Author's Note: This is my take on how Sesshoumaru's upbringing may have brought about his personality and the reason he appears very cool and indifferent, although its obvious that is not always the case. I will try to make the characters as close to the content of the manga/anime, except the gaps I fill in myself through speculation. The first chapter is just some quick kinda boring groundwork, I promise the later chapters won't read so much like an encyclopedia! It will get more interesting down the road, I promise. Please give it a shot and read n' review. Thanks for reading...

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...

It had been a political marriage in every sense of the phrase. Neither party held any real emotion for the other, love or otherwise. It was done for the same reasons most noble marriages were arranged; to ally two noble clans and continue the family lines. Both the bride and groom were perfectly satisfied with the arrangement being no more than basically a business contract, and neither held any fanciful notions of falling madly in love with the other. Such dreams and emotions were nothing more than distractions, especially to high-ranking demons such as themselves.

All the arrangements and decisions had been made beforehand. The young demon lord needed to ally himself with a higher-ranking clan in order to have access to the soldiers, weapons, and other supplies that were needed for his quickly approaching the status of a great demon warrior, possibly even a general. His prowess in battle was greater every time he fought, and his strength grew with leaps and bounds. Also, when he did become a great demon lord, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have an heir early on, so that his line would be well established in only a few years. His clan had been more powerful in centuries past, but poor wartime decisions over the years had cost them a slow decline in rank. This ambitious young warrior wished to restore his clan to its former glory.

The young demon princess had always known that a marriage of this kind was to be her destiny, as it was with all females of her stature. She felt no differently about this suitor than she had any of the others. She left the politics of the matter up to her father's keen judgement. Her father saw the potential this young warrior had as well as the great lord he would soon become. He remembered the clan of the young demon when their rule was still great. It would be of great benefit to combine the two; together they could rule half of all the land, if not more. All she asked was that after she fulfilled her duty of providing him with an heir, she could return to her father's home to raise it. Though the young lord was already relatively well established, he had not settled on a permanent location for the center of his domain. The cold northern lands were also better protected and easier to defend. The child's father would have a better environment to train the child with fewer interruptions, and when the child was grown the unity of the two clans would be complete.

The wedding was a simple matter-of-fact ceremony in early spring. The couple returned to the fortress that the young lord Inutaisho had made his home, at least temporarily. The days passed into summer, and the lord was finally bestowed the rank of general of the western and northern armies. He was often away from his home, and engaged in many battles to solidify his rank and dominance. Near the end of winter, a son was born to him and his wife Lady Kagetsu. He was bestowed with the name Sesshoumaru, a tribute to the treaty his birth made whole that was to mark the end of the old defeats of his father's clan and create a new future for both. As arranged, Lady Kagetsu and her young son returned to the home of her father for the child's upbringing. Lord Inutaisho had accomplished many goals in the short span of only a year. He now had the rank and dominance that would make his clan great once more, as well as a son and heir that would undoubtedly be his match in strength, if not his superior. He had everything that any noble warlord could wish for so early in his career, but somehow there was still something he felt missing in his heart.