InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moonlit Sun ❯ Chapter 1

Her groans echoed throughout the room. Her whimpers increased in volume. Izayoi was in labor. Her mate Inuginji, the Inu no Taisho, was pacing the room like a caged animal. She could understand his anxiety, as this event was far from a regular birth, but his frantic movements were making her crazy.

 

“Honey, could you please stop pacing. It's not going to make the baby come any faster,” Izayoi asked him between breaths. Her contractions were only a minute apart, so she was in constant pain.

 

Inuginji stopped his movements at once. He was filled with emotion, however. Excitement over the impending birth was tempered by worry over his unborn child's welfare. He and his wife knew that their children were the prophesized ones ever since she became pregnant with Sesshomaru.

 

The spiritually powerful Izayoi produced a perfect, full-blooded demon son for her mate over seven hundred years earlier. It was no small feat. The child, now fully grown, required an inordinate amount of energy from her, leaving her feeling drained most days. Izayoi could only eat certain foods, as her body would reject most anything overly sweet, spicy or cooked. It had been a painful experience, but in the end, it was worth it. Izayoi and Inuginji were the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy with a strange crescent moon on his forehead.

 

While the rest of the household was shocked, Sesshomaru's parents were not surprised. For months during her pregnancy, Izayoi had a recurring dream—no, vision—of a little silver haired boy with beautiful facial markings. Not knowing what to make of it, she said nothing to her husband until he himself experienced a similar dream and asked her about it. Putting the information together, the parents realized that they were to give birth and raise the children of the ancient prophecy. After their sudden insight, Izayoi and Inuginji decided to find out all the information available on the prophecy and its effects.

 

Shortly after the birth of their beloved son, Inuginji and Izayoi received a visitor in the form of a shared dreamed. This guest confirmed their suspicions and set them on a path to intrigue and intelligence gathering that would last almost a millennium…

 

 

 

Sesshomaru was a sweet baby most of the time, but when he was in one of his moods, he invoked the wrath of hell upon all who dare oppose him, or at least try to get him to quiet down. The beautiful three-month-old baby had kept his parents and nannies up three nights in a row. Izayoi was becoming frantic—she was tired, but her precious child was obviously upset. Too bad neither she nor her husband could find the source of his discomfort. They had tried everything—feedings, changings, baths, toys, whatever they could imagine. Nothing worked. The poor child would cry and fuss until he exhausted himself, which for Sesshomaru was a long time. At her wits' end, Izayoi stomped over to her equally tired mate, their fretful baby in her arms.

 

“Ginji, you are going to have to do something about him. I think I am going insane. He will not stop crying! Why will he not stop crying!” she demanded of her bewildered husband. He didn't know what to tell her, and was afraid that if he said the wrong thing, his overly stressed wife would have his head.

 

“Dear, calm down. I'm sure Sesshomaru can sense our mood, and your upset is not helping him any,” he tried. A glare was his response. Ok, time for plan B.

 

“Izzy, love…our child will be fine. Every baby goes through periods where they are colicky. This is perfectly normal,” he told her, rubbing up and down her arms hoping to sooth her. His movements made her feel better, but his words stung.

 

“Normal? His behavior is normal? How could I not have known? What kind of mother am I? I'm a terrible mother to our child!” she wailed, more upset than her son. Sesshomaru suspiciously quieted down once his mother was sufficiently upset.

 

Ginji just rolled his eyes, having become used to an emotionally unstable Izayoi during her pregnancy. He did, however, have a sneaking suspicion that their young son was enjoying watching his mother fall to pieces, if that cute grin on his face was any indication. Before he could say something to calm his wife, the room went dark and it seemed as if he, Izayoi and Sesshomaru were transported to another realm.

 

When he regained his bearings, he realized they were on an astral plane, looking down at the country of Japan. In front of them stood a regal entity—not human or demon, most likely a god. He was tall with long flowing black hair, piercing blue eyes and skin that seemed to be kissed by the moonlight. His entire personage radiated power, and Inuginji was more than a little on edge. He moved to stand protectively in front of his wife and son, but the god simply smiled at him.

 

“Welcome, Inuginji and Izayoi of the Western Lands. I am Tsukiyomi no Mikoto, the Moon god. We have much to discuss,” he said by way of greeting. Instantly, Inuginji and Izayoi hurried to bow to the god of the moon; however, the god required no such formalities.

 

“Rise—you have no need to bow before me. I am here to see for myself the people who will raise and care for mine and my sister's earthly incarnations,” he told them. Surprise glittered in their eyes before it was replaced with acceptance. The god smiled.

