The garden was blooming with spring flowers. In the pond, minnows were darting around, under the drooping branches.
A young woman was standing by the pond. Her smooth black hair reached past her knees, and her richly-embroidered kimonos trailed behind her on the grass. Others watched her as they passed by, but did not disturb her while she was thinking.
A rush of wind blew cherry blossoms over the woman's hair. She looked up at the sky, pulling her kimonos around herself more tightly. The servants gasped and retreated to the wings of the palace, but the woman stayed out in the open.
In the clouds, two shadowy shapes were taking form, the larger of them blotting out the sun. A faint roar rumbled like thunder, and more wind blew. But the young woman only knelt by the pondside, with a faint smile on her lips.
Then the shapes in the clouds were gone. The girl rose to her feet with difficulty, and waited for them to arrive.
Two richly-dressed figures appeared in the woods -- demon lords. They had golden eyes, long silver hair, and claws on their hands. One was young, with cold eyes. The other was older, grimmer, and somewhat friendlier-looking. He came toward the girl.
She bowed deeply. "My lord."
"Rise, Nagiko." The Dog-Lord glanced down at Nagiko's swollen belly as she rose. "How are you?"
"Better now that you have come," she said.
The Dog-Lord frowned. He tilted Nagiko's face up. She was thinner and paler than the last time he had visited. "You don't look well."
"The priestess tells me it's normal," Nagiko said, folding her kimono over her stomach. The last few months had been difficult ones; her baby made it hard to rest with his constant kicking and squirming. At least it meant he was doing well. No child could be sick and still be so active.
Nagiko hoped it would be a boy. The Dog-Lord assured her that he didn't care whether the child was a boy or a girl, so long as she and it were healthy. He had an heir; this child was one of pure pleasure. But she hoped it would be another heir, even a half-human one.
The Dog-Lord looked dubious. But he nodded.
As the Dog-Lord put his arm around her shoulders, she glanced back at the other demon. Sesshoumaru. Technically he was her stepson, but he showed her no respect, and she could not feel any warmth for him. She wrinkled her nose as she saw a tiny dark figure scuttling behind him, with a staff. Jaken. She despised that imp.
"Come, Nagiko," said the Dog-Lord. She followed him into the palace.
*
The Dog-Lord frightened the servants of Nagiko's family home. She had wanted to return to where she had grown up when the child was born, and he had allowed her. Perhaps it wasn't entirely wise or safe, but she said that she felt more comfortable there.
It didn't particularly bother him that they were frightened of him. He was a force to be reckoned with, even among powerful demons, even if he was past his prime. He was accustomed to being feared.
"This place is unworthy," Sesshoumaru said in a low voice as they stepped out into the gardens.
"Perhaps. But Nagiko wishes to be here. For her sake, I will stay here while she waits."
"And I?"
"You are my son. You have a duty to your father's wife."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "Do you consider it wise having a child with... her?"
"Why should I not?" the Dog-Lord asked bluntly. He remembered when Nagiko told him she was expecting a child. She had been afraid he would be upset; instead, he was delighted. He cared deeply for the human girl, and the idea of having a child with her pleased him.
"Be quiet."
Sesshoumaru reluctantly obeyed.
The Dog-Lord wandered alone through the gardens, looking for Nagiko. When he saw her, he also heard a familiar voice.
"... a two-headed beast with no teeth and no eyes..." Jaken was saying.
The Dog-Lord growled softly and swooped down on Jaken. Before the squawking imp knew what was happening, he was being flung into the pond.
The demon growled low in his throat as he knelt beside Nagiko. Her dark eyes were full of tears. Jaken took every opportunity to tell her of half-breeds who were born deformed or monstrous. The Dog-Lord had ordered Sesshoumaru to keep Jaken quiet when Nagiko was around, but his son hadn't yet obeyed.
He placed a hand on her stomach. "Ignore that imp. Our child will be perfectly all right."
Nagiko didn't look convinced. But she nodded.
When the baby kicked, he felt Nagiko start. "It must be a boy," she said, wincing. "He's kicking so hard. I almost fell the other day because of him."
"Remember, it is half-demon," the Dog-Lord said with a slight smile. "Boy or girl, it doesn't matter."
Nagiko leaned her head on her lord's shoulder. He played with a few strands of her hair, a rare show of outward affection.
She often wondered what her baby would look like -- but she refused to let Jaken's predictions bother her. Would her baby have silver or black hair? Would he look more like a demon or a human? She could already tell he -- or she -- had the Dog-Lord's legendary temper, which had once caused him to rip a mountain in half. She had seen the split herself.
She closed her eyes. Her husband was now running his clawed fingers over her stomach, as if he wanted to hold his second child. The touch comforted her.
