Pride

A/N: Gosh, I do this every time, but I really am sorry this took so long. I'm kinda getting kicked out of my house and the semester is winding down, so I hardly had any time to write, let alone the inspiration.

Anyway, I actually got reviews! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to those of you who did. That, right there, was what got me through this latest chapter. It really was hard to write, for several reasons. This part was not so clear in my mind, but it was also rather emotionally draining to put what I did know into words. Right, you'll see why...

So, to respond to the reviews.

Woffy- ...maybe. Kekekek, I knew someone was going to ask that, and I was just WAITING to be able to say "maybe". I'm glad you enjoyed the kids' interaction. It was fun to write, too, though I'm suddenly questioning R-K's name spelling... oh well, I don't care enough to go back and change it all. XD
I'm sorry my chapters are short, but I rarely get time to write, so I have to get out as much as I can in a very short time, before my train of thought is interrupted. This one is a bit longer, so please enjoy and review me some more! ^_^;

BlackPhoenixLove- I totally agree about OC's. I can't stand all the times I see people just throwing in a character that they imagine to be themselves and expecting other people to enjoy their self-amusement. I think Hikaru is a little bit of an exception, mostly because he DOES actually make sense, plot-wise. Maybe I'm biased. Oh well. Indeed, I'm continuing this story. If I were to REALLY write it out seriously, it would be novel-length. A daunting idea, that.
Maybe I'll just use this as a sort of prototype and do a second version later.

WeIrDpErSoN- You noticed the behavior difference, eh? Well, that's the whole point! I had always wondered why Sesshoumaru acted the way he did. I figured he must have been a real firecracker when he was younger, tempers apparently running in the family, and that led me to believe that something must have happened to him to make him an ice princess. This story is the explanation my brain farted out sometime in junior high, and it developed over the course of years. It's also my version of why Inutaisho and R-K were feuding in the first place.
I hope you'll find the rest of this a valid background.


In case you guys don't realize it, this part starts out right after R-K and Hiki show up, later in the day when Hiki and Sessy first meet. It then jumps ahead a bit to somewhere between then and that bit with the training.
Confused? Me too. So sorry. XD
Thus, on to the next chapter!


Chapter 4


“What have you told him about his role in all this?” Inutaisho nodded toward the child gazing happily out at the vast gardens, small wings fanning slowly behind him.

Ryokotsusei’s expression did not change. “What is there to say? He is to stay here obey you. I will be leaving him, and will see him during the hot season.” He shifted slightly as he stood beside the dog lord. “Beyond that, it is entirely up to you what he does.”

Hikaru suddenly thrilled as an enormous butterfly flew past, drifting through the heavily-scented air. The heat belied the moon’s proclamation of autumn, stubbornly insisting that summer would continue. Even as evening fell, the atmosphere remained thick, humidity making the slight breeze feel more like a current of water. Watching the younger demon, Sesshoumaru pretended not to listen to their fathers’ awkward conversation. He scowled after the dragonling, who leapt after the butterfly and took off along the gravelly border of the plant beds. He was much too civilized and well-bred to even think about giving chase himself, no matter how easy it would be to prove his superior bug-catching abilities.

Ryokotsusei turned away from the sight of his son’s childish play, and toward the sun which was now turning the western sky to fiery orange, bleeding into the cloudless blue. Despite the miserably hot weather, he suddenly felt not-so-keen to return to his considerably cooler territory in the north.

From somewhere behind him he heard Hikaru squeak in surprise, and Sesshoumaru’s victorious laughter.

“You squished it!” the little voice accused.

He would be coming back to an empty home all too soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Three Days Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hikaru wound his arms around his father’s neck, nuzzling under his chin in adoration. The dragon buried his nose in his son’s soft, black hair, but raised his gaze to the tall figure standing not far away. Inutaisho almost flinched at the intensity in the poisonous green eyes, but did not look away. He understood the message well.

It was a family he was pulling apart.

He suddenly had to wonder if he could ever have sacrificed so much for his followers. The sight of the great dragon and his tiny child in one final embrace was not one he would soon forget.

The wind shifted as the two remained wrapped around each other, and in it was a faint chill that cut through the afternoon heat. The hint of spice in the air brought autumn to call.

Finally breaking his stare away, Ryokotsusei closed his eyes, his arms drawing tighter for just a moment. He remembered the years he had spent carrying this precious little creature inside him. The misery of two years of pregnancy, ending with four days of agony before he was suddenly presented with the strangely quiet bundle of white flesh and black feathers.

He remembered teaching his baby to walk, to speak, to play in the shadows of their labyrinth of caves. Chasing the precocious child through miles of tunnels. All the laughter that he and his comrades had shared at Hikaru’s antics, despite the horrific battles being waged outside their dank sanctuary.

He remembered his mate’s disbelief and shock when he met his four-year-old son for the first time, during a respite long enough for him to abandon the dwindling army outside. The ensuing argument as to the winged baby’s true lineage was a source of amusement for years. The still-fresh wound of that loss made the dragon lord ache, knowing he was losing their son now as well.

After a long moment, he let Hikaru go, drawing himself to his full height. The boy looked up at him, eyes unusually solemn, but both sharing a moment of silent communication.

Unable to say a word, Ryokotsusei finally turned away, taking quick strides toward the north, eventually breaking into a run, guards in pursuit.

Hikaru stood alone there at the gates for a long time.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ten Years Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hikaru hurried through the servants’ quarters, the sound of his bare feet clear in the early-morning hush. He shifted the huge pot he carried so he could see as he stepped down onto the familiar white gravel path that crisscrossed much of the inu lord’s inner grounds. His burden was a fresh batch of healing balm that would go to the guard barracks on the other side of the gardens, and he hoped to get it there before the noisy, crude soldiers were around to harass him.

Listening distractedly to the crunch of the tiny stones, the boy thought out his plans for the day. As soon as he finished this task, he would go break his fast in the kitchen before the rush of cleaning maids wore the doting cook’s patience thin. He’d help her for a while, he supposed (imagining the tidbits he‘d be treated to for his trouble), and then go wake Sesshoumaru and bring him his meal. Perhaps he’d even get some time to convince one of the gardeners to let him gather the fallen cherry blossoms by the reflection pools (a singularly pleasing task, the tedious nature of which would likely mean he wouldn’t be pulled away to something truly irritating).

As he pondered different uses for the blossoms he collected, he caught the sound of raised voices nearby. Blinking away his daydreaming, Hikaru stopped walking when he took notice of his surroundings.

This central part of the gardens lay in ruins. Leaves, bamboo, shattered rock and other debris was strewn around the path, and the young dragon was surprised that he hadn’t stumbled over anything, with the urn obstructing his vision and his mind elsewhere. Furrowing his brow in confusion, Hikaru gingerly set his burden aside and made his way across the rubble, headed for the voices. In the now somewhat stronger light, his lowered brows raised at the sight before him.

What had once been a sort of decorative wall of bamboo appeared to have been cut diagonally with a knife, and over the lower side of the angle he saw Inutaisho, thoroughly dressing-down… Sesshoumaru? Taken aback again, the boy crept closer.

“…and with such utter disrespect for your father’s property! What possessed you, to even be out in the middle of the night?” The demon’s shoulders were hunched forward with rage.

There was a crackle of energy which drew Hikaru’s eyes back toward Sesshoumaru. He had assumed a defensive stance, and from two fingers hung his newly-acquired light whip. Hikaru blinked incredulously. Not only had Sesshoumaru laid waste to the dog lord’s gardens, but now he looked like he wanted to use it against the demon, himself! The dragonling crouched, suddenly uneasy about the situation, and wondered if he should make himself scarce.

Sesshoumaru raised his chin defiantly. “The training is too easy. I’m tired of practicing on dummies and stupid mongrels. I need moving targets! I saw the fireflies, and the idea ma-”

A snarl from Inutaisho was all it took to quiet his protest. “I don’t care if you are truly the dandiest creature alive, son. Defacing my property, which will one day be yours, is much more significant than you can imagine. Would you wield an army so carelessly? What if your hasty actions, carelessness, and complete ignorance harmed the people who depend on you? Such stupidity would get your comrades killed.” The lord paused then, and seemed to ponder something, turning aside. Hikaru’s hackles rose, having the distinct feeling that Inutaisho was looking at him.

“You must learn, Sesshoumaru, how very directly your actions effect those around you.” He extended a clawed hand toward the boy who was now creeping away. “Hikaru.” He beckoned, and the boy froze.

“Come here, Hikaru.”

For the first time, the dragonling realized just what this, until now, gentle father-creature truly was. He gulped in terror, and slowly crawled toward the warlord who had been his father’s greatest enemy. Sesshoumaru glanced at him, confused, but did not keep his eyes off of Inutaisho for long as his own anxiety began to rise. As soon as he was just close enough, Hikaru lowered his head to the ground and nervously awaited the demon’s command.

Inutaisho drew a deep breath, secretly uneasy himself, and addressed his son. “Hikaru is your closest friend, yes? Your faithful companion and servant. The creature nearest to your own body in many ways…” Lips tight, the demon summoned his own whip of light. The little dragon’s breathing quickened and he shut his eyes tight, wings curving down around his body, and prayed that his lord would not do what he feared…

“Know that it was your actions, Sesshoumaru, that has brought this upon him.”

The shining weapon then fell toward Hikaru’s exposed back.


~~~~~~~~

Sesshoumaru approached the sobbing boy as his father stalked away. Kneeling down and reaching for his shoulders, he paused, realizing he might hurt his friend by touching. He instead scrubbed at his sore eyes and swallowed, throat raw from crying. He was now at a loss as to how to comfort, and could only crouch by his friend’s side and watch.

The dragonling’s white clothing was torn across the back now, five slashes running through the pristine cloth. Some blood seeped from the edges of the cauterized wounds, but the angry red tracks had already begun to heal.

Hikaru curled tighter around himself, rolling to his side and wrapping his arms around his knees. He hardly felt the gravel digging into his bare skin. He simply lay there and shook, dust from pressing his face into the ground sticking to the tear tracks, almost parallel to the two black stripes down his cheeks.

He had never been physically punished before.

Birds had begun to sing their morning vespers, and through them he could hear the household waking. The hurried steps of servants along nearby paths, the more distant sounds of the exchange of night and day guards, and the unsteady breath of the pup behind him all reached his delicately pointed ears, though he only lay passively.

After a few minutes, the warmth of the morning sun gradually cutting through his shocked chill, he sat up, wincing at the twinge the shifting of his wings caused. Heaving a long, shaky sigh, his more pragmatic nature drew his eyes back to the pot he had been carrying. Slowly he stood and walked toward it over the flotsams strewn over the walkway. Lifting the lid, the pungent, green scent of the ointment rose to meet him and he reached a clawed hand in. Hikaru twisted awkwardly, and tried to smear the stuff on his back, but found little success until two new hands joined his, slipping through the slashed cloth and gently spreading the potion over the welts. He closed the jar and traced it with his fingers as Sesshoumaru crouched behind him.

As the pup finished, Hikaru finally spoke.

“You idiot.”

And, for once, Sesshoumaru did not respond in kind.

A/N:
Just a little something to add... Did anyone get my hint in that last section? Hmmm... it will get more obvious as the story goes on, I suppose.

I'm sorry if it seemed a little choppy.

PLEASE, for the love of yaoi, REVIEW! <3