Title: Neither Here Nor There

Genre: Introspective/General

Rating: G

Pairings Represented: Sesshoumaru/Inuyasha Family

Theme: Set #2, Theme #042, "Name"

Word Count: 380

Warnings:

Universe: Canon

His eyes remained closed as the sun moved high into the sky. There was no sense of urgency to move forward today. The air was hot, humid and sticky and despite the nearby tidal pool, there was no breeze to help cool them off. It was mutually agreed upon to take a day of rest.

So why did he feel so restless?

Shifting in the tree he thought back to the tussle a few days ago with his brother. He was lucky, he knew, to have come out of it unscathed as Sesshoumaru used every trick possible to punish him for whatever transgression he had committed.

Like he cared about the reason for the attack. To him it all came down to the same thing, Tessaiga. The bastard couldn’t get over the fact that he got his father’s prized sword. It was the only thing he had ever received from his father, besides his name.

Inuyasha.

If only his father knew how much it suited him, and equally how much it didn’t.

A hanyou such as you is not deserving of the name you received, his brother had taunted him as he unleashed the power of Tokijin against him.

Dog Demon.

Hanyou.

He was neither demon nor human, accepted in neither circle. It was as if his father had known his fate when he gave him his name. It wasn’t fair sometimes. He gave his heir the name Sesshoumaru, killing perfection, and everyday he lived up to it, proving to others time and time again that he was not a being to trifle with.

And himself? Dog demon. And despite the fact that his name clearly says he’s not human, it didn’t live up to the other side of it as well.

As if he’d ever admit as much to his asshole brother, he growled.

But still, if he couldn’t live up to his name, then what could he live up to?

Removing his haori in an attempt to keep cool, he knew it was a question for another day when it wasn’t quite so exhausting to just sit there and reflect upon the things he couldn’t change.

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Title: Beneath Him

Genre: Sesshoumaru Introspective

Rating: G

Pairings Represented: Sesshoumaru/Inuyasha Family

Theme: Set #2, Theme #053, "Betrayal"

Word Count: 308

Warnings: Slight spoiler from Third Inuyasha movie

Universe: Canon

He could feel his blood boil to the surface when he thought back to that night many years ago. His father returning home from battle, bloody, broken, and yet, with an oddly proud glint in his eyes.

Inuyasha.

The name sat upon his lips like a curse. The last and only word his father had said to him that night.

Inuyasha.

And the foolish hanyou had yet to figure out why he wanted him dead. The sword would ultimately be his, but it was not his raison d’etre. There would be plenty of opportunities to collect once the main obstacle was out of the way.

Yet it was obvious his father’s blood was strong within him as it became increasingly difficult in every battle to overpower what he once thought was a weak hanyou. Anybody else and he would have earned his respect, if not his admiration for overcoming such circumstances as the whelp’s birth.

But it was whelp’s birth that agonized him night after night, the betrayal he felt from the mere idea of having a half-brother.

A half-brother who was not youkai.

The thought alone made him want to spit on the ground in insult if the act weren’t beneath him. A lesser being would have been hurt by the act, but he was far from a lesser being.

Betrayal meant nothing to him, as it was just a word. The emotions it could evoke in a being had no place within him. But still … Inuyasha. There was something about that name that made him want to believe in the word, lower his ego several notches so the word would apply.

Shrugging off the thoughts he closed his eyes. Emotional pain didn’t apply to him. He would get his revenge one day and rid the world of that name. He was patient; he could wait.

END

Standard Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru don’t belong to me, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi

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Title: Nothingness

Genre: Introspective/General

Rating: G

Pairings Represented: Sesshoumaru/Inuyasha Family

Theme: Set #2, Theme #094, "Place of Birth"

Word Count: 164

Warnings: Spoiler for Inuyasha Movie 3

Universe: Canon

Standing amongst the ruined building, he felt nothing.

Hate. Anger. Resentment. Rage.

At this single moment in time, they were non-existent, as if they didn’t matter.

As if he didn’t matter.

He sneered as he thought of his half-brother, and felt a pang of regret for just an instant when he thought back to the half-breed’s birth. He would have been so easy to kill. A quick flick of the claws and it would have been done.

But then Takemaru had done the job as well and didn’t succeed.

None of that mattered either, as his honour would not have allowed him to complete the act. A defenseless child dying by his hands would have been the cowardly way out of facing the emotions that had once assaulted him.

Sniffing the air, he smiled maliciously. Inuyasha was no longer a defenseless child. Watching the approaching hanyou, he stepped into the shadows. It seemed as if he would get to have some fun after all.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Co. do not belong to me, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi

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Title: Similarities

Genre: General, Introspective. Kagome POV

Rating: G

Pairings Represented: Sesshoumaru/Inuyasha Family

Theme: Set #2, Theme #099, "All together - alike"

Word Count: 350

Warnings:

Universe: Canon

She watched the two of them closely as their swords clashed with each other. If she squinted her eyes and really focused, she could see beyond the silver and figure who’s who.

Red.

White.

White.

Red.

One would land with grace while the other just landed period. How was it that the two of them didn’t realize how alike they really were? Kagome mused as she stretched out by a tree.

It took several battles for her to realize they were both just posturing, neither of them with an intent to kill the other. Despite their animosity toward each other, they were still brothers. And the blood that bonded them together obviously meant more to both than they knew.

Yet another similarity.

But their posturing had nothing to do with the intensity of the battle, and despite their unwillingness to truly kill each other, the intent to injure was there. Their hate was very real. How sad it must be, she knew, to hate your brother and everything he stood for. Both of them, hated the other for different reasons, but it all ultimately led to the same thing.

The bottom line.

Their father’s blood and legacy. Sesshoumaru was heir to everything that belonged to his father, and received the acknowledgement of others, the one thing Inuyasha wished for when he was younger. Inuyasha was heir to the one thing Sesshoumaru desired above all others.

The sound of metal on metal broke through her thoughts as she saw Sesshoumaru pinning Inuyasha to the ground, Tetsusaiga laying dormant several feet away.

Another battle, another defeat, she thought as she pulled out her first aid kit. His body would be okay, she figured. It was his ego that needed the healing.

Until the next time it was.

Without another word she saw Sesshoumaru walk away, Tokijin already sheathed at his side and Inuyasha lying where he was originally pinned.

He didn’t follow, Sesshoumaru didn’t turn back.

Yes, she thought as she watched them go in opposite directions. Despite what they believed their differences to be, they were still very much the same.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru do not belong to me. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi