InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Child ❯ At Birth ( Chapter 1 )

"A Child" by Jezunya

Inuyasha's 'childhood,' if you can call it that, has been a recent obsession of mine. Maybe it's because I'm reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay for English right now. It's about a boy called Pisskop or Peekay, living in South Africa at the time of WWII. The book starts when he is only five years old and has to go to a boarding school, where he is hated by all and is constantly picked on and beaten by a group of older boys simply because he is a roinek, an Englishman, not an Afrikaner. I couldn't help seeing our beloved dog-eared boy in the exact same situations so many times over, that this fic was born.

A bit of a warning: this ain't your happy little puppy story. From the way Inuyasha acts when he's older, and the relationship he seems to have with his mother when we "meet" her in Book 2 (it was actually the mu'onna, but it was an accurate enough depiction of her that Inuyasha believed it was real) - they're both rather sad and solemn - I'd say he definitely didn't have the usual joyful, loving, childhood. It was probably more along the lines of horrible, painful, and not something you really want to remember later on in life.

So just thought I'd say, this is going to be on the darker side of things. Not really angsty, just kind of cruel and cold. Don't expect a lot in the way of waff.

** ** ** ** **

He was born in the late spring, to a young lady of some great house. It was late at night when the piercing cries changed from those of a mother in labor to those of a precious, new-born child.

That's how she always saw him: precious, special. Her beautiful little son.

Pity no one else saw that.

She held him gently, lovingly gazing down at the tiny new life snuggled against her breast. She smiled. His ears and eyes were still sealed closed, just as his father had said they would be, showing the part of him that was dog-demon. He was human in body and build, save for the tiny white ears set at the top of his skull, laid back and wet from her womb fluids, and the bit of soft pinkish flesh, that would later darken to the rough black skin of a dog's, covering the end of his nose.

She gently ran her index finger down the bridge, her touch feather-light, across his cheeks, down to his chin. He whimpered and trembled, trying to snuggle closer to the warm heart beating near his head. She shifted, offering him her breast, nudging his little mouth open to place the nipple inside. After a few moments, he seemed to recognize what to do and began to suck lightly, gratefully swallowing his mother's milk.

She winced once, but could not stop smiling down at him. The boy had teeth! They weren't all that sharp yet, but she could already feel the beginnings of what would no doubt develop into little fangs. She smiled and held him close. Another trait inherited from his father.

A short ways away, the doctors and midwife that had helped with the birth spoke hurriedly, keeping their voices hushed. What were they to do with the thing? It was half-demon, half-human, a monster! Nothing so hideous had ever been born into the world before, much less from a respected house such as this. It should be tied in a sack and drowned at once!

But the lady was a noblewoman, a lady of the court, and her husband - if he could be called that, being a demon - was away, if he was even alive at all. They could not touch it, so long as the lady wished to keep it.

They shook their heads in disgusted wonder, seeing her nursing the little abomination. It should not have been allowed first breath, its neck broken or head smashed as soon as it appeared. But the lady gave no such orders; indeed, she seemed to want to keep it, to raise it as if it were a human child. …No human child could be born of such evil.

Her eyes saddened a little as she watched him, overhearing a little of the conversation going on across the room. The child in her arms was tiny, innocent, pure. Anything but evil.

Why couldn't they see that?

***

It was the next morning after his birth that the lady's lord father came to call on them. He watched, his face slightly troubled and stern, as his daughter lay her demon child down and closed her robes to kneel before him.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Chichiue," she murmured, her head bowed in respect.

"Ohayo," he responded, nodding. She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his fearfully. He frowned a little. It was not fear for herself in her eyes, but fear for her child. Fear that he would have the babe killed or at least thrown out. He cleared his throat and spoke, "You gave birth last night?"

"Yes, Father."

The lord nodded; he had already known the answer, but he was unsure of how to broach the subject. "This child-"

Suddenly a baby's shrill cry cut through the air, snapping both their gazes around to the tiny-but-loud infant on the futon. He saw the way his daughter's hands clenched in her lap, her gaze desperate, pained. She longed to go to her child.

"Go on, stop his crying," he said gruffly, waving a hand. "And bring him here," he added as an after thought.

