I Loved Him

By: Light-Eco-Sage

Rated: Mature for romance and sexuality. (The sex parts will involve Inuyasha/Kagome.)

Summary: A one-shot series revolving around all the people who loved Inuyasha. It is not always romantic love, and some of it will be not strictly canon.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter I: I Loved Him as a Son, Part 1

The Great Dog General, Inu no Taisho, groaned in pain as his blood stained the snow below his feet red. Even though he was considered the most powerful Youkai alive, he did not escape his fight with Ruukotsusei entirely unharmed. Even with his nearly limitless strength his wounds festered and he knew deep in his heart that he was not long for this world.

He grit his fangs against the pain as he took on his true form to better shield himself from the pain of his wounds. The stabbing pain dulled into a dull ache and he was able to push himself to continue his journey. The castle he sought was on his lands, not far from his home. Before, he had never taken much notice of the human castle until he had traveled there one year to collect the Lord's usual promise of fealty to the Youkai Lord and he met her.

She had been the second daughter of the castle Lord. And, while her beauty was alluring, it was the steel in her spirit that drew the great Inu no Taisho to her. There was a true-bred strength in her that seemed to skip over her siblings. The Inu no Taisho began to meet with her, in secret under the full moon. After many months, their mutual interest in each other had turned into friendship and then passionate love.

At first, they resisted their love, knowing the sort of pain and hardship they could unleash if they gave in and produced a hanyou child. But neither heart could be denied. Inu no Taisho had taken a human woman as a mate and she had just recently given birth to their hanyou son.

Inu no Taisho had only seen his son once since birth, looking precisely how Inuhanyous usually looked. He had his father's silver hair and a pair of dog ears on his head that belonged to neither human nor Youkai and instead marked his status as half. He had still been blind (and deaf too) the last time he saw his son, but Inu no Taisho knew that his son would have his golden eyes.

As he and his mate expected, the birth was not looked upon happily either among his family or hers. But Inu no Taisho had all ready gotten the solemn word of his elder son, Sesshomaru, that he would not harm the infant and only the most foolish of humans would dare to attack any offspring of a Youkai Lord. His son was protected by his status as a Youkai Lord and when he passed to the netherworld…

Inu no Taisho growled, forcing the thought from his mind. He had time left, but precious little time. He would never be able to watch his infant son grow up into the powerful hanyou he knew he could be, but he could see his new son and mate one last time. There was time enough for that, at least.

It was night and the castle was guarded, of course, but that was of no concern for him. It did not stop him during the entirety of his relationship with the Princess and it did not stop him now. The human guards took no notice of him as he entered the grounds.

He followed his mate's scent and the sound of her heartbeat unerringly to her room where she slept with her newborn son curled against her body. Inu no Taisho entered the room with absolute silence, gazing at his part-human family. They were so different from his Youkai family that it took his breath away.

His first wife was still alive and well, but theirs had been a marriage of politics. She was a strong and beautiful Inuyoukai bitch, but she did not stir him like this human woman. This human woman had shown him a love that Youkai typically don't experience and, now that he knew the wonders of a human's heart, he would not give it up.

His golden eyes fell on his young hanyou son. The infant was curled into his mother's breast, sleeping peaceful. Inu no Taisho could tell by sight that his son was no longer blind and deaf, but neither of those senses would work as well as his nose for a few days.

As he moved closer to mother and child, his son could scent the smell of blood and began to whimper fitfully, stirring his mother from her sleep. "Baby…" She sighed, since the boy was yet to receive a name. Babies were typically not named until a week after birth in the human tradition due to the high fatality rate among newborn human babes. And then she saw out of the corner of her eye was her son had smelled: her love and mate, covered in blood.

"Darling!" She gasped, standing up as gently as she could without further annoying her newborn and making her way over towards her injured mate. "What happened?"

Inu no Taisho ignored her question, instead pulling her into an embrace. "Izayoi…" He whispered, burying his nose against her hair and breathing in her lovely fragrance that had held him captive since the day he met her.

"Taisho." Izayoi whispered in reply. It was not his name, of course, merely a title. But Inu no Taisho was so immensely old that he no longer remembered the name he had been born with. The great Inuyoukai went to his knees and Izayoi knelt with him, clutching onto him desperately as her heart began to realize what her mind could not accept. Any human with wounds like his would all ready be dead. Even as a Youkai as powerful as him, his wounds were fatal.

"I just wanted…" Inu no Taisho whispered to her. "I just wanted to see you again… and our son."

Nodding, and with tears filling her eyes, Izayoi retrieved her newborn from the futon and passed the tiny infant to his father. Inu no Taisho gazed at his son, his eyes finally open and his ears able to hear. The infant hanyou's golden eyes stared up at his father, uncomprehending. A full Youkai child would be able to remember this moment to remember the face of their father, but Inu no Taisho knew that this son would be different. His son would not remember his face or the sound of his voice. But his son would remember his scent. Even minutes after birth a pup could remember the scent of its parents.

The Youkai lowered his head towards his son, nuzzling the boy with his nose. The infant still fussed, because he instinctively knew that the mixture of the smells of his father and blood was not a good thing. But Inu no Taisho growled low in his chest; a sound meant to sooth his son. It did not work completely, but the infant hanyou did calm down a little. The tiny child even returned the nuzzle, giving a tiny little whine in the Inu language that could mean something like 'Father'.

Inu no Taisho gazed at his son, the one that he would never see grow up. He knew that life would be hard on the boy. Life was hard for any hanyou, no matter how noble his blood. But the great Inuyoukai knew that his son was a strong one; that he would find his place in the world where so many hanyous had failed. His son was destined for greatness, of that there was no doubt.

"Taisho…" Izayoi whispered, placing a loving hand on her mate's shoulder.

Inu no Taisho met her gaze. "Izayoi, my love, you must be strong." Tears were in her eyes now, but she did not scream and cry. She nodded her head, lips set firmly to stop herself from crying. "I all ready have Sesshomaru's word that he will protect you and our son when I'm gone. But, knowing my son like I do, his protection will stop at merely protecting you and our son from death. It will be up to you now…"

He trailed off, bringing his son to his face again, greedily taking in his pup's scent. The smell was all ready imprinted on him, but now he could not get enough of the pup-smell, the way the child smelled of himself and Izayoi.

"My son… my Inuyasha." Inu no Taisho whispered for only his small part-human family to hear. "If you can remember any one thing besides my scent, always remember that I love you." He gave the babe a final nuzzle and told him that he loved him in the Inu language.

He reluctantly gave the child back to his mother and stood. "I love you, Izayoi." He whispered as he disappeared out the window and was never seen alive again.