InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Child ❯ Family ( Chapter 3 )

"A Child" by Jezunya

Standard Disclaimers apply, as always.

No notes this time, but I do want to thank you wonderful people who reviewed!! I luv you all!! XD Thank you Henna, kk, Saki, arihat, and Megami Riley!! You guys are great!! ^__^

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Lady Yubi watched her son as he slowly practiced copying the sentences before him. She felt helpless, sitting there, watching him silently. She'd been so worried when he hadn't come back from the garden at dinner time, but had just assumed he'd played so much that he'd tired himself out and fallen asleep when she found him curled up at the base of the willow tree. But today… he was so quiet, and he had barely touched his food, at dinner the night before, and breakfast this morning.

Her eyebrows knit slightly as she wondered what could have happened in the garden. Did he meet any of the other children in the castle? If so, how did they treat him? She knew there were always rumors about him flying around the castle, mainly among the servants and peasants in the surrounding area. Could the children be copying their parents' attitudes and treating him like some kind of …monster?

She swallowed hard. She knew she shouldn't start jumping to conclusions, but it worried her.

Inuyasha finally looked up, after feeling her gaze on him. "Mama?" he asked softly, watching her with wide gold eyes.

Yubi smiled softly at him and moved to kneel beside him, looking down at his paper. "Did you have a good time at the garden yesterday?" she asked quietly, checking over his sentences. The fish swims in the water. The bird sits in the tree.

There was a moment of silence before he answered. "We went swimming… In the pond…"

Yubi turned her head to smile at him. "Really? Was that fun?"

Inuyasha just stared at her. "I tried to catch a fish. But I was too slow…"

"Ah. Well, you'll get faster the more you practice," she said, smiling and gently patting his head. He just looked down at his paper, not answering.

After several moments of silence, just when Mama was about to move away, he asked very softly, "What's a… bastard?"

Yubi looked at him sharply. "Where did you hear that word?" she demanded, frowning at him as she bent down to crouch beside him again.

"Who's Aunt Yubi?" Inuyasha asked instead. He looked up at her hesitantly, tears already shining in his large gold eyes. "Kinichi said I was Aunt Yubi's little demon bastard."

The lady could only stare in horror, even as she felt tears begin to prick in her own eyes. Kinichi, that little brat! She lurched forward to grab her son around the shoulders, pulling him into a tight embrace. I should have known.. Of course he would act this way…

"Mama..?" Inuyasha asked, looking up worriedly at the angry tears running down his mother's face.

"Come on," Lady Yubi said suddenly, standing. "We're going to see your grandfather."

***

Inuyasha usually loved going to see Ojii-sama. The old man almost always had some kind of toy or sweet for him, even though Mama usually seemed to disapprove. Today though, he had to sit still while Mama and Ojii-sama talked across the room. They looked very serious, and Mama even looked angry. After a little while when Ojii-sama just sat and listened while Mama talked angrily, he called a servant over and then sent him out of the room with some kind of message.

Inuyasha squirmed a bit when Mama turned to come and sit by him again, still looking mad. Maybe he was in trouble? Maybe Mama and Ojii-sama were angry because he hadn't done what he was told the day before. Kinichi said he was in charge, and you did what you were told when the person in charge told you to do it. Normally, Ojii-sama was in charge, and everyone always did what he said, even Mama. Maybe Kinichi told on him, so now he was in trouble…

Just then, a man came into the room. Inuyasha looked up, and his eyes widened. The man paused to glare at him, but then strode over to Ojii-sama, his fine silk kimono swirling around him as he moved. He fisted his hands on his hips, glaring down at the old man. "What is this about, father?"

Ojii-sama looked up at him, motioning for him to sit. When he had done so, he began, speaking softly as he looked down at the tatami mat, tracing his finger in random designs. "Yubi tells me there has been trouble among the children in this castle," he said casually, and glanced up at the other man to gauge his reaction.

The man bristled, his glare changing to a full-out scowl. "I don't know what you're-" He suddenly cut off and whipped around to stare at Inuyasha and Yubi. "You…" he snarled, rising to his feet. "How dare you-?!"

Mama leapt to her feet as well, not about to let him tower over her. "How dare you allow your son to run rampant, abusing my son in such a way?!" she yelled back, fires of anger burning in her eyes.

