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Yuudai no Keikoku	By : ashlin86 Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 15515 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
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Yuudai no Keikoku Prologue/Chapter One

The Inu no Taisho was many things: mighty, kind, charismatic, generous, brave…all characteristics that made him an effective ruler, an ideal mate, and—when the time came—a father worthy of respect. When his first mate was assassinated by a group of rebel humans, the great general spent the next five hundred years grieving…as did his first and only son.

Sesshoumaru hadn’t even reached his centennial when it happened, but the incident had left its mark. Where most children would have allowed their grief to run its course and eventually heal, Sesshoumaru channeled it into something far more productive—and far more destructive. He excelled in his academic studies and physical training, as well as his grooming for his future as the next Lord of the West. But above all that, he nurtured an intense hatred for humans. They were all murderous scum, as far as he was concerned. In his father’s increasingly frequent absences, Sesshoumaru had all humans removed from the Central Castle’s staff, and the human villages nearby…relocated. Violently, if the fools attempted to resist. For five hundred years, Sesshoumaru’s life was blessedly free of the creatures.

Thus, with all the trouble he had gone through to rid himself and his home of the scourge of humanity, the only son of the Inu no Taisho was understandably upset when his father announced he’d taken a human princess as his new mate. Enraged and betrayed, Sesshoumaru sought his obviously addled father and demanded an explanation.

But the Lord of the West answered to no one, including his son, and the only explanation his father would give was an infuriating non-answer: “You will understand one day, my son.” Stung by his father’s patronizing tone and his refusal to give a sufficient answer, Sesshoumaru’s anger and perceived betrayal took him far away from the castle.

When he returned nearly a year later, his father was in almost constant meetings with architects and builders. In a terrific good cheer, he explained that he was having a home built for Izayoi, the human princess, in the northern area of the Western Lands. It was at this time, while Sesshoumaru was inwardly reeling from this—proof that the woman meant more to his father than a simple diversion, that the Inu no Taisho chose to bestow on him another bit of news.

The human was pregnant. And from his proud tone, the Inu no Taisho had no intention of drowning the bastard half-breed. With this, Sesshoumaru was unable to keep his silence any longer. A human’s life span was negligible, hardly a drop in a pond compared to that of an Inuyoukai. But a hanyou was a different story entirely, and Sesshoumaru was not willing to suffer millennia next to a sibling with human-tainted blood.

“It’s as if you think taking a human as a mate was not shameful enough. You now plan to raise her mongrel child? Are you truly that deep in madness? Can you not see what this will do to our noble bloodline?” He attempted to deliver his speech in his most emotionless tone, however he could not keep his rage from leaking through. Perhaps it was this that caught the attention of his sire.

To his great surprise, his father merely smiled at him. It was a soft smile, the likes of which Sesshoumaru had never seen on that stoic face. “I await the day you fall in love, my son. Perhaps then you will understand.” He clapped his hand on Sesshoumaru’s shoulder before continuing his discussion with one of the architects. Sesshoumaru glanced at the plans left on the table in the library, the “Yuudai no Keikoku,” and had to admit, if only to himself, that it was an appropriate name. A fortress castle, constructed entirely of smooth white stone.

It was an abode worthy of a god, and he was giving it to his filthy human whore.

Sesshoumaru did not see or speak to his father again until he was dying. It was as he was going to retrieve Izayoi and transport her to the Valley, that he received word of Ryuukotsusei’s attack...

By the time Sesshoumaru found him, it was already too late. His father was dying from the wounds he’d received from the dragon, and there was no convincing him to seek a healer before running recklessly to his human whore and her bastard mongrel’s rescue. Yet, even with the faint odor of death that already clung to his father’s scent, Sesshoumaru had still managed to convince himself he would make it out alive. His father was insurmountable. Indestructible. Immortal.

So when news of his father’s demise reached him, the shock was followed by an anger so profound, he’d felt the urge to howl his wrath as he had not since he was a pup.

Of course, his immediate impulse was to find Izayoi and the hanyou and slaughter them. It was their fault the Inu no Taisho had met his end millennia before his time. But no matter how he searched he could not find a trace of the human or her child leading away from the burned remains of the compound. And with no scent, it would be impossible to track them. His rage rendered impotent, he tried to do what he saw as the next best thing—obliterate the Valley and everything within. And then he would burn the ashes. He wanted no trace of the human left in what were now his lands.