"M-Milord," a small voice quavered.
The Dog-Lord growled, "Go away, Jaken. If I get very angry, I might also become hungry."
The imp squeaked and jumped back. "B-but milord, Lord Sesshoumaru wishes to speak with you."
The Dog-Lord growled again as he got up. Leaving Nagiko by the pond, he followed Jaken into the palace. Sesshoumaru was waiting under the cherry trees, his arms folded into his sleeves. "Father, I have grave doubts about the wisdom of this. Mingling your blood with that of a human -- nothing good can come from such a child."
With any other demon, he would have been blunter and more forceful. But his father alone could make Sesshoumaru hesitate. The Dog-Lord simply turned and walked away, irritated by his son.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his golden eyes. He looked coldly across the garden at the girl kneeling by the pond.
Apparently, the discussion had ended.
*
A faint cry came from inside the palace.
The Dog-Lord did not look over his shoulder. Beside him, Sesshoumaru grimaced. "After the child is born, then may I go?" he said in a flat voice.
"After we have both seen it," the Dog-Lord said stiffly. He was barely containing his anger at Sesshoumaru's stubbornness. He gets that from me, he thought. Maybe the new baby would be less tempestuous...
Since the child was Nagiko's firstborn, the priestess had told the Dog-Lord that it would take a long time. He drummed his fingers, hoping at any moment to hear her cries cease. She was in pain, but he could not help her until the baby was born.
It had begun last night, and had stretched into the afternoon. The Dog-Lord's sensitive ears had heard Nagiko calling for her servants, and the high priestess who had come simply to help her. He had tried to come to her side, but the old woman had forbidden him. Even the great, terrifying demon who ruled the western lands was barred from his wife's chamber now.
Suddenly the cries ceased -- only to be replaced by a new, shriller sound.
The Dog-Lord stood up quickly and went into the palace.
*
Nagiko took a deep breath as the priestess knelt beside her bed. The handmaiden dabbed a cold cloth over the new mother's sweaty face. "... a lovely little boy," the priestess was saying. "A little tired now, but he's a feisty one. Probably be awake for some time..."
Nagiko's breath caught as the priestess gave her her baby, swaddled in a large blanket. For a moment she was afraid of what she would see. But he wasn't a monster. He was perfect. Unmistakably half-demon, though. His tiny fingers had blunt claws, his eyes were golden, and his hair was silver. What was more, two tiny dog ears were crumpled on the top of his head.
The baby yawned and nuzzled against his mother. Nagiko felt tears come to her eyes.
Nagiko broke from her reverie at the sound of a screen being shattered. "You can't come in--this isn't prop-" someone said.
The priestess quickly got up and hobbled into the next room. "My lord, Lady Nagiko has given you a fine son," Nagiko heard her say. "But he... er, he has... his ears are..."
The Dog-Lord ignored her and swept into the room. The handmaiden quickly backed away from Nagiko, but the demon took no notice of her. He knelt down, and looked intently at his wife. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. But look at Inuyasha..."
The Dog-Lord looked intently at the dozing baby's face. He touched the child's cheek with one claw, and let the small hand grasp his fingertip. "Inuyasha," he said meditatively. "A good name for such a child." He thought it was a little redundant, but if Nagiko wished for their baby to be named that, then "Inuyasha" was what he would be called.
A few hours later, Nagiko was sleeping soundly in her own room. Sesshoumaru followed his father silently into the half-demon baby's chamber -- Inuyasha, that presumptuous girl had named him. A ridiculously obvious name for the spawn of a dog-demon.
"What do you think of your new brother?" the Dog-Lord asked, proudly looking at Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru didn't answer.
Jaken scuttled over to the cradle and peered inside. "Milord!" he said, horrified. "The creature -- it has the ears of a dog."
Disturbed, Inuyasha began to cry angrily. Jaken narrowly avoided being smashed in the face.
"So I noticed, wretched imp," the Dog-Lord said sharply. He shoved Jaken aside as he picked up Inuyasha. The baby yawned again, and blinked his golden eyes at Sesshoumaru.
"He resembles Nagiko," Sesshoumaru said tonelessly. "I smell the human in him."
"Hardly surprising, since his mother is human," the Dog-Lord said dryly. "Surely you can concoct a better lie than that." He placed Inuyasha back in his cradle. "Half-human or not, Inuyasha is also my son. You would do well to remember that, Sesshoumaru."
"I shall, Father. I doubt that I will be able to forget it."
Without another word, Sesshoumaru stepped out into the twilight. The Dog-Lord watched the form of a great dog vanish into the clouds, then looked back at Inuyasha. The baby was asleep again, perhaps dreaming of the future.