The man sneered, his cruel eyes switching to Inuyasha before looking back at Mama. The hanyou cringed, trying to make himself as small as possible. His eyes were so scary, so cruel. He shivered and looked at the floor.

"So.. Reality has finally hit, eh, Yubi?" the man's voice continued, mockingly. "Couldn't keep him locked up forever, could you? A monster like that was bound to break out sooner or later, ne?" There was the sound of a sharp slap, and then the screech of metal being pulled from a sheath. Inuyasha finally looked up when Grandfather started yelling.

"Yubi! Takane! That is enough!" The old man stood tall and fierce on his dais, violet eyes blazing down at the two siblings in the middle of the room. The man, Takane, scowled and slowly put away his sword, reaching up to rub at the bright red hand print on his cheek. "There will no such language - or violence - here," Ojii-sama continued, regally reseating himself as he glared at his son and daughter.

Takane snorted, folding his arms in his billowing sleeves as he turned his back on Inuyasha and Yubi and made his way back to Ojii-sama. "No better than the little mongrel deserves," he sniffed, sitting.

Mama's eyes blazed again, and she looked to Ojii-sama for help again. "Father-!"

"I will not have such discord in my house!" Grandfather roared, slamming his hands down flat on the floor, making Inuyasha jump. He turned a hard glare on the man beside him. "You are my heir, Takane. You will be lord here after I pass on into the next world. And part of being a good ruler is knowing when to use compassion, rather than cruelty.. and pity, rather than prejudice."

Inuyasha looked to Mama in bewilderment, and his confusion only grew when she looked away in shame at Grandfather's words.

Takane scoffed again, breaking the heavy silence. He began to climb to his feet. "A beggar deserves compassion, a leper pity. But that," he spat, jerking his head in Inuyasha's direction, sneering, "deserves nothing from us. Nothing but to killed on sight. An abomination such as that never should have been allowed first breath!" And with that, he turned and left the room, the shoji banging closed behind him.

After a long moment of silence, Grandfather sighed tiredly, resting his head in his hands. Finally, he looked up at them. "I am sorry, Yubi. It seems.. he will not be reasoned with."

Mama closed her eyes, letting out a long, measured breath. "I only wished for him to reign in his son. Surely Inuyasha is not the only victim of Kinichi's wrath?"

"The others are all servants' children. Even if they had complaints, they would not dare to bring them against Kinichi or Takane," Grandfather sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Yubi turned away from him, going to pick up her son, blinking back tears. Inuyasha stared up at her face as she lifted him up to her shoulder, his eyes wide and frightened. Why was she crying? She.. she wasn't going to let that man hurt him, was she?

"Yubi…" Grandfather said wearily, coming up behind her and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "There is nothing you can do about Kinichi.. Let it go."

Mama closed her eyes, pulling away from him. "I cannot.. I cannot forget something like this."

"Yubi," he sighed, his voice beginning to sound exasperated. His eyes landed on the small golden pair peering up at him from over his daughter's shoulder. He half-smiled at the small boy. "You're a good lad, Inuyasha. You can make friends with your cousin, can't you?" he asked, grinning kindly.

Inuyasha sat up a little from where he was braced against Mama's shoulder and bit his lip as he watched Ojii-sama. He didn't know who this 'cousin' was, but it didn't sound like such a bad thing. Slowly, he smiled back at Grandfather and nodded.

Ojii-sama laughed heartily. "There, see? The boy's ready to give it another chance. Why not you too, Yubi?"

"Ugh.." Mama shook her head in disgust and made her way out of the room, heading back to their own quarters.

***

It was near midday when Takane came to their rooms.

Inuyasha noticed it first, with his acute hearing and fine sense of smell. He looked up, his eyebrows rising worriedly; it was the scent of that mean, scary man who had talked to Ojii-sama and Mama that morning. He shivered and tried to go back to his lesson, hoping he would just go away.

Mama must have seen his movement, because she frowned and started to move over toward him. "Inuyasha? What is it..?" She looked up sharply when the shoji of their study was suddenly thrown roughly aside and her older brother stepped into the room.

"What do you want, Takane?" she asked coldly, turning her back to him to focus on Inuyasha and his work instead. Her son, however, only stared up at the man in fear, half-hiding behind his mother.