She scrambled over to her bed and gently lifted the tiny bundle, cradling him to her chest and rocking back and forth slightly to calm him. When his cries had quieted to soft whimpers, she pulled back to look down at him and carried him over to where her father sat, waiting. He held his hands out to take the child, and she hesitated only a moment before depositing her son in his hands. She stared down at her lap as her father lifted him up, seeming to inspect every aspect of his tiny baby face.

"Why don't his eyes open?" he asked after a few minutes, watching bemusedly as the baby yawned widely, exposing two perfect rows of little teeth already protruding from his gums.

"It- It's because of the dog-demon in him," she stuttered, trying to calm the frightened trembling that had begun all over her body. "His ears and eyes are still sealed shut… they most likely won't open for some time yet…"

"Ah, yes, because of his father's blood," the lord mused, looking closely at the small, soft face before him. "Also why he already has his teeth, I presume. Just like a dog…" The little one began to whimper again, and so the lord handed him back to his mother. "Well," he said, standing, "I hope it doesn't take too long for his senses to open up. I should very much like to look into the eyes of my newest grandchild."

The lady's gaze snapped up from where she had been resettling her child in her arms, but her father had turned away, seeming to inspect the classical paintings on the rice-paper walls. Had he truly said..? He didn't see him as a threat, as an unholy beast, an abomination, but as one of their family, one of his grandchildren! Her eyes shone with grateful tears. "Father-!"

"Have you given him a name yet?" he interrupted, knowing what she would say and quickly changing the subject.

"I…" She looked down at the bundle snuggled against her bosom, already beginning to fall asleep from the warmth of being in his mother's arms. "No, my Lord. I have not yet found one that seems suitable…" She trailed off as her father turned back to her, his face calm and serious.

"Why not call the lad exactly what he is, then?"

The lady paled. "H-hanyou? But… I could never… the way the people say it…" She looked away, clutching her child protectively. "They make it sound degrading, as if it were a horrible thing. I could never call him that…"

The lord shook his head. He had heard the talk of his daughter's little half-breed son, even since before he was born, but especially in the last day when she was giving birth. He knew full well that that was no name for the boy. "That was not what I meant," he said reproachfully, getting a questioning look from his daughter. "I meant only something to perhaps show his heritage - something like inu youkai. No, no, that's not a proper name… Here, let's see.. How does Inuyasha sound?"

"Inuyasha," she murmured, looking down at the sleeping baby as she tried out the name.

Her father smiled. "A good, strong name, ne? Fits him perfectly!"

She smiled hesitantly in return, holding her child just a little tighter, and nodded. "Domo arigatou, Chichiue." She bowed low, careful of the child in her arms. When she straightened, he was making his way out of her rooms. "I know he will be good," she called after him, making him pause halfway out the door. "He will not disgrace our family!"

The lord let out a long, silent breath. He was willing to give the boy a chance, but he still had his reservations about having one of demon blood in his house. It was… troubling, to say the least, and would need some long, hard thought. "We'll see," he said quietly, and reached over to close the shoji door behind him.

The lady was left with a small, sinking feeling in her belly at his departure. It was quickly forgotten, though, when her baby shifted and whimpered, one still-sealed ear pressing over her heart, as if listening to his mother's heart. She cradled him close, her face warming with a smile. "We'll show them, ne, Inu-chan? You'll be the best, and everyone will love you. You'll see."

Inuyasha just yawned his tiny baby yawn and slept on in his mother's warm embrace.

** ** ** ** **

Well, there ya go. The first chapter done. Bet you're thinking, Hey, that wasn't so bad. Don't worry - or maybe I should say Please worry! - Inu-chan's in for some real abuse later on.

I have no idea how long this is going to be, or how long it's going to take me, but I hope ya'll liked it. I've also been wanting to do a song fic focusing around a certain event in Inuyasha's childhood, which may or may not be incorporated in as a chapter in this fic. Just keep a look out for it, I guess..

Please review!

Chichiue - archaic & respectful form of 'father'

domo arigatou - thank you very much

gozaimasu - adds respect to words like 'good morning' (ohayo)

hanyou - literally: half youkai (han youkai), translated as half-breed