The Book of Sorcery

By: BlackShade14

Published: 6/9/11

Chapter Rewrite Posted: 7/2/15

Beta-ed by: Rufescent

Disclaimer: All of the Inuyasha characters are not mine, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

AN: I've changed the spelling of Sacura to Sakura.

Time to Go

"Inuyasha, it's time to go dear." Izayoi reminded softly, turning to face her hanyou son of forty-nine years.

"Ready, Mother." Inuyasha's feelings of displeasure and sadness were clear on his face, which resembled that of a fourteen year old with baby cheeks and large eyes. His eyebrows were low, settled over the slanted shape of his gold eyes, and the half-demon was frowning tightly. Inuyasha crossed his arms as he made his way to stand beside his mother.

Today was the day Inuyasha and Izayoi were to move into the western palace with the Inu no Taisho, the Lord of the Western Lands, and the royal family. Inuyasha wasn't sure exactly what to think of that.

"Did you say your farewells to everybody?"

"Yes, mother," he answered dutifully. Inuyasha's voice lowered in volume at the words. He didn't want to leave his mother's home, his home. It was familiar and he had already made his life there.

"Don't be upset dear, the western palace is a wonderful place," Izayoi said cheerfully. She put her hand on her son's shoulder, squeezing gently. "It's very large, and has lots of children your age for you to socialize with."

"And hopefully make friends with." Izayoi added to herself, suppressing a wide grin at the thought.

"I know, mother. It's just, being snatched from one place and dropped into another doesn't exactly appeal to me," Inuyasha admitted. As he started to think of his new home, the bitterness swept over him and Inuyasha's fists clenched. His sadness switched to annoyance, almost instantly. The frown pulled up into a tight line and his low, drooping ears pointed stiffly upright.

At his mother's quick glance at him; she recognized the obvious signs of irritation. Usually Izayoi would correct her son about his lack of respect in his speech, but considering the situation; she decided to say nothing on the matter.

"I know, Inuyasha. But I made an agreement, a promise, to your father that we would move in with him before you turned fifty. The only reason he let us stay here is because of my parents..." Izayoi drifted off at the mention of her parents, her violet eyes dilating as she stared into the distance.

"I know, mother." Inuyasha's tone softened at the look on his mother's face. He bit his lips and looked at the scenery around himself.

Izayoi sighed loudly, knowing she wouldn't be able to change her son's mood with a few pretty words of comfort. But that didn't mean she couldn't try. Inuyasha was her weak link; when his blond eyes turned sad all she wanted to do was make them sparkle again.

"Inuyasha, did you remember to get everything?" Izayoi's violet eyes settled on his face, reading his expression and scrutinizing every line around his eyes.

Inuyasha knew what she meant by that, the simple code easily understood. Ever since he was ten, Izayoi had been training Inuyasha in the ways of sorcery. They use special, magical artifacts to help keep his magic under control. They always train during the night, under the cover of darkness, where none would see or find them. No one knew of their magical abilities; everyone believed that sorcerers had been extinct for many years, nothing more than an interesting detail in the history scrolls.

Long ago, there was a war between the demons and the followers of sorcery. Back then, there were only two lands: the Eastern and Western, instead the four (Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern) that made the current boundaries. It was said that the war began when the Lady of the Eastern Lands (who had been a human-sorceress) had killed the Lady of the Western Lands (who had been a demon). The reason for the murder was unknown, the only certain fact was that the war lasted for centuries, and the aftermath was truly devastating. Blood and lives were lost in a magnitude unimaginable before. The war had been long and drawn-out, often referred to as the Massacre of the Ancients. In the end, the demons had won the war, and the ways of sorcery had been lost in the aftermath of hate and rebuilding.

"Yes, mother. I have everything." Inuyasha said, a knowing look exchanged between the family members.

"All right then, it's time to leave. The carriage is outside waiting for us." Izayoi took one last look at the palace she'd grown up in. She turned on her heels with a sharp click and walked briskly towards the carriage, seeing only blurs of brown and green as her vision distorted from tears she refused to let fall.

Inuyasha collected his bag, holding his magical relics as he walked outside to the carriage that was going to take the family to Inutaisho's palace...their new home.

"That will take some getting used to." Inuyasha thought, disliking the way the word tasted.

Izayoi and Inuyasha got into the carriage and departed soon after, the trip passing with little problem. Inuyasha stared as the palace grew smaller. It took him a few seconds to register the hand covering his.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha. Everything will be fine." Izayoi stared out the small window of the carriage; her words seemed aimed more towards herself than her son.

Inuyasha didn't respond, and Izayoi didn't really expect him to.

The trip to the western palace was estimated to take about three days. Inuyasha didn't see his father often, maybe three or four times a year. Even then, Inutaisho only stayed for a day or two, before taking his leave for the western palace.