Takane smirked. "Oh, nothing, really.." he said casually, leaning against a wall post. "You know, I happened to run into our dear, honored father's physician today…" he said conversationally, watching his sister through narrowed eyes. "Father's not as young as he used to be, of course, and it seems his age is finally starting to catch up with him."

Mama stilled, simply staring into space, her mouth a grim line as she listened.

Takane stood from the wall, becoming serious. "He's too soft for his own good, but you won't be able to hide behind him much longer." He glared down at Inuyasha, making the young hanyou shrink further behind his mother. "And then… You'll finally get what you deserve," he finished in a harsh, cold whisper.

"Get OUT!" Mama suddenly screamed, spinning around and hurling the quill and ink-well in her hands. Takane narrowly dodged them, the black ink splashing through the air and splattering onto his face and clothes as he glared daggers at her. He didn't even wait a moment before rushing at his sister, bellowing his rage, fists swinging powerfully and connecting with her body with loud, solid, smacks.

Inuyasha was up and running when Takane first charged at them, and by the time his uncle had got the first blow in, he was already skittering for the door and out of their quarters. He ran blindly, his mother's pain-filled cries roaring in his ears even when he was all the way to the garden, much too far away to actually hear her. He stumbled down the steps from the verandah, tripping over his own feet every few steps, and finally crumpled onto the large, protruding roots of the willow tree, panting and shaking all over with fear and exhaustion.

He didn't understand what was going on. That man was so mean, and he was hurting Mama, so why hadn't Ojii-sama made him go away? He curled up on himself, shivering uncontrollably as loud, heart-wrenching sobs overtook him and large hot tears tracked down his cheeks.

And that was how Kinichi found him.

***

It was long after dark by the time he found his way back to their rooms. Just like the day before, he'd had to wait until Kinichi and his gang had gone in for the night before making his way inside, plus finding that the castle looked very different by moonlight than in the day. He was scared, and tired, and he had to keep wiping at the small trickles of warm liquid over his eye and from his nose, both of which sent a sharp pain lancing through his head with each wipe. Getting your face repeatedly smashed into a tree really did start to hurt after a while…

He managed to wriggle through the shoji without having to push the heavy doors apart too much, flopping down onto the floor when he finally popped through. He looked up, blinking into the darkness around him and sniffling loudly. He scrubbed at the tears on his face with one hand as he climbed to his feet.

"M-Mama..?" He tried to find her scent in the apartment, but could only smell his own blood clogging up his nose. Scrubbing at his eyes again, he ran to their sleeping quarters. Maybe she's already gone to sleep…

This chamber was even darker than the main room. He shuffled along carefully, trying to feel his way along the wall to Mother's futon and ignoring the steady drip-drip-drip of the warm liquid from his nose and eye hitting the floor as he walked.

He found Mama's bed after a few minutes, falling onto his hands and knees and crawling onto it. He stopped and sat down on his haunches in the middle of the futon, his tears welling up anew. She wasn't here. Where was she..?

He scrubbed at the tears in his eyes with his balled fists, crying all the harder when the motion made pain shoot up behind his eye again. It was so dark in here, and the whole castle seemed so silent. He couldn't even find Mama..! He hurt all over but Mama wasn't there to make it better! Where was she? Why did she leave him..?!

He bawled for a good quarter of an hour, rocking back and forth on his knees as he cried into his arms. Eventually, his tears slowed and his sobs quieted to whimpers. He stilled on his Mother's blankets, occasionally rubbing at his closed eyes and sniffling softly as exhaustion finally overtook him.

That night, for what would certainly not be the last time, Inuyasha cried himself to sleep.

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Short chapter, I know.. *starts handing out chocolates* Ya know, just in case you guys find this anywhere near as depressing and sad I do.. ;_;

Ojii-sama - Grandfather; the '-sama' ending adds a great deal of respect

Shoji - the sliding rice-paper panels that work as both walls and doors

Oh, and one last thing: please no more reviews about the thing in Ch1 about Inuyasha's nose. It seems there are some people who disagree with me about whether he has a dog nose or not, and I'm not going to fight you anymore. Just know that in this fic, he does have a dog nose, and that's really all that matters here. ~_~;

Anyway, hoped you liked it! Review!!!!!!

^_^