InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Footprints in the Snow ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

Part II

 

Five years meant almost nothing to a demon, especially to Sesshomaru who found himself with more concerns than he had in the many centuries of his existence. After his father's death, the borders of the west came under dispute from the demon lords of the north and south. It seemed that everyone wanted a piece of Inutaisho's domain. Arguments over Sesshomaru's rule became more and more frequent, until the young demon lord put everyone's concerns to rest with one bark.

Still things seemed to settle down, from a open threats of warfare to random outbreaks of disagreements which were quickly settled with minimal force. Seeking to escape the commotion, the demon lord found himself on a patrol of his lands, more to get away from the politics than out of any real concern. The string of forests and fields seemed to sooth him as he wandered in solitude, avoiding any interaction with the local human villages as much as possible. He did not fear them, of course. Moreover, Sesshomaru knew that his father was well liked by many of the villages under his rule, but he simply considered humans below his concern.

It was on one such patrol, as he rested quietly on the edge of a forest that a familiar scent brushed past him. At first, Sesshomaru had trouble placing it. It had been five years, after all. But before long the image of an infant with silver hair and ridiculous canine ears floated to the surface of his mind. He growled. The damn hanyo brother of his. So the brat lived after all. With everything that he had to take care of, the child had fallen to the furthest depth of his mind, thoughts of him becoming nothing more than rare distraction at most, yet here he was, no more than a few yards away.

As Sesshomaru climbed to his feet, the leaves of the bushes at the very edge of the forest rustled and seconds later, a snow-white head topped with a pair of dog ears popped out. Sesshomaru guessed that he was at most two feet tall but the guess could have been off as the boy was hunched over, nearly crawling on all fours, his nose low to the ground as if he was sniffing something out. Sesshomaru found it amusing that his little brother didn't bother to look up and use his eyes, relying solely on his sense of smell to find the oddity, that was most likely Sesshomaru himself. Of course, he though with a measure of dry humor. Good dog.

When he was less than a foot away, the boy finally looked up at him, and Sesshomaru saw that no matter how much he'd grown in the past five years, at least his eyes hadn't changed. Inuyasha sniffed again, as if to make sure that his was really the scent that caught his interest, then peered at the tall demon.

“You smell funny,” the boy declared with bold familiarity as if he'd known the person in front of him all his short life.

“I could say the same of you,” and in a flash, Inuyasha was hoisted into the air by the scarf of his red robe. Sesshomaru held him at eye level with one hand, studying his brother. Inuyasha struggled for a short while, quickly realizing that it was useless, but instead of getting scared, he shot his brother an angry glare.

“Put me down!” he demanded and even went as far as to try and scratch at his brother with his growing claws, but Sesshomaru acted as if he hadn't heard him.

“What have you been doing?” he scoffed indignantly, noting the child's grimy appearance and less than appealing smell. “Rolling in the dirt? Did you get lost in the woods?”

“Did not!” Inuyasha objected.

“Well, then what were you doing in there?” Sesshomaru prompted. “The village is on the other side.”

“I... I was looking for my ball, if you must know,” the child stuck out his tongue indignantly. “It's white, and about... this big,” he held his hands half a foot apart.

“Indeed,” Sesshomaru sounded like he didn't quite believe him. “You're quite ugly, you know.” Another hand reached out to tug at Inuyasha's ears, but this time the boy batted him away with a degree of success, even managing to scratch Sesshomaru's hand in the process. The demon pulled, showing as much emotion as if he had been stung by a mosquito.

“Yeah? You should talk. What happened to your face? Did you forget how to put on your makeup?”

The corner of Sesshomaru's mouth twitched. “You're either very brave or very foolish to speak to a demon lord that way, pup. In your case, I'm afraid, it's the later.”

“Keh,” where most people would have wet their trousers, the five-year-old didn't look remotely intimidated. “Bet my father could have taken you out in a heartbeat. He was a great demon lord, too.”

Sesshomaru's golden eyes widened slightly in surprise on their own accord. He hadn't expected Inuyasha to know anything about their father, though of course with the boy's looks, an explanation bust have been in order at some point. Still, the mention of his father from the mouth of the hanyo that Sesshomaru held partially responsible for his death, came as simply another reminder of what the boy really was: a mistake that should have never happened.

“I'm sure he was,” with a small thud, Inuyasha landed back on the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet, almost ready to run back into the woods, but stopped when Sesshomaru lowered himself next to him. The demon did not regard the child for several moments, simply staring into the horizon before his voice rose again.

