InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Becoming Sesshoumaru ❯ Growing Up ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Tabbykitty 
20 years have passed since Sesshoumaru became the kami of a tiny village. How will things change now that all the humans he knows are either old or grown up? Can his little piece of paradise remain as it is forever?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Psychological / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.06.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 344 | Status: Completed
20 years have passed since Sesshoumaru became the kami of a tiny village. How will things change now that all the humans he knows are either old or grown up? Can his little piece of paradise remain as it is forever?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Psychological / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.06.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 344 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha.
20 years have passed since the day Sesshoumaru made his promise to Takeo to “never leave him”. This chapter continues the tale of his friendship with the late village headman’s son.
Translations:
Youkai – demon
Ningen – human
Kami – deities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The years flew by like autumn leaves floating down a rapidly gushing stream. Before Sesshoumaru realized it, 20 years had passed. For a demon such as himself, the passing of decades was nothing more than a moment in his endless life. He still looked exactly like the lad of 13 summers, who had saved the little village from bandits so many years ago. However, little Takeo was now a tall, fully-grown young man who tied up his jet-black hair into a neat topknot.
Despite his age, Takeo had put off taking a wife because of the turbulent times that had fallen upon the surrounding lands. Some 15 years back, news came to the village from traveling peddlers that some powerful headmen and landowners had consolidated their holdings of land. Over time, through marriages, bartering or outright violence, the property of some of these landowners grew to considerable sizes. Eventually some of these landowners called themselves “lords” and started to keep their own armies.
All too soon, certain “lords” found that their holdings were too small for their liking and began looking avariciously at the lands of their neighbours. Inevitably, wars broke out between these “lords”. As the death toll from the battles and skirmishes mounted, the lords realized that they needed to find fresh bodies and skillful arms carry weapons and march in their armies. Thus, they began raiding the neighbouring lands for soldiers to fill the shoes of the fallen. Because of the relative inaccessibility of Takeo’s little village, no one had come to their village to demand the lives of their young men. However, as fate would have it, a missive from a neighbouring lord came to their village with a rather unpleasant letter that threatened the village with destruction unless it offered up its able-bodied young men as recruits for the lord’s army.
Although they were simple peasants, the villagers knew enough from the lord’s reputation that if they did not comply with the order, they would face certain death. Such was the level of concern among the villagers that they met in the evening before a bonfire in the center of the village to discuss how they should handle this matter.
“Perhaps we should ask the kami what we should do,” someone said midway through the discussion. The suggestion was popular with the villagers, for they cheered when they heard it.”No! We don’t need to ask him!” a stern-faced young man retorted firmly. Although he was a scrawny child, Goro had grown into a tall, nicely muscled adult. “This doesn’t concern him at all!”
“Goro! How can you say that!” his aunt was shocked that he had so publicly made known his distaste for their divine hero. “He saved us all! Without him, we would not be alive. We owe him our lives and our village.”
“NO WE DON’T!” Goro was firm. “We are not his servants and HE is NOT a god!”
Although some people yelled for him to shut up, the determined Goro continued, “Do you think that he can actually fight off the armies of Lord Yamaguchi? He is but one against hundreds, maybe thousands! Anything less than that which is truly divine will succumb to the onslaught of great numbers and …”
“Goro, sit down,” Takeo put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. Reluctantly, he resumed his seat next to his uncle and aunt.
“I think, it would be better to send some of us to Lord Yamaguchi,” Takeo began somberly. “Even if kami-sama could defeat great numbers of men, even Lord Yamaguchi’s army, this land and our village would be destroyed by the battle… No, it is better that some of us are sacrificed for the greater good. We’ll draw straws. Those who draw the short straws will surrender themselves to Lord Yamaguchi’s representative when he comes. Those who draw the long straws will then hide away in the nearby hills, leaving only the old, the sick, woman and children, so that when the time comes, Lord Yamaguchi will think that he has taken all who can bear arms in this village.”
Although it wasn’t an ideal solution, the village as a whole assented to it. Straws were offered to the young men who were not married and were not the only child of a particular family. Of all the young men in the village, only Goro stepped forward to volunteer himself.
“You don’t have to do this,” Takeo said to the determined young farmer. “You are the only surviving member of your family.”
“That is why I am an ideal choice,” he replied. “My uncle and aunt have grown sons of their own and do not need me to help them in their old age. If I do not go, then the luck of the draw falls upon one of my cousins. No, I take up the burden for all of them. And besides, I DO NOT want to live under the thumb of a demon.”
In the end, 10 young men were chosen and Takeo was among them. After the villagers quietly returned to their huts, a slim, silken shadow slipped from the darkness and approached Takeo just as he was about to return to his home.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” the white-haired, black clad youkai said. “I can ‘persuade’ this lord to set his sights elsewhere.”
Takeo sighed smiling. Sometimes he wondered if his kami friend would ever grow out of the simple naiveté that matched his 13-year-old appearance. He supposed long ago that immortals like Sesshoumaru never aged and coming from the paradise of the high heavens, would never understand the complexities of life as a human being in these turbulent times.
He shook his head in answer to Sesshoumaru’s offer. “No, Lord Yamaguchi would only become enraged after he recovers from the shock of your visit.”20 years have passed since the day Sesshoumaru made his promise to Takeo to “never leave him”. This chapter continues the tale of his friendship with the late village headman’s son.
Translations:
Youkai – demon
Ningen – human
Kami – deities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The years flew by like autumn leaves floating down a rapidly gushing stream. Before Sesshoumaru realized it, 20 years had passed. For a demon such as himself, the passing of decades was nothing more than a moment in his endless life. He still looked exactly like the lad of 13 summers, who had saved the little village from bandits so many years ago. However, little Takeo was now a tall, fully-grown young man who tied up his jet-black hair into a neat topknot.
Despite his age, Takeo had put off taking a wife because of the turbulent times that had fallen upon the surrounding lands. Some 15 years back, news came to the village from traveling peddlers that some powerful headmen and landowners had consolidated their holdings of land. Over time, through marriages, bartering or outright violence, the property of some of these landowners grew to considerable sizes. Eventually some of these landowners called themselves “lords” and started to keep their own armies.
All too soon, certain “lords” found that their holdings were too small for their liking and began looking avariciously at the lands of their neighbours. Inevitably, wars broke out between these “lords”. As the death toll from the battles and skirmishes mounted, the lords realized that they needed to find fresh bodies and skillful arms carry weapons and march in their armies. Thus, they began raiding the neighbouring lands for soldiers to fill the shoes of the fallen. Because of the relative inaccessibility of Takeo’s little village, no one had come to their village to demand the lives of their young men. However, as fate would have it, a missive from a neighbouring lord came to their village with a rather unpleasant letter that threatened the village with destruction unless it offered up its able-bodied young men as recruits for the lord’s army.
Although they were simple peasants, the villagers knew enough from the lord’s reputation that if they did not comply with the order, they would face certain death. Such was the level of concern among the villagers that they met in the evening before a bonfire in the center of the village to discuss how they should handle this matter.
“Perhaps we should ask the kami what we should do,” someone said midway through the discussion. The suggestion was popular with the villagers, for they cheered when they heard it.”No! We don’t need to ask him!” a stern-faced young man retorted firmly. Although he was a scrawny child, Goro had grown into a tall, nicely muscled adult. “This doesn’t concern him at all!”
“Goro! How can you say that!” his aunt was shocked that he had so publicly made known his distaste for their divine hero. “He saved us all! Without him, we would not be alive. We owe him our lives and our village.”
“NO WE DON’T!” Goro was firm. “We are not his servants and HE is NOT a god!”
Although some people yelled for him to shut up, the determined Goro continued, “Do you think that he can actually fight off the armies of Lord Yamaguchi? He is but one against hundreds, maybe thousands! Anything less than that which is truly divine will succumb to the onslaught of great numbers and …”
“Goro, sit down,” Takeo put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. Reluctantly, he resumed his seat next to his uncle and aunt.
“I think, it would be better to send some of us to Lord Yamaguchi,” Takeo began somberly. “Even if kami-sama could defeat great numbers of men, even Lord Yamaguchi’s army, this land and our village would be destroyed by the battle… No, it is better that some of us are sacrificed for the greater good. We’ll draw straws. Those who draw the short straws will surrender themselves to Lord Yamaguchi’s representative when he comes. Those who draw the long straws will then hide away in the nearby hills, leaving only the old, the sick, woman and children, so that when the time comes, Lord Yamaguchi will think that he has taken all who can bear arms in this village.”
Although it wasn’t an ideal solution, the village as a whole assented to it. Straws were offered to the young men who were not married and were not the only child of a particular family. Of all the young men in the village, only Goro stepped forward to volunteer himself.
“You don’t have to do this,” Takeo said to the determined young farmer. “You are the only surviving member of your family.”
“That is why I am an ideal choice,” he replied. “My uncle and aunt have grown sons of their own and do not need me to help them in their old age. If I do not go, then the luck of the draw falls upon one of my cousins. No, I take up the burden for all of them. And besides, I DO NOT want to live under the thumb of a demon.”