 

“So you have already discovered that your children are the Destined. This is good—we will not have to waste much time on the prophecy. Come, I have much to tell you and little time,” he said as he led them to another part of the plane. There, the King and Queen of the Western Lands looked out across the ocean, seeing the line dividing the sky and sea, the sun and moon. They also saw a Shadow, creeping across the Earth, heading for their lands. It greatly disturbed them.

 

“You see the Shadow. You know its goal—complete and utter destruction of free will. Using the vices of humans and demons alike against them to gain control over them. Your son, Sesshomaru is my worldly representative. He will wield the powers of the moon—control over the wind and water. He is a stubborn child and very headstrong, and though you will tell him of his role in the prophecy, he will not believe you until he sees the mark on his intended,” Tsukiyomi told them.

 

Izayoi and Inuginji looked down at their son in wonder. He was not upset in the least; in fact, he appeared to be happy on the astral plane. It was almost as if he had come home. They couldn't help but smile at his contentment.

 

“He knows I speak the truth. You must form a spiritual bond with him—it will keep him stable while his powers adjust to his earthly form. It will also provide you with a way to track him if you are ever separated. You shall do the same with his sister, his Destined.

 

“She will not come for some time yet. You must prepare for her birth and their eventual departure. Learn all you can of the prophecy but be discreet. The Shadow is already searching for the Destined. It knows that the first one has appeared, and it would like nothing more than to destroy your son before he can become a man. If that happens, all hope is lost,” he told them.

 

Izayoi and her mate looked at their small son. So innocent, so beautiful, and yet his life was already impossibly complicated. Would he never know peace? Could he be raised to live a life as a normal demon child? All these questions and more swirled in their heads as they thought on the god's words.

 

“You will know the Shadow when you see him. He is slick and cunning, yet he cannot hide his aura from pure souls such as yourselves. Harbor his child, for she is as much a prisoner as all of those he has enslaved. It will make sense when the time comes,” Tsukiyomi said as he looked into the bewildered parents' faces. He knew that they wanted to ask him questions, but he was on borrowed time as it was. He and Amaterasu were playing a dangerous game as it is, and if he kept them on the astral plane for too long, the Shadow would recognize their absence and discover their son was a Destined child.

 

“Train him well, Dog General. He will need your guidance to protect his sister at all costs. She is the key. She holds the purity inside of her that her brother lacks. She is the passion that he cannot display. She is the love that he will lack in his life. Your child will be his entire life, and if anything happens to her, it will destroy him.” Izayoi and Inuginji looked properly shocked.

 

“Take care of him and his sister. They are the hope for the future and gods on earth. If they succeed, peace and prosperity shall reign for all of their days as rulers. It is up to you to raise him properly. As much as it is unfair, everything rests upon his shoulders,” Tsukiyomi told them.

 

Izayoi and Inuginji were shocked at all the god had told them, but also relieved. They now had a game plan for dealing with the Shadow. They would raise their son with love and care, and when the time was right, they would have their daughter. All would be well for Japan, because they would ensure that their children were well-prepared.

 

“Thank you for all your help, Tsukiyomi. We will do as you say,” Inuginji spoke, bowing his head.

 

“You are a wise man, Inuginji. You are a special woman, Izayoi. Together, you will deal with whatever threats come your way, and many will come. Take care, and know that I and my sister are watching you,” he bid them goodnight, then returned them to their castle.

 

No one had even noticed that they were absent—it was as if time had stopped for all the residents except the royal family. Thinking over all they had learned, Inuginji and Izayoi started planning their children's future. It was a daunting task.

 

 

 

Seven hundred years passed in this manner—the ruling couple raised their son and handled their domain's affairs all the while paying careful attention to events outside of their lands. It would not do for the Lord and Lady of the Western lands to be ignorant of important happenings in other territories, especially when these incidents could have a direct effect on their existing son and yet to be conceived child.

 

They spent the centuries fighting an increasing number of battles with both humans and demons angry over their mixed marriage. Izayoi became just as skilled with a sword and bow as her battle-hardened husband. Inuginji's cunning only increased during the time, enabling him to read more out of people than anyone would suspect. The couple was invincible, but not infallible.

 

The royal couple learned the hard way that not all those close to them could be trusted. Two years after their visit from Tsukiyomi, when Sesshomaru was just two years old, Izayoi's family declared war on the royal house. Citing their claim that she had betrayed their race, they had a visiting cousin poison the young child during one of his snack times. They almost lost their son, and would have if her husband hadn't smelled his sickly scent in the dojo where they were training.