“What did your mother tell you about him? About your father?” he asked without looking at the boy. It wasn't curiosity. Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands had no need to be curious about the life of a half-breed mongrel, but his father's image was not something he intended to entrust in the hands of the human female. Inuyasha stared at the ground, unsure when the conversation had taken such a serious turn. He wasn't even sure why he was speaking to a stranger - and such a powerful one at that - in such a familiar manner, but he seemed to smell okay, and Inuyasha's nose hadn't lead him astray so far.

“She said he was really strong,” the boy replied thoughtfully, avoiding looking at Sesshomaru. “That he could beat any opponent because of how big his heart was. She said that even after he died, he sent his spirit to watch over me.”

“Such a foolish thought,” the demo scoffed even while he knew that it was no spirit but rather himself that protected Inuyasha after his birth. “She'd do better to let the dead rest.”

“Yeah sometimes I think so too,” the boy hung his head, absently picking at the grass. “I think maybe if she didn't miss him so much, I wouldn't either.” Silence fell between the two brothers once again. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You may ask. I may not answer,” Sesshomaru replied coolly.

“Why do you smell so much like... like me?”

“I don't smell like you,” the demon lord actually wrinkled his sensitive nose. “At the moment, you reek.”

“But you do smell like someone I know,” the boy insisted. “At least someone I smelled before.”

Sesshomaru wondered how that was possible. His previous interaction with the hanyo was brief and minimal at best, and he suspected that the same held true for their father, who must have only seen the child for mere seconds before he perished. Still somehow within that short time, the infant must have gotten a strong whiff of either their father's or most likely his own scent. The first few days of life were a crucial time for a pup when he formed connections with their parents and other immediate family members. While other senses were still developing, the sense of smell was first when it came to recognition of others. This was why Inuyasha never felt the need - and most likely never would - to give Inutaisho much thought, his father's scent lost to him to the smell of burnt wood.

“I believe you confusion lies within a slight similarity. I, too, am a dog demon, like your father was.” It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

“Guess that's it,” still the boy didn't seem entirely convinced, hanging his head once again. “What's your name?”

“That is irrelevant,” Sesshomaru retorted. If he gave the boy his name, Inuyasha was likely to tell his mother all about the stranger he met, and Izayoi, assuming her memory didn't fail her completely, would know exactly who her son had crossed paths with. Sesshomaru had only met her once on the night of his father's death, but he knew that his father must have mentioned him to her at one time or another.

“Oh, well what am I supposed to call you?”

“Must you call me anything?” Sesshomaru raised a quizzical brow at the child. “Why are you still here?”

“Because...”

“Because you really did get lost and don't know your way back to the village,” Sesshomaru finished for him, and rose to his feet with a sigh.

“Where are you going?”the child stared up at him, slightly anxious.

“Do you wish to return to your village?” Inuyasha nodded. “Then I suggest you follow me. The sooner I return you from whence you came, the sooner I can have my solitude back.”

He began walking without bothering to check if Inuyasha was following him or not, but soon the patter of bare feet began to follow him into the forest. Sesshomaru moved silently, somehow managing not to make any noise as his feet seemed to almost glide across the forest floor. The boy behind him looked absolutely fascinated with this ability. He started at the demon's feet, as if he could somehow draw out their secret with his eyes. Sesshomaru was little surprised when the boy's short attention span drew him away. Inuyasha disappeared behind a patch of bushes, and Sesshomaru released a low growl of annoyance. Humans... no, all children were bothersome creatures.

“I do not intend to wait for you, boy,” he told the moving mass behind the bush. “Follow or be left behind and pray someone comes looking for you. It doesn't matter to me.”

The bush shuffled again before Inuyasha popped out, ears first, holding up the little white ball. “I found it!” he declared triumphantly.

“I can die happy,” Sesshomaru muttered. “Let's go.”

After this, Inuyasha seemed to get the hint that the demon lord was not very talkative, but it didn't matter much since he was content in simply tossing his ball up and down as he followed Sesshomaru through the woods. They reached the other edge of the forest in less than an hour, and the sounds and smells of the human village that lay in the valley flew past their noses. Somewhere down there over the hill, someone was roasting a freshly caught stag.

“You wanna stay for dinner?” Inuyasha raised his huge golden orbs to the demon lord.

“I don't eat human food,” he retorted courtly, turning on his heel.

“Wait,” he felt a small tug on his sleeve. “Am I going to see you again?”

“Hopefully not for a very long time. Good-bye, Inuyasha.”

The child watched as the tall demon disappeared back into the forest, still slightly confused by the meeting. He briefly wondered if he'd ever told him his name. He couldn't remember doing so, but he must have since the stranger knew it. The smell of food was becoming more intense, and Inuyasha decided that he could worry about all that after dinner. Putting the events of the past hours behind him, the boy ran down towards the village.