InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Therapist ❯ A Long Streak of Bad Luck ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: “Inuyasha” and all the characters that appear in it belong to the author Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own them at all.

 

However, in order to write a fanfic that makes sense, I've had to create some original characters of my own.

 

 

This idea for a story came about over a cup of coffee with a friend who's a big anime fan. We did a little psychological analysis of the different Inuyasha characters. When we got to the Sesshoumaru character, I kinda realised that in all the fanfiction stories I have read, Sess seems to be terrific at everything… including his skills and abilities as a lover.

 

Well, looking at his general character profile and the evidence provided in both the manga and anime, Sess seems to be the sort of person that doesn't get into relationships easily OR has flings just for heck of it. Being in complete control and having others perceive him as a being that is above petty mortal concerns seem to be things that Sess really holds dear to his heart.

 

As such, it would ALSO be unlikely that he has had much experience dating or bedding women. I found this a really interesting premise for a romantic story and decided to do a “what if….” where the “perfect” demon lord discovers that he has a rather embarrassing shortcoming…

 

Word Translations:

 

Youkai - demon

Taiyoukai - great demon

Hanyou - half-demon
Ningen - human

 

* Currently this story exists in an alternate universe and isn't a continuation of my other story "Becoming Sesshoumaru". However, things might change in the writing, so check back regularly for updates and notices. : )

 

 

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Yukiko rolled her eyes and tried to suppress a yawn as the male youkai on top of her spilled his seed and withdrew his manhood. Clearly her lover for the night was exhausted and rather flustered as he clumsily flopped down on the stony surface beside her, nearly crushing her slender arm. With a graceful motion, the snow demoness got up from the flattish rock that they had made love on and reached towards the side to grab her fine, silky garb. As she did so, she felt two hands trying their best to encircle themselves around her rather shapely butt and pull her body towards her partner.

 

Wriggling herself expertly away from the male youkai, who, like her, had snowy hair, she hopped off the rock onto the bare snow of the pine forest and slipped on her kimono with a single, swift movement.

 

“Where are you going?” the male demon, naked in the pale moonlight learned over the rock and asked, his voice muffled by the hideous Oni mask that he wore.

 

She quickly caressed the masked face and said, “I have to be off now, much business awaits me back in my winter abode.”

 

“You will meet with me, again, will you not?”

 

“Most likely…” she smiled slyly and flew off on the blizzard into the night.

 

As he saw her departing form lift into the sky, his ears twitched uncomfortably when his keen hearing picked up a soft and rather contemptuous “-Not!-“ which echoed downwards in his direction. There was a long pause before the youkai jumped off the rock onto the snowy forest floor and slipped on the silvery garment he had worn for this occasion. When he was sure that he was alone, he hastily ripped off the Oni mask. Even in the flat, almost monochrome nighttime scene, it was obvious that his face was beet red.

 

Yukiko was the most notorious demoness who lived in the lands that bordered his own realm. She had little discrimination when it came to men and would bed anyone, even the occasional human. However, unlike most other demonesses who took and dumped lovers as quickly as one would change clothes, she would keep in contact with all her lovers, savouring each one in turn, as though they were all delicate wines. However, it was painfully obvious that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

 

He growled angrily. `How DARE she!' he thought, anger rising rapidly in his veins. Did she not know that he was Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands? He wanted to fly to her mansion and slap the wench for rejecting him in such a swift manner. However, he blushed furiously when he thought about the shame of having been the only man she had ever actually dumped after a single night's stand. His only consolation was that he had never revealed his identity to her. At least, he was still able to maintain his manly pride.

 

Furious and unable to contain his rising anger, at himself, he leaped into the air and flew towards the nearest mountain. There were going to be a lot of demon deaths tonight.

