you’re here.”
She looked taken aback. “Can a mother not visit her son just to see after his wellbeing?” she asked, her voice full of shock and innocence.
“You can’t,” he replied plainly.
The innocence drained from her countenance. “Good eye,” she nodded. “You’ve always had a knack for observation.”
“So what was wrong with the marriage contract Father arranged for me?” he plowed on, hoping to bring her back to the subject at hand.
“You can’t tell me you approved of it?!” she said incredulously. This time, he suspected she wasn’t feigning her shock.
He shook his head. “I never had a chance to study it in great detail. All I know was that it was arranged without my knowledge or consent.”
His mother sighed and cast her eyes about the room as she mulled over her response.
The silence began to grate on his nerves.
After what seemed like ages, she spoke. “I will never understand the way your father thought,” she began. “I don’t know why he thought of you as such a disappointment. The contract he arranged was with one of his cronies, a man who had a few minor holdings to the east. Yes, he had a vast amount of land under his control, and a union between you and said man’s daughter would’ve produced the largest empire in terms of land, but there was no proposed gain in power. Let me be frank: they were beneath us.”
Her eyes met his over the steeple of his claws. “You are literally the perfect child, a mixture of his might and my royalty. You have much more potential than he ever acknowledged. This contract was an insult to you in your position as the firstborn son and heir.”
Sesshoumaru was silent as the information sank in. His mother wasn’t trying to flatter his ego unnecessarily; what she said was only the logical truth. His father had been one of the most powerful youkai to ever grace this world. His mother was one of a long line in the prestigious, pureblood House of the Moon dynasty. Because of his father’s absolute power and might, Sesshoumaru had always assumed his father was also a member of this demonic dynasty.
Perhaps his father’s indifference towards him had something to do with his mother’s family. Perhaps his father resented the sheer magnitude that his mother brought to the table of their union. His parents had never acted as if they were in love, or even really liked each other.
So Father’s ultimate punishment of Mother was his treatment of me, Sesshoumaru realized. The unbreakable bond of the mother and the child – hurting him was the best way to get to her.
Yoking him, the literally perfect biological offspring of two powerful families, into a marriage contract with a minor minion, was the final move in his father’s manipulation of his mother. It was akin to betrothing the human royal prince to a commoner.
Finding Inuyasha’s human mother and mating with her was merely adding insult to injury.
No wonder his father favored Inuyasha. He loved the hanyou’s mother.
His mother’s voice broke into his revelations. “Sesshoumaru, I have always known your worth, and I opposed the contract from the start.”
“Is that so?” he asked, his voice rather droll.
“Indeed. There are daughters of other taiyoukai who are more suitable to make a match.”
“I don’t suppose you had someone in mind?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he regarded her.
She met his eyes with an intense glare of her own. “First, I must know – what is your intention with that human girl, Rin? I noticed that you retrieved her from the human village rather quickly.”
“She is my ward,” he ground out, “and thus, my responsibility.”
“You have no romantic notions?” The question was rounded with a note of wariness. No doubt she was remembering her own mate’s thoughts and feelings towards humanity.
“I have romantic notions about no one,” he replied.
His mother seemed to accept this. She leaned forward. “Have you heard of Ded Moroz, the taiyoukai of Russia?”
Sesshoumaru set his mouth in a thin line. “The snow demon.”
“Indeed.” She looked pleased that he recognized the name of the ancient demon. “He has a granddaughter, the heir to his title, his fortune, his power. Her name is –”
“Snegoritchka,” Sesshoumaru interrupted.
His mother was surprised. “You know of her, then?”
“I’ve heard of her,” he hedged. “Being the heir to her grandfather must bring her many enticing offers.”
“Perhaps,” his mother mused. “Ded Moroz is one of my family’s closest allies. A union between this girl and you would be unprecedented. You would gain control of territories not only in this country, but in Siberian Russia as well.”
“I will build my empire on my terms, Mother.” The statement was as cold as the youkai currently under discussion.
“Don’t be so stubborn, Sesshoumaru. I’m trying to give you what is rightly yours!” His mother sounded genuinely hurt.
He gave a cold little smile. “You worry that I have some sort of romantic love for the human child under my care, but then presume to betroth me to a youkai child? I am too old for this sort of manipulation, Mother. I will not take a child bride, under any circumstances.”
His mother’s shoulders sagged in some version of relief. “Is that what bothers you?” Her expression faded into laughter. “She is no child, Sesshoumaru. I believe she goes by her given name now – ‘Snegura’, the Snow Maiden.” She paused. “She is quite a lovely girl.”
He dismissed her thoughtful commentary on the girl’s appearance. “Why this new push for a marriage, Mother?”
Again, she gave him a leveling look. “You are establishing an empire. You will need an heir to this empire, especially if your way of conquest involves battle and bloodshed. Unless you wish to make your bastard half-brother your heir” – she shuddered at the thought – “you would do well to consider marriage and family. If, in the taking, you gain a mass of land and a powerful bride, well, where’s the harm in that?”
She looked at him, trying to read between the lines of his expression. “She is your match, Sesshoumaru. She can already control the weather at her whim. As the Snow Maiden, all forms of frozen precipitation are under her control. Think of what she will inherit from Ded Moroz when he finally dies. She could be a very useful ally, in your battles with the dragons.”
“I will consider your words, Mother,” he finally relented.
“Consider this as well: others are contriving to gain control of her powers, of her lands. Do you wish to fight against her, or have her at your side? Do you wish for those youkai who rule the European lands to gain an access point to you through her?”
She gave a small, cold smile of her own. “One word from you, and I can have the papers drawn up on the spot and couriered to Ded Moroz within a week.”
Sesshoumaru folded his arms flat on top of the desk. “I will consider it,” he repeated, letting his golden gaze bore into his mother’s face. “I will give you a response by the end of the moon cycle.”
She bowed her head. “As you wish,” she murmured.
He looked down at the top of her head, at hair silvery and shimmering, so much like his own. You will not force my hand in this, he thought fiercely. You will not repay Father his courtesy through me.