The Long Road to Freedom Part 1: The Dastardly Prince

Hajime

1075, late Heian Period, Summer

The sun was low in the east as the woman made a final great effort, rewarded with the frightened cries of her newborn child. She called to her mate for help, taking the chance to rest up for the long journey ahead as he cleaned and swaddled it, crouching at her side.

"What is it?" she asked weakly.

The look of disappointment on his face broke her heart, and she knew without him saying a word that it was female. How badly they had desired a son... There was nothing to be done about it, though, at least not here. The cave was drenched in the scent of blood and her struggling, and it wouldn't be long before it attracted the wrong sort of attention.

As soon as she was strong enough, they fled. They didn't mistreat the pup, but neither were they exactly affectionate, and it would be years before they even found a name for her.

Kuroihi. More of a moniker than a name inspired by the blackish flames she produced when upset or excited.

She grew slowly over the next 15 years, as half-demons do, and her parents taught her everything they could. Being half-breeds themselves, they knew what awaited their daughter in this world, and it was far from kind.

She was small, barely above hip-height, when they found themselves by mistake in the lands of Musashi where the ferocious General of the Inu tribe resided. They were strangers here, trespassers, but strangely the Inu no Taishou was willing to let them leave with little more than an appropriate apology. His companion Rekkonji, however, demanded they pay tribute for his mercy; and so they did. Having nothing to give and being more concerned about their own lives, they abandoned their child and fled back home to the southern province.

"Half-breeds..." Rekkonji grumbled, and he regarded the frightened and confused pup with blatant antipathy. "Just how are we expected to make any use of such a thing?"

The General shrugged.

"Give her to Fuyutoka. He's still complaining about the lack of help in maintaining the base; perhaps he can make use of her."

He harbored no ill-will or real distaste for the girl, half-demon though she was, but he had his own child to be concerned with as well as his continued military campaign, and he didn't have the time for coddling.

******

1250, mid-Kamakura Period, 160 years later

The warm, summer wind tumbled its way around and through Inu no Taishou's castle-like base, bringing with it the sweet scent of promised rain mixed with the scent of fire and death. A young Lord Sesshoumaru and his father were drenched in the smells of the battlefield as they arrived home.

The Panther Demon Tribe from the East had tried to make its move on the West, and the General was happy to show them the error of their ways. A single, brutal battle was all it had taken, and he was more than pleased with the results of Sesshoumaru's military debut. With their leader gone, the Panthers had fled home, leaving the General and his vassals to heal the wounds the felines had inflicted in their short time here.

To say Sesshoumaru had found pleasure in the battle would be an understatement, and already the General worried that, perhaps, his son had enjoyed it a bit too much.

Cleaned and content, the father-son pair settled themselves in the General's strategy room, their respective retainers tending noiselessly to their comfort and desires. Sesshoumaru's eyes were focused on the map his father laid out before them, arranging small figurines here and there across it as he played out the battle once more for their assessment.

His ears twitched as they picked up his father's words, his mind flashing in beautiful detail each and every encounter. He could still hear the death screams of his victims, taste their despair and terror, feel the heat of their blood splattered across his delicate features, and it made him shudder with anticipation.

The General paused as he realized his son's attention was elsewhere.

"Tell me, Sesshoumaru, what is it you are thinking that makes the very air about you quiver? You have yet to be calm since the battle ended."

The young demon refocused his honey-gold eyes on the map, offering his father a slight smile to show he had Sesshoumaru's full attention again.

"The nature of superiority, father. Truly the power over life and death, the ability to effortlessly decimate your enemies, is the greatest one can possess. I desire to master this, to walk a path of conquest as you do."

His father frowned slightly.

"I urge you to be cautious with those thoughts, my son. This path of conquest, as you call it, one not one of cruelty, something you are most prone to. Do not ignore the panorama to focus on a single choice detail. Tranquility, desire, angst, compassion; they are all just as important as the bloodlust you now feel. The greatest creatures maintain their superiority by achieving a balance of these. Such self-mastery is a life-long exploit. Know thyself, Sesshoumaru."

He let his words hang in the air significantly for a moment.

"That is enough for now. Go, summer is thick on the land, and such weather should not be wasted. The joy of victory is fleeting; relish it while it lasts. We will speak more after dinner."

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed his son, who bowed silently and departed.