InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In the Beginning... ❯ The Daimyou ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
~*A/N: I will try to update this fic once a week. I am also working on my other fic "Dial 'H' for Hentai!", so I should be posting updates on both at regular intervals. FYI: I won't be giving entries for every single day, as there can't be something interesting always happening in young Sesshomaru's life, so I will be skipping ahead a bit. The amount of time listed at the beginning of each entry will be in reference to how long it's been since he received the journal. I realize that Jaken seems a little OOC right now, being an elder to Sesshomaru, but remember, he's only 14! The normal relationship will develop over time. Without further ado, here's chapter two. (Hey, that rhymed!) Enjoy!*~

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inu-Yasha and company. They belong to the talented Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter Two: The Daimyou

Three Months
The past few months have been irritatingly redundant, everyday the same as the last. Every morning, after breakfast, I go over my studies with Jaken. I find that I am learning little that is new, and the exercises in writing and math are dull. My mother has begun joining us almost everyday, teaching me of my ancestry. This is a break I relish from Jaken's tired ministrations. I find myself irritated by him now, his frog-like appearance disgusting. My mother and Jaken have been instructing me in history lately, making me memorize the names of the mortal leaders and their territories. I eagerly await lunch each day, anything to free me from these tiresome lessons.
I continue to train with Gendo every afternoon, and lately he has been focusing on my newly found demon powers, particularly my venom claws. He is also instructing me on how to change from human to youkai form, and back again, and to control the transformation. He often tells me tales of my father, and the "trouble" they got themselves into growing up. Gendo is an inu youkai, like my father, and they have been friends since they were pups. My father once told me that Gendo is his most trusted advisor. Gendo and I have been sparring in our true forms as well as our human forms, and I have discovered that once transformed, I am almost as big as he. My father is ten times our size in his transformed state, but in his human form is not much taller than I, although broader in the shoulders. The sight of him transformed is enough to make his opponents quake with fear. I hoped to grow to a similar stature, but it appears I have stopped growing. Gendo reminds me everyday that "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." If anyone has proved that adage to be true, it would be Gendo.
Following my training sessions, I always go to the hot spring to bathe before dinner. More often then not, the young neko hanyou will join me. I have discovered that her name is Rei, given to her by her mortal mother. Sometimes we just talk, and we have somewhat become friends, as well as lovers. But I have no interest in making her my mate. She is just a warm body to slake my desires, nothing more. I decided to tell her this today, and oddly enough, she just laughed. I realize now that I have no idea whatsoever what goes on inside the mind of a female. I do, however, know how to please their bodies. After all, Rei is an excellent teacher, and I am a quick learner. I enjoy our "lessons" together. Sometimes, I am almost reluctant to leave her and return to the family for supper. It's pleasant to forget about everyone and everything and to just give in to your natural instincts sometimes.
Every evening after supper, I join my father and his council. I have found that each day I enjoy the councils more and more, and have even ventured to contribute my own opinion on rare occasions. Due to my usual silence, my statements are given heavy consideration, and any questions answered patiently. With my attendance, the members of the council make eight. My father sits at the head of our circle, myself to his left, Gendo to his right. The other five are demons of the Westernlands as well. To Gendo's right sits Abunai, another inu yokai, my mother's brother. To his right is is Kiri, his twin sister. To her right, Majuumi, an uma youkai. He is my father's war master, general of his great army. His speed is matched only by that of my father. To the right of him sits Chikara, a sune-ku youkai, my father's messenger and reconnaisance specialist. He is capable of sneaking up on any foe, killing them before they even notice his presence, making him my father's favorite assassin. Finally, to his right and my left, sits Kuroi, an ookami youkai, leader of the western tribes. Although inu and ookami are closely related species, there has always been competition between the two groups. My father and Kuroi have had a treaty since before I was born, giving aid to one another in times of need.
The most common topic in council these past few months has been the wars between the mortal daimyou. Since Ashikaga Takauji established his shogunate in 1338, the ningen of this country have been at war with one another. There is no longer a single ruling government. The mortal wars have made it easier for us youkai to live peacefully these past few centuries. If they are too busy fighting one another, they have no time to worry about us, except as tales to children and objects of nightmares.
Some nights, following the council, I will wander into the garden to meditate and ponder the discussions. I often find my mother there, meditating. The other night, I asked why she never attends the council, as do her brother and sister. She smiled at me, and explained that she had, until she became pregnant. She then wished to focus on being a mother, instead of as a warrior. She also told me that my father still told her all that was discussed, and asked for her advice each evening before bed. If need be, she will fight again, but for now, she is enjoying her peaceful life. It is odd for me to think of my kind and gentle mother, who cuddled and played with me when I was a pup, as a blood-thirsty warrior. I will have to remember to inquire after Jaken about this the next time she does not join us for my lessons.


~*A/N: All historical information in this fic I researched off the net, at www.wsu.edu. Since we aren't given the exact years in the manga, nor the exact age difference between Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru, I'm making an educated guess. Just to discount for any time discrepancies. So, good? Bad? Indifferent? Let me know! (In other words, review, onegai?!)*~

A little vocabulary
Uma - horse
Ookami - wolf
Sune-ku - snake
Ningen - human
Daimyou - feudal lords during the Muromachi period (15th and 16th centuries)