Alas, this plan, too, was thwarted. As repayment for a kindness the Inu no Taisho had done for her, the goddess of the mountain range had created a barrier around the entire valley through which none with evil hearts, or destructive designs on the Valley or any of its occupants. And then, because she appreciated the beauty of what Inu no Taisho had done, she also blessed Yuudai itself, giving the castle powerful protection from any kind of damage and indeed, from time itself. In doing so she made absolutely certain the Valley and its treasure would be preserved, both from enemies and from age.

As he found out when she flew down from her perch to scold him for making such a terrible cacophony.

It incensed Sesshoumaru, angered him that he could not reach the tribute to the woman who had stolen his father’s heart, and however indirectly, his life. He carried this anger with him, and it was the catalyst for his decision to seek the Tetsusaiga, the sword that should have been his in the first place. With the sword’s ability to eradicate barriers, he could use it to remove the one on the pass into the Valley. However, he did not count on it taking nearly two hundred years to locate his father’s tomb, nor that he would be unable to so much as touch the weapon.

He’d been outraged at what appeared to be yet another betrayal by his father over someone with human blood. Then the ultimate sleight: having his arm severed by the very sword he coveted. Defeated and nearly killed, and it was his useless Tenseiga that spared him. Irritating in the extreme, to be incapacitated thus by his worthless little brother.

Even so, he was not deterred. He would have the sword and he would have his hanyou sibling’s life. Then he would destroy the Valley and everything inside, and he would finally have his birthright and his revenge.

It was not to be. He met the human girl, Rin, who instead of fleeing in terror or summoning her adult brethren to kill him, (and it galled him to admit that they might have succeeded in doing so with him so weak after the Kaze no Kizu) tended him until he was strong enough to take his leave.

He knew why he’d saved her when he found her mauled to death by wolves—it was the life debt he owed her. His use of the Tenseiga to revive her had repaid it. What he could not explain was why he’d allowed her to follow him afterward. A human child slowed him down and there was no reason he could see, why he should tolerate the presence of one. Had he not known himself incapable of it, he’d have said pity was the culprit.

Then, against his very nature, he began to grow rather fond of the girl. Even when she got herself into more trouble than she should have been worth, he allowed her to stay. When the human boy who smelled of death and Naraku kidnapped her, he’d surprised himself by feeling anger and perhaps a touch of concern over her well-being.

What he, nor anyone, could have predicted was that his affection for the human child was the beginning of the end of a two-hundred year old grudge. On a survey of his territory, he came upon the white stone arch that guarded the final path to the Valley, deep within the northern mountain range. He looked long and hard at the figure of a two dogs curled together at the apex of the arch. He looked and he reached inside himself for the anger and the hatred and he felt…nothing.

He felt nothing at all. All the embers of his once mighty rage had burned out, leaving only annoyance and faint resentment. It was disconcerting, actually, to know he had once harbored an intense, all-encompassing hatred for this place, yet unable to summon even a spark of it. Even the loathing for his half-brother had dissipated and he felt simply...hollow. And the most disturbing realization was that such drastic changes had occurred in only a matter of months and without his even noticing. For Sesshoumaru it was as if it had happened in a blink of an eye.

He no longer wanted to destroy the Valley—instead, he found himself rather curious about it and the castle fortress within, having never actually seen the structure his father had talked of at their last real discussion.

Decision made, he spoke. “Jaken.”

“Y-yes, milord?”

“Stay with Ah Un,”

“Aye, milord.”

“Come, Rin.” He was certain that even if the barrier rejected him, it would at least not harm the girl. His father was fond of safeguarding against harm to innocents, and Rin nothing if not innocent.

“Okay, Sesshoumaru-sama,” she scampered up beside him, her hyperactivity toned down, as if sensing something important was taking place within her guardian.

He reached the stone arch and, taking a barely noticeable breath to brace himself… passed through it. The barrier did not activate at either his or Rin’s passing, to his relief. Being sent flying to land gracelessly on his posterior was not exactly the way to cultivate the awe and fear he’d instilled in his subordinates. He paused slightly, once through, then continued down the path. As they walked Sesshoumaru eventually found himself frowning down at the girl who walked at his side. “Why have you not spoken, Rin?”

The little girl shrugged and said simply, “Sesshoumaru-sama doesn’t look like he wants to talk.”

She was certainly perceptive. As a matter of fact, Sesshoumaru did not want to talk, but he would tolerate—nay, welcome Rin’s inane chatter, if it would distract him from his brooding. Just because he no longer wished to destroy the Valley did not mean he was necessarily looking forward to seeing the monument his father had built for a human.