Inuyasha wasn't the least bit happy when he was told that they were moving into the western palace. It wasn't that he was scared, far from it really; it was the emotions caused by his human side. The attachment he had for the place he lived in for his entire life... it brought about anger at his home being ripped away from him. Plus it didn't help that his father's palace was filled with youkai that would most likely hate him. Especially since youkai have been known to treat hanyous with disrespect, the same way humans treated hanyou. Ever since Inuyasha was young, the people in his mother's palace had looked at him with that look. The look that clearly stated what they couldn't say: filthy hanyou. They never outright disrespected him, but he could see the way they glared at him when no one was around; he could hear the things that they said about him.

Despite this, Inuyasha's life wasn't bad. His mother's family always treated him well, and he had enough friends. A few of them were children of nobles, but most were the children of servants. Not all of the palace children were his friends, though. When he was younger, he used to get bullied by some of the older palace children. He put a stop to that when he learned to defend himself in combat training. They left him alone and he rarely got hurt since then. He also had a youkai teacher to teach him in the ways of youkai society, of his pedigree, so he would not be ignorant about his other half.

Overall, his life went pretty well at his mother's palace. One of the few down sides was that his friends were constantly growing older than him. Because of his youkai side, he aged at the slowed rate of a youkai. He was thankful that his mother didn't age like a human anymore. Because of the mating between his mother and father, Izayoi still retained her youth.

Izayoi wasn't as worried about what their life would be like at the western palace. She had met Inutaisho's family before, and they were very kind to her. She only had two reasons to worry, and their names are Sakura and Sesshomaru. Sakura had not been delighted when she was told that Inutaisho was taking a second mate, let alone a human mate; on top of that, her hatred for humans and hanyous was greatly known. Sakura had avoided Izayoi whenever she came to the western palace. No matter how hard she tried, Izayoi couldn't befriend Sakura.

Sesshomaru shared his mother's prejudice. He held great resemblance to his mother. He was very cold to Izayoi during the time she stayed at the western palace. Just like Sakura, he too had not been happy about his father taking a human mate. Sesshomaru and Sakura had been livid when they heard about Inuyasha's birth, even more so when they were told that Izayoi and Inuyasha were to moving into the western palace with them.

Izayoi hoped they wouldn't do anything to harm her or her son. If they did, her only defense against such powerful youkai would be her sorcery, and she didn't want her powers or Inuyasha's power to be exposed. Yet when it came to her son, she knew she would do anything.

"Inuyasha, promise me something." Izayoi's serious tone brought Inuyasha back to reality. He glanced over to her with a thick, white eyebrow raised.

"What is it?" Inuyasha recognized that tone. Whatever his mother had to say, it was something important.

"You have to do your best not to use your magic too much while at the palace," Izayoi ordered softly, looking into his eyes before averting them back to the rolling hillside.

"Why not?" Inuyasha inquired. He could always use his magic at his mother's palace, as long as no one caught him. He would often use his magic to play pranks on the people in his mother's palace who hated him.

"Because the western palace is full of youkai. Unlike humans, youkai can sense magic. If the amount of magic you use is too powerful, someone will sense you. If you use a small amount, most likely nobody will feel it. Only use magic if you are in danger or in our training sessions, which I don't know if there will be many of those, because there are only youkai in the western palace. If we try to sneak out, more often than not someone will hear us or catch us trying to leave. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mother, I understand." Inuyasha's sulky attitude bled through his frown. He hated not being able to use magic.

"Good boy." Izayoi wanted to lighten the mood with some playful talk. She smirked, knowing what her son's reaction would be.

"Hey! You don't need to talk to me like I'm a pup!" Inuyasha shouted, before pouting and crossing his arms childishly.

"You are a pup." Izayoi petted his head.

"No, I'm not." Inuyasha informed her maturely.

"Of course you are. You're my pup." Izayoi then, with an evil smile, proceeded to tickle her son. The sharp tips of her manicured nails resembled that of claws, which only made the light scratching more intense.

"Stop...that...tickles!" Inuyasha cried out between fits of laughter.

"Do you give in?" Izayoi asked.

"Never!" Inuyasha refused to give his mother the satisfaction.

"Your choice." Izayoi continued to tickle Inuyasha.

"Okay! Okay! I give in!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Say I'm the best mother in the world."

"Never!" Inuyasha denied again.

"You brought this on yourself." Izayoi decided to get him in his most ticklish spot, the bottom of his feet, which were revealed because he had taken off his sandals when he entered the carriage.

Inuyasha laughed even harder. After a few minutes of this he gave up. "Okay! You win! You're the best mother in the world!"

"Wise choice." Izayoi stopped and leaned back, a smile decorating her face.

Inuyasha laughed for a few more minutes until his sides hurt, which he complained about to his mother when he was done laughing.