In the end, 10 young men were chosen and Takeo was among them. After the villagers quietly returned to their huts, a slim, silken shadow slipped from the darkness and approached Takeo just as he was about to return to his home.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” the white-haired, black clad youkai said. “I can ‘persuade’ this lord to set his sights elsewhere.”
Takeo sighed smiling. Sometimes he wondered if his kami friend would ever grow out of the simple naiveté that matched his 13-year-old appearance. He supposed long ago that immortals like Sesshoumaru never aged and coming from the paradise of the high heavens, would never understand the complexities of life as a human being in these turbulent times.
“Then I’ll kill him.”
“What good would that do? His armies would march towards our little village to avenge his death. No Sesshoumaru-sama, it is far better what we do. Sometimes sacrifices must be made and a little deception will bring peace to our village in the long run.”
“Besides,” he added. “I’ve always wanted to travel away and see the world beyond our mountains and hills. Perhaps this is Fate’s chance of letting me fulfill my own small dreams.”
The white-haired youkai nodded. “If that is what you wish. Then I’ll not prevent it.”
“Thank you.”
“However.”
“However?”
“Don’t think I have forgotten that promise I made to you,” the demon lad grinned. “No matter how far you travel from this place, I will never leave you.”
As the words came out of his mouth, the silky, dark shadow with golden eyes vanished into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It took only 5 days before Lord Yamaguchi’s representative arrived and whisked the 10 men away. They traveled over difficult mountainous terrain before they came to Lord Yamaguchi’s abode. It was a wooden castle that was surrounded by a small town and walls made of stones, packed earth and wooden spikes. Because of the number of men in the army, the town resembled some kind of ramshackle garrison.
It rained continuously the day that Takeo, Goro and the other 8 arrived at the castle. The houses, people and even the stones took on a hue that resembled the colour of cold, grey slate. Grimly the men were marched to the barracks where they were each given a pike, a sword and armour that seemed to have been well used. There was almost no time to rest or to accustom themselves to their new surroundings before the recruits were put into training for war.
In the short space of 2 weeks, the young men soon found themselves packed tightly together with rows of other pikemen facing a foggy battlefield on a damp day when the rain was as fine as down feathers sweeping down from the sky. Feeling a strong surge of fear in his belly, Takeo looked around and spotted Goro a few rows down from him staring ahead grimly. The day was as grey as when they first arrived at the castle.
For the first time in many many years, he had felt the kind of fear that he remembered when he first saw his father fall at the hands of the bandits. He wanted to run and hide, but knew that if he did so, the commander sitting astride a horse commanding his regiment would ride up and with a swing of his sword, fell him as he stumbled away. He wondered where his white-haired kami friend was, and his heart almost faltered when he thought of the young godling deserting him. Since they last spoke in the village, Takeo had not seen him at all.
The uneasy shifting of men in his row brought Takeo back to the moment. He saw dark shapes emerge from the foggy horizon. As the shapes drew nearer, he saw the pikes and flags of the enemy. There was a shout from his direct commander and then a horn sounded and Takeo found himself shouting and running forward with his pike lowered in a charge. He heard a roar in his ears, like the sound of many waves clashing on a rocky shoreline. For an instant, he felt a moment of deafness as he numbly lunged forward, pike piercing the armour of the enemy in front of him. The smell of tangy blood awoke his senses, and he became afraid again.
Men were dying all around him, and the only thing he could think about was getting away from it all. He stumbled about, stabbing blindly with his pike. Finally, slipping on a bit of mud mixed with gore, he fell flat on his face. Takeo struggled to get up again and found himself facing a warrior with his sword drawn, ready to strike downwards. Screaming in terror, his eyes widened as he watched the glittering arc descend towards him.
Suddenly, a black wind flashed between himself and the deadly blade. When it passed, the warrior that held it split into 4 evenly sliced pieces. Staring as blood from the man splashed on him, he swung around and saw enemy soldiers falling to the ground, their bodies split like the trunk of trees. Neither he nor anyone else saw what it was that caused this gruesome wonder to happen, but Takeo knew that this was the work of his divine friend.
Lord Yamaguchi’s army won a great victory that day and added his enemy’s land to his own. However, the legend that came out of that battle was of how a simple farmer from a small village, seemingly unskilled in the ways of war, wielded a blade so fast and deadly that he cleaved men like trees. As he was covered from head to toe in glistening blood at the end of the battle, they called him The Red Wind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To All Reviewers
Thank you all for your patience and for all the reviews that you have given me. Things have been kinda busy over at my end so I was unable to write this. I hope to be able to write more in the future.