A supernatural wind picked up, seemingly in warning, and Sesshoumaru had no doubt that if he continued along that train of thought the protections on this place would interpret it as destructive and throw him out with force, therefore…

“Speak,” he ordered.

“About what my lord?”

“How are your studies with Jaken coming?”

Rin brightened. “Oh! Very well, Sesshoumaru-sama. Rin is—I mean, I am able to read and write two hundred symbols now, and can add and subtract, and…” Rin prattled on the subject for a very long time, and though Sesshoumaru did not find such things even slightly interesting, it was sufficient to distract him from his dark thoughts for the remainder of the journey.

They arrived at another stone arch, and when he peered through it at last, the great Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands caught his breath. Distantly he was aware that Rin had gasped along with him as he stared at the crescent of paradise before him.

A stone path cut through sprawling fields bursting with hundreds of different species of wild flowers, up to an outer wall built entirely of white stone, and beyond to the largest, most spectacular work of architecture Sesshoumaru had ever seen. The Yuudai no Keikoku, stood proud and magnificent against the backdrop of the majestic northern mountains, as luminous as a pearl in the sun-bright afternoon. Faint steam from the hot spring it was built around rose to the left of the castle, though the spring itself was hidden by dense foliage and trees.

It was truly a magnificent sight, the likes of which Sesshoumaru had never encountered in his centuries of life. The grandest of human dwellings could not compare nor, he admitted, could any youkai abode he’d ever encountered. And his father had created it for his human mate so that she would have a place of her own, away from any that wished her ill—including most of her and her husband’s kin. Inu no Taisho had used a diety’s debt to him to make it impenetrable to such forces.

It hurt Sesshoumaru to finally witness for himself the depth of love his father must have harbored for his mistress—as if dying for her had not been enough. This valley was nothing short of spectacular. And, he remembered quite abruptly, it was Inuyasha’s birthright because it had been a gift for his mother. Had it been part of Sesshoumaru’s inheritance he would have felt the ties to it transfer to him when his father died.

As the eldest son of the Inu no Taisho, Sesshoumaru had inherited his title and all his lands, the four major keeps to the north, south, east, and seafront, as well as the Central Castle in the center of the territory, where his direct ancestors had dwelt since the Inu-youkai clan first gained power over the west. Several of his closest relations still resided there, which was only one of the many reasons he spent as much time away as possible. Though it seemed he’d be returning sooner than he’d like, at least if his math was correct—and he knew that it was.

For the first time in at least a century, Sesshoumaru sighed. It was time then. “Come Rin,” he commanded as he turned to make the trek back through the pass.

As long as he’d been certain he was going to destroy the Valley, he’d been able to ignore this duty to his brother—the one that involved prolonged contact with the wretched little beast. Now that he’d made the conscious decision to leave the Valley intact, he could do so no longer. Like it or not (and he still did not), his brother was the master of one of his father’s fangs, and so had a rightful claim as the second son of a powerful ruler. The hanyou had a place of his own in the Western Lands and he was entitled to know about it. ‘And,’ thought Sesshoumaru with a distinct tinge of rue, ‘now that I do not wish to run through his ridiculously soft heart, I am ready to tell him.’

Which meant that there was now the matter of his brother’s approaching bicentennial, when he would come of age and subsequently inherit the Valley in truth—provided the proper ceremonies were completed. Had he still been planning to kill Inuyasha, it would not have mattered, but since he did not…Sesshoumaru almost sighed again, but managed to contain it with effort. It seemed letting his brother live was going to cause him more grief than he had originally thought. He was tempted to renew the vendetta simply to avoid the unwanted stress of the next several months but…

But he could not. Having seen the Yuudai no Keikoku, he simply could not.

His brother’s age—physical and mental age—would undoubtedly be a nuisance, but there was nothing to be done. It had been nearly two hundred winters since Inuyasha’s birth, the age at which an inuyoukai was presented to the High Council, and introduced to the court which would include members of the inuyoukai clan, as well as delegates from select other territories. Though the fifty-year stasis meant his brother was actually fifty years younger than he ought to be he was still technically the correct age. Sesshoumaru remembered his own introduction into high youkai society as a noisy, smelly, and generally irritating affair, but at least he’d been fully trained in court customs. He could only imagine how is uncouth, untrained, still-technically-adolescent brother would handle it.