 

 

~~~~~~~ Quite a lot of years later ~~~~~~

 

 

Sesshoumaru gasped and collapsed on the dry forest floor. His side was hurting worse than he had thought possible. Grasping the root of a tree, he used his single good arm to heave himself into a natural nook, shaped like a seat from the undulation of the forest floor and the roots of an old oak tree. Pulling off his shattered armour, he reached inside his white kimono and touched the tender spot, bringing out a hand that was stained with blood.

 

“Damn that miko!” he cursed loudly.

 

He had gone again to his unworthy hanyou half-brother to see if he could somehow wrest the Tetsuaiga from Inuyasha. He was SURE this time that he would be able to get the blade. With Tokijin in one hand, he had forced his half-brother into the hard rock face of a cliff wall. Cut off from most of his friends, the hanyou faced certain death at the hands of his brother. However, as he was about to deliver the killing blow, he heard a familiar female voice shout, “Inuyasha!” and found a glowing arrow embedded in the shoulder of his good arm. Another arrow shattered his armour before he leapt aside and turned to face his attacker.

 

Furious at being thwarted in his moment of triumph, he charged at Kagome. However, the girl loosed an arrow which hit him in the side. This time, the sting of the arrow burned like molten fire. Screaming in anger and no small amount of pain, he took a great leap and flew off into the clouds where he yanked out the two arrows. There was no way he was going to allow that wretched couple see him, the great Sesshoumaru, in this much agony.

 

The demon lord tore off a bit of cloth from his garment and tried to stop the bleeding from the wound at his side. He cursed the wretched couple loudly again when it was evident that his feeble attempts at self-treatment weren't exactly successful. Normally, arrows had no effect against him, but the miko's purifying powers had somehow made the wounds burn and prevented his own demonic powers from quickly regenerating his broken body.

 

It was now evident to him that Kagome, his brother's wench, was becoming a bigger threat than the hanyou was. “She'll pay,” he muttered angrily, his pride and ego hurt by the crushing defeat he had suffered at the hands of the girl.

 

If he had known that she would be such a bother, he would have made sure she was dead the first time they met in his father's tomb. He had tried to kill her, but her incredible luck seemed to prevail despite overwhelming odds. Brooding over his past failures to get his father's blade, he realised that for the large part, she had been instrumental in saving Inuyasha whenever the brothers fought.

 

“Just a stupid Ningen girl,” he growled under his breath, thinking of a hundred and one ways to deal death to the fragile female, whom, he unpleasantly noted, had a habit of going about indecently dressed.

 

Why such a weak and worthless creature would be blessed with such incredible powers was beyond his comprehension. The only right thing to do would be wipe this paradox from the face of the world… his world to be exact. However, that was one of the things that he was EVENTUALLY going to do, much like his quest to rule the Earth. Being an immortal had its advantages. He could wait, and he had all the time in the world.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~ One Week Later ~~~~~~

 

 

Although eternity was his birthright, calm patience unfortunately wasn't. A sheaf of papers went fluttering in a graceful fountain as a tremendous “Aaaarrrrgghhhhhhh!” reverberated though the grand palace of the Lord of the Western lands. Seated on a tatami mat floor before a low lacquered table with books and reports stacked high on either side was the aforementioned demon lord of the western lands, with his face buried in the crook of his remaining arm after tossing aside a bunch of reports.

 

After a moment, Sesshoumaru lifted his head off the table and massaged one of his temples with his right hand. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate, focusing on the blissful nothingness behind his shut lids. He sighed as he felt the calm of an altered state taking over… and then… he saw it again, a leggy girl with black, shiny hair and HIGHLY obscene clothes prancing through a flower covered field.

 

Growling angrily, he opened his eyes and nearly ripped to pieces a report from one of his spies. However, it was not his famous self-control that caused him to pause midway, but a tremendous pain he felt along his waist. He growled and touched the spot where Jaken had helped him bandage. Although the bleeding was now a lot less than a few days ago, it still hurt like hell.

 

He had AGAIN made an attempt to wrest the Tetsuaiga from his half-brother. This time, he caught the silly couple sharing a private moment watching the stars from the top of a cliff near the village where the hanyou was bound for 50 years. He had quite an advantage as he managed to corner both of them, especially the miko, without her bow and arrows against the sheer drop of a cliff. As expected, Inuyasha drew his sword and they exchanged blows. Being the superior swordsman, the demon lord managed to get his half-brother into a position where he could easily chop him in half with Tokijin. And AGAIN, as he was about to claim his moment of triumph, his brother's wench saved him by pushing away the demon lord with her bare hands!

 

When her hands touched his side, they glowed with an ethereal light that caused his armour to shatter and burned a huge wound into his side. Although he was hurting badly, Sesshoumaru managed to exit the scene with some measure of grace. However, he was mortified that he had again lost to that wretched slip of a girl. And what was worse was that he began having horrible dreams about her and her glowing miko powers. Dreams where she danced around him, glowing from head-to-toe with her purifying energy; where his fingers burned whenever he reached out to grab her.

 

Sesshoumaru had hoped that his duties as lord of the Western Lands would somehow distract his mind from the nightmares, but then he started seeing her all the time, in his head, especially when he was preoccupied with the dull and tedious work of managing his domain. Picking up a bell, he summoned the greenish toad-like creature who was his faithful retainer. The toad came in moments later, bowing and scraping as he always did.

 

“Jaken, get my things together and round up one or two of my spies. We are going on a journey.”

 

The toad bowed low, punctuating his replies with “Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama…” “Right away, Sesshoumaru-sama…”

 

There was a minor disturbance along one of the border areas. Normally he would have dispatched one of his agents to settle the problem, but he needed to get away from this current problem with his brother's miko and decided to look into the problem himself.

 

Now, despite what many people tend to believe, the demon lord's lands didn't just consist of untamed stretches of wilderness where no humans dared to set foot on. It was dotted with peaceful villages, small shrines and even the occasional town, and Furuzawa was one such town, located on what used to be marshy land before humans colonized it. It was a medium sized town, whose mayor was in fact, a youkai by the name of Matsumoto.

 

Of course, none of the humans knew that their mayor was youkai and that in fact, their dear lord Sesshoumaru was actually a nine-hundred-year-old demon. Neither of them appeared to their vassals in their true form, and most people saw Matsumoto as a tall, forty-year-old man with a short moustache and dark hair that was neatly tied up in a topknot. Despite what most high-born youkai might say about humans, they did adore the fine fabrics, elegant pottery and the beautiful lacquer ware that humans produced. Since his father's time, Sesshoumaru recognized the advantage that well-cultivated lands and willing vassals brought to a demon lord such as himself. It was his ability adapt to changes while retaining those traits that made him the most feared demon this side of the world that won him the allegiance of those whom he ruled.

 

Unlike his excursions with Rin, he didn't bring Ah-Un along instead, rode on a horse at the head of a wagon and a small retinue, just like any other human lord. Using certain clever illusions, he and his retinue took the form of normal humans. Jaken appeared as a warty, bow-legged man of about fifty. Sesshoumaru on the other hand, caused his distinctive facial markings to disappear, replaced his pointed ears with rounded ones, and changed the colour of his air and eyes to a dark midnight blue.

 

Despite wearing the form that he detested most of all, he keenly understood the need to maintain certain pretenses when politics and the duties of rulership called for it. And Sesshoumaru was definitely an astute politician.

 

It was supposed to be a stress-free trip, at least for the beleaguered demon lord, however, by the end of the first day, he found himself confronted with his first problem. As daytime turned into a rather chilly night, one of the guards heard a loud sneezing coming from a large box on the wagon. Thinking it might be a hidden enemy; the entire retinue surrounded the box and opened it, spears held aloft and ready to strike at any assailant that jumped out. However, they nearly jumped when a rather familiar, “Sesshoumaru-sama?” echoed from the box. Soon, a small girl in an orange kimono climbed out.

 

“Rin.” The demon lord kept his demeanor as calm as he could. “Why are you here?”

 

“Rin heard that Sesshoumaru-sama was going on a journey, but was not bringing Rin along… Rin decided to come along because she misses traveling with Sesshoumaru-sama very much,” she said, very sheepishly, giving him a puppy-eyed look.

 

It took a tremendous amount of willpower and many years of playing the role of a popsicle to prevent himself from smacking his forehead. He looked at her calmly before turning away.

 

“Get some sleep. The road will be long.”

 

The little girl's face widened into a smile at his words.