THE END
A young woman was standing by the pond. Her smooth black hair reached past her knees, and her richly-embroidered kimonos trailed behind her on the grass. Others watched her as they passed by, but did not disturb her while she was thinking.
A rush of wind blew cherry blossoms over the woman's hair. She looked up at the sky, pulling her kimonos around herself more tightly. The servants gasped and retreated to the wings of the palace, but the woman stayed out in the open.
In the clouds, two shadowy shapes were taking form, the larger of them blotting out the sun. A faint roar rumbled like thunder, and more wind blew. But the young woman only knelt by the pondside, with a faint smile on her lips.
Then the shapes in the clouds were gone. The girl rose to her feet with difficulty, and waited for them to arrive.
Two richly-dressed figures appeared in the woods -- demon lords. They had golden eyes, long silver hair, and claws on their hands. One was young, with cold eyes. The other was older, grimmer, and somewhat friendlier-looking. He came toward the girl.
She bowed deeply. "My lord."
"Rise, Nagiko." The Dog-Lord glanced down at Nagiko's swollen belly as she rose. "How are you?"
"Better now that you have come," she said.
The Dog-Lord frowned. He tilted Nagiko's face up. She was thinner and paler than the last time he had visited. "You don't look well."
"The priestess tells me it's normal," Nagiko said, folding her kimono over her stomach. The last few months had been difficult ones; her baby made it hard to rest with his constant kicking and squirming. At least it meant he was doing well. No child could be sick and still be so active.
Nagiko hoped it would be a boy. The Dog-Lord assured her that he didn't care whether the child was a boy or a girl, so long as she and it were healthy. He had an heir; this child was one of pure pleasure. But she hoped it would be another heir, even a half-human one.
The Dog-Lord looked dubious. But he nodded.
As the Dog-Lord put his arm around her shoulders, she glanced back at the other demon. Sesshoumaru. Technically he was her stepson, but he showed her no respect, and she could not feel any warmth for him. She wrinkled her nose as she saw a tiny dark figure scuttling behind him, with a staff. Jaken. She despised that imp.
"Come, Nagiko," said the Dog-Lord. She followed him into the palace.
*
The Dog-Lord frightened the servants of Nagiko's family home. She had wanted to return to where she had grown up when the child was born, and he had allowed her. Perhaps it wasn't entirely wise or safe, but she said that she felt more comfortable there.
It didn't particularly bother him that they were frightened of him. He was a force to be reckoned with, even among powerful demons, even if he was past his prime. He was accustomed to being feared.
"This place is unworthy," Sesshoumaru said in a low voice as they stepped out into the gardens.
"Perhaps. But Nagiko wishes to be here. For her sake, I will stay here while she waits."
"And I?"
"You are my son. You have a duty to your father's wife."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "Do you consider it wise having a child with... her?"
"Why should I not?" the Dog-Lord asked bluntly. He remembered when Nagiko told him she was expecting a child. She had been afraid he would be upset; instead, he was delighted. He cared deeply for the human girl, and the idea of having a child with her pleased him.
"Be quiet."
Sesshoumaru reluctantly obeyed.
The Dog-Lord wandered alone through the gardens, looking for Nagiko. When he saw her, he also heard a familiar voice.
"... a two-headed beast with no teeth and no eyes..." Jaken was saying.
The Dog-Lord growled softly and swooped down on Jaken. Before the squawking imp knew what was happening, he was being flung into the pond.
The demon growled low in his throat as he knelt beside Nagiko. Her dark eyes were full of tears. Jaken took every opportunity to tell her of half-breeds who were born deformed or monstrous. The Dog-Lord had ordered Sesshoumaru to keep Jaken quiet when Nagiko was around, but his son hadn't yet obeyed.
He placed a hand on her stomach. "Ignore that imp. Our child will be perfectly all right."
Nagiko didn't look convinced. But she nodded.
When the baby kicked, he felt Nagiko start. "It must be a boy," she said, wincing. "He's kicking so hard. I almost fell the other day because of him."
"Remember, it is half-demon," the Dog-Lord said with a slight smile. "Boy or girl, it doesn't matter."
Nagiko leaned her head on her lord's shoulder. He played with a few strands of her hair, a rare show of outward affection.
She often wondered what her baby would look like -- but she refused to let Jaken's predictions bother her. Would her baby have silver or black hair? Would he look more like a demon or a human? She could already tell he -- or she -- had the Dog-Lord's legendary temper, which had once caused him to rip a mountain in half. She had seen the split herself.
She closed her eyes. Her husband was now running his clawed fingers over her stomach, as if he wanted to hold his second child. The touch comforted her.