The task of grooming his brother for court would be arduous and frustrating in the extreme— Inuyasha’s complete lack of manners, foul mouth, and stubbornness made that a given . Too, Sesshoumaru assumed he would be somewhat less than enthusiastic about accompanying someone who had tried to kill him several times over and had professed to loathe him on dozens of occasions. Yet, Sesshoumaru could not help but feel the faint stirrings of anticipation. Wouldn’t some of his more irritating relatives be surprised when they were summoned to a ceremonial gathering only to find out it was for the hanyou brother they probably assumed he’d killed long ago? Their shock and resentment would be entirely worth his efforts. At the very least, it would puncture the annoying illusions of grandeur many of them seemed to have developed since his father’s death.

As the second son of the former Inu no Taisho, and younger brother of the one who held the current title, Inuyasha would inherit everything should Sesshoumaru expire unexpectedly…or at least he would after his Coming of Age Ceremony. Sesshoumaru simply had to make sure he survived through it, and the best option he could see for doing so would be keeping him within the Valley until the event. It would also keep his brother in a private setting for the many lessons Sesshoumaru intended to force upon him—proper etiquette being the first priority.

Sooner than he’d expected due to his inward musings, Sesshoumaru reached the outermost stone arch and found his servant waiting anxiously for his return. Good. He had work for the toad.

“Jaken.”

“Milord?”

“Ready a scroll.” He waited impatiently until his bidding was done. “First, go to the North Keep and retrieve their senior healer, Shinmaru and send him here…I trust you know where ‘here’ is?”

“Yes, milord—the pass into the northern mountain range,” Jaken recited dutifully. “What reason shall I give?”

“The scroll will bear the Inu no Taisho’s seal; they will not dare to question my orders. When this objective is accomplished, go to the Keep by the Sea for Seiichiro of the Swords and request the same of him. Go to the South Keep for Junko the Wise and her mate, General Hanoka, and to the East Keep for the twins Atsuihi and Retsuhi(**). At each keep, request any servants who are willing to come.”

Jaken was scribbling furiously, and when he was done asked, “Is that everything milord?”

“If it was not, I would have continued, Jaken,” Sesshoumaru took the scroll and made a mark at the bottom with a diluted version of his poison. It was one of a kind, and signified the orders within were carried out at his behest.

“O-of course, milord. Shall I go now?”

“Yes, immediately. Take this.” He summoned his cloud, and waited for the imp to board, but Jaken hesitated.

“Where shall I find my lord when this has been done?”

“Go Jaken,”

“Right away milord!” the toad yelped and hopped on, speeding away as quickly as his transportation would carry him.

In the meantime, Sesshoumaru had a brother to locate. “Rin, come.”

“Yes Sesshoumaru-sama.” Rin sighed, a faint but visible pout on her face.

“Does something displease you?” Rin started and looked up at her guardian, who looked at her as expressionlessly as always, but for the slight rise of his left eyebrow. She shook her head.

“You are lying. Tell me what displeases you immediately.”

“I-I, um, I wanted to play in the flower fields, Sesshoumaru-sama!” she blurted, then added quickly, “But it’s alright. I don’t have to. I’ll go with you!”

“We will be returning here, Rin,” The slight softening of his tone should have been unnoticeable to a human, but Rin seemed to hear it anyway, and relaxed. She nodded, and rearranged her expression.

Sesshoumaru sighed, and looked at the entrance to the pass, considering… He would almost certainly return before Shinmaru and the first batch of servants arrived, in any case, but without Rin as a burden he would travel that much faster. She was quite adept at finding food for herself, and Ah Un knew better than to let anything happen to her. They would protect her from any danger she might get herself into and the barrier would protect her from external harm. It was quite optimal, actually.

“You will stay here Rin. Take Ah Un to the place where you saw the flower fields and stay there. Take shelter in the castle at night.”

“Okay! Have a nice trip, Sesshoumaru-sama! Come on Ah Un! You’ll really love this place, it’s so pretty, and there’s lots of grass for you to eat, and…” she continued to chatter at the dragon following docile behind her. The daiyoukai watched until they were out of sight, more than a little bewildered at the girl’s excitement, and only slightly out of sorts that she hadn’t even inquired as to how long he would be away, apparently more concerned with her flowers.

At length he turned away. It was no matter. He preferred her happy, rather than sulking and clingy.

Now, only one question remained: Where in Musashi was his wayward sibling?

**Atsuihi and Retsuhi mean ‘hot fire’ and ‘cold ice’ respectively. The ‘hi’ at the end can stand for either fire or ice, depending on the kanji. I thought it had a kind of poetic ring to it.
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Yuudai no Keikoku