"If you hadn't been so stubborn your sides wouldn't hurt." Izayoi teased.

"What!? If you hadn't been tickling me my sides wouldn't hurt!" Inuyasha's indignant look normally would be enough to make Izayoi laugh, but she held a neutral face.

"If you had just given in I wouldn't have tickled you for so long," Izayoi lectured calmly.

"Whatever." Inuyasha knew he couldn't win this playful argument.

They were both silent after that, returning to their individual thoughts.

Inuyasha looked out the window. It was evening and the sun had just disappeared below the horizon, showering the sky in an aurora of colors. Fluffy clouds were smudged in dark purples and blues, floating peacefully along.

Inuyasha sighed contentedly; he loved the sight of twilight. It was his favorite time of day. At his mother's palace he would sit on the roof and watch the sun set after dinner. His ears drooped at how much he would miss his mother's palace, but he also hoped that everything would turn out fine at his new home.

Soon after it was night, and the occupants in the carriage were sleep.

At the palace everything was being prepared for the arrival of the Second Lady and heir of the West.

"I can't believe your father is doing all of this for a human." Sakura sneered at the decorations, eyes glaring at the colorful mess like she could burn them by simply staring.

"A human and a half-breed." Sesshomaru added with disgust, his lips curled.

For the past three days, the servants of the western palace had been preparing for the arrival of Izayoi and Inuyasha, running about in a frenzy for everything must be (according to Inutaisho) perfect.

Sakura was beyond angry: she was livid. Why was Taisho having them move in the western palace? Everything was fine when the filthy human and worthless half-breed lived in their own palace. Why the sudden change in location now? The same thoughts were running through Sesshomaru's mind as well but he hid it better than the older demon.

"Let's have breakfast in the garden today," Sakura said, dismissing the thought of the human and her son from her mind. She would not let that filth soil her moments with the prince.

Sesshomaru replied with a low 'hn' but she knew that was a yes. He's just like her.

Sakura and Sesshomaru were alike in many ways. The first being their image; they looked almost exactly the same, though only Sakura's features were more feminine. Her nose was higher and eyes larger. Sesshomaru's narrow cheeks framed his small, slanted eyes. They were also alike in personality, both impassive and cold. Their freezing personality was only the first layer, though, because after loyalty was won, the silver-haired demons could handle kindness and be as gentle as a flower petal. The ones they showed the most emotions to were family members, and even then it depended on how much vulnerabilities they were willing to express.

Ever since he was little Sesshomaru had been a serious child, but he also had a mischievous side. It was rare when someone saw his playful persona, but not wholly unheard of. Sesshomaru (like his mother and father) is very powerful, and one day would have his father's mighty swords, Tensaiga, Tetsusaiga, and Sounga.

They walked into the garden. On the way, Sakura ordered one of the servants to bring their food to one of the garden tables.

"It's a beautiful day today," Sakura noted nonchalantly as they approached the table. Her dress brushed the grass that poked up happily from between cracks of stone.

"Only to be ruined by the arrival of a certain pair." Sesshomaru's words on the matter seemed to contradict his calm and disinterested expression. He flatly looked up to the sky, mask unreadable.

"Then I suggest we enjoy what little time that we have left," Sakura countered smoothly, sitting down in a garden chair near the table.

Sesshomaru said nothing as he sat down across from his mother. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before their food arrived. They ate their meals in silence, each thinking similar thoughts. After their breakfast, Sakura disappeared to the library to continue the book she had been started earlier that morning, while Sesshomaru wandered around the palace halls for little bit to stretch his legs and master his expression before returning to his room.

It was a few hours later when Inutaisho came into his room.

"Son, it's time for you to come and greet your brother and step-mother at the front gate," Inutaisho commanded. Sesshomaru turned to stare at him. His father had his hands on his hips and his face was cool, eyebrows flat and lips pursed.

"That half-breed is not my brother," Sesshomaru hissed angrily, sitting up straighter as his glare intensified on his fingers resting in his lap. At the mention of being related to the hanyou, a cold feeling pitted in his stomach and his heart fluttered.

Inutaisho wasn't surprised at his son's outburst and calmly replied, "He is my son just as you are."

With that he turned and left the room, only to stop in his tracks. "Sesshomaru..." he trailed off, wanting his eldest to understand the seriousness of the situation at hand.

"If you dare to harm my wife or youngest…" Taisho's icy words sent a shiver down Sesshomaru's spine but he refused to show fear. Taisho didn't finish speaking; he didn't have to. He left his eldest with the expectation that he would follow soon after.

Sesshomaru stared at the door for a few minutes before his mother came in. They made eye contact, and Sesshomaru joined his mother in walking to the front gate.

Little did everyone know, strange things would begin to happen beginning with the twin arrival of Izayoi and Inuyasha.

AN: So what do you think? This is my first story so be nice. :)

~BlackShade~