"M-Milord," a small voice quavered.
The Dog-Lord growled, "Go away, Jaken. If I get very angry, I might also become hungry."
The imp squeaked and jumped back. "B-but milord, Lord Sesshoumaru wishes to speak with you."
The Dog-Lord growled again as he got up. Leaving Nagiko by the pond, he followed Jaken into the palace. Sesshoumaru was waiting under the cherry trees, his arms folded into his sleeves. "Father, I have grave doubts about the wisdom of this. Mingling your blood with that of a human -- nothing good can come from such a child."
With any other demon, he would have been blunter and more forceful. But his father alone could make Sesshoumaru hesitate. The Dog-Lord simply turned and walked away, irritated by his son.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his golden eyes. He looked coldly across the garden at the girl kneeling by the pond.
Apparently, the discussion had ended.
*
A faint cry came from inside the palace.
The Dog-Lord did not look over his shoulder. Beside him, Sesshoumaru grimaced. "After the child is born, then may I go?" he said in a flat voice.
"After we have both seen it," the Dog-Lord said stiffly. He was barely containing his anger at Sesshoumaru's stubbornness. He gets that from me, he thought. Maybe the new baby would be less tempestuous...
Since the child was Nagiko's firstborn, the priestess had told the Dog-Lord that it would take a long time. He drummed his fingers, hoping at any moment to hear her cries cease. She was in pain, but he could not help her until the baby was born.
It had begun last night, and had stretched into the afternoon. The Dog-Lord's sensitive ears had heard Nagiko calling for her servants, and the high priestess who had come simply to help her. He had tried to come to her side, but the old woman had forbidden him. Even the great, terrifying demon who ruled the western lands was barred from his wife's chamber now.
Suddenly the cries ceased -- only to be replaced by a new, shriller sound.
The Dog-Lord stood up quickly and went into the palace.
*
Nagiko took a deep breath as the priestess knelt beside her bed. The handmaiden dabbed a cold cloth over the new mother's sweaty face. "... a lovely little boy," the priestess was saying. "A little tired now, but he's a feisty one. Probably be awake for some time..."
Nagiko's breath caught as the priestess gave her her baby, swaddled in a large blanket. For a moment she was afraid of what she would see. But he wasn't a monster. He was perfect. Unmistakably half-demon, though. His tiny fingers had blunt claws, his eyes were golden, and his hair was silver. What was more, two tiny dog ears were crumpled on the top of his head.
The baby yawned and nuzzled against his mother. Nagiko felt tears come to her eyes.
Nagiko broke from her reverie at the sound of a screen being shattered. "You can't come in--this isn't prop-" someone said.
The priestess quickly got up and hobbled into the next room. "My lord, Lady Nagiko has given you a fine son," Nagiko heard her say. "But he... er, he has... his ears are..."
The Dog-Lord ignored her and swept into the room. The handmaiden quickly backed away from Nagiko, but the demon took no notice of her. He knelt down, and looked intently at his wife. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. But look at Inuyasha..."
The Dog-Lord looked intently at the dozing baby's face. He touched the child's cheek with one claw, and let the small hand grasp his fingertip. "Inuyasha," he said meditatively. "A good name for such a child." He thought it was a little redundant, but if Nagiko wished for their baby to be named that, then "Inuyasha" was what he would be called.
A few hours later, Nagiko was sleeping soundly in her own room. Sesshoumaru followed his father silently into the half-demon baby's chamber -- Inuyasha, that presumptuous girl had named him. A ridiculously obvious name for the spawn of a dog-demon.
"What do you think of your new brother?" the Dog-Lord asked, proudly looking at Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru didn't answer.
Jaken scuttled over to the cradle and peered inside. "Milord!" he said, horrified. "The creature -- it has the ears of a dog."
Disturbed, Inuyasha began to cry angrily. Jaken narrowly avoided being smashed in the face.
"So I noticed, wretched imp," the Dog-Lord said sharply. He shoved Jaken aside as he picked up Inuyasha. The baby yawned again, and blinked his golden eyes at Sesshoumaru.
"He resembles Nagiko," Sesshoumaru said tonelessly. "I smell the human in him."
"Hardly surprising, since his mother is human," the Dog-Lord said dryly. "Surely you can concoct a better lie than that." He placed Inuyasha back in his cradle. "Half-human or not, Inuyasha is also my son. You would do well to remember that, Sesshoumaru."
"I shall, Father. I doubt that I will be able to forget it."
Without another word, Sesshoumaru stepped out into the twilight. The Dog-Lord watched the form of a great dog vanish into the clouds, then looked back at Inuyasha. The baby was asleep again, perhaps dreaming of the future.
THE END