 

They ran into the house, grabbed their son and took him to the healer. Once they were assured of his safety and life, they marched into battle against Izayoi's family, with Izayoi leading the army. Heading into her ancestral home, she ruthlessly slaughtered her own family—those who dared to hurt her child. After that, many demons of the Western Lands stopped questioning her ability to lead with her demon husband. Any woman who could massacre her family after they tried to kill her child was more than capable of leading the West.

 

Just before Sesshomaru turned seven hundred, the family received a visitor, a minor lord from a region outside of the Western Lands. Calling himself Lord Naraku, he arrived with his daughters Kagura and Kanna in tow. He claimed he wanted protection from marauding demons and humans and sought an alliance with the Royal House. Offering his daughter Kagura in a political mating, he begged favor from the rulers.

 

Neither Izayoi nor Inuginji were fools. They recognized the demon for what he was, the Shadow that had increasingly polluted the lands. Remembering Tsukiyomi's words, however, they offered Kagura a place in their home under the guise of her and Sesshomaru getting to know each other. The parents had no intentions of letting a mating occur between the two, but they had to give the illusion of such so that no one would question their motives.

 

Kagura stayed there a year before Sesshomaru announced his intention to mate her to his parents. Both Inuginji and Izayoi were shocked, and realized that the time had come for them to have their second child. The prophecy could be put off no longer. They only hoped that they had trained their son well enough to deal with the task ahead.

 

Two months after Sesshomaru's seven hundredth birthday, Princess Inuyasha was born. She was a beautiful child with the same silky, silver hair and golden eyes that marked her as a royal dog demon. However, she was different from both her father and brother in that she didn't display any facial markings and instead of elfin ears, she possessed two tiny, fluffy dog ears on top of her head. Sesshomaru was disgusted with her ears (though he secretly harbored a desire to pet them that he ruthlessly stamped down) and was upset with her incredibly bad timing.

 

He was set to marry Kagura in six months when his mother informed him of her pregnancy. With all of the pomp and circumstance that accompanied a royal birth, his mating ceremony had been postponed for a year and a half, until after Inuyasha's first birthday (another big day that required a lot of work). His mother and father thought it best that they have the events close together so that they could coordinate planning.

 

As much as he detested the delay, he dealt with it. His parents did have a point about waiting until they could do all the ceremonies close to the same time. That way, visitors wouldn't have to make two trips. As it was, his mating ceremony was set to be held two weeks after Inuyasha's first birthday celebration.

 

Even though he disliked his younger sister, she adored him. Her eyes would light up whenever she saw him, and as much as he didn't want to touch her, she would whine and whimper in his presence until he consented to hold her.

 

Truthfully, Sesshomaru couldn't explain his enmity toward the baby. He chalked it up to sibling rivalry as he had been the only child for seven hundred years, but he knew that wasn't it. All his life his parents had told him that he was one of the Destined, one of the two Peacebringers to the land. He had never wanted that responsibility, and longed to be like the other children around the palace. They were allowed to play freely and go into town with their friends, but Sesshomaru had none of those privileges. Most, if not all, of his games had a hidden agenda—they were either strategy sessions or subtle training. He could not go into town for fear of an assassination, so he spent most of his time cooped up with his parents. It wasn't a bad existence, just a lonely one that left him wanting interaction with someone his own age.

 

That was why he liked Kagura. She was young and vibrant—everything he wanted to be. Plus, she was beautiful. He would have been a fool not to want to be with her. But for all the happiness she brought into his life, something was missing. He knew he loved her, but he wasn't sure if he was in love with her. What was worse is that she didn't possess that special quality that made him want to give up everything to be with her. Only one person did—his younger sister.

 

Sesshomaru was thoroughly disgusted with his thoughts on his little sister, and thus tried to limit his contact with her. It was to no avail. His parents always found some way for them to interact. It was tiresome, but he learned to deal with it the way he dealt with everything else—feigned indifference.

 

~*~

 

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Special thanks go out to CrimsonInHumanBlood, animefanlover, and Nikkie23534 for leaving me nice reviews. You all rock!!!

 

Nikkie23534: Thanks for telling me about their father's name. I didn't use Toga because I wanted to get creative and as he's never named in the series, I thought I'd give it a go. The name isn't that great (it means silver dog child), but I just wanted to do something different. Hope you don't mind…