Title: The Life of a Daiyoukai
Chapter: 1: Bored to Tears
Words: 886
Rating: K+
Prompt: Priestess Skye’s Seven Deadly Challenges #1 – Sloth
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the mere sparks of imagination. Characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, VIZ Media et al.
A/N: Quote borrowed from the great Stan Lee.
Every day is the same thing. I wake up hours before dawn, dress; eat breakfast and then go down to the dojo before the rest of the Citadel awakens. As I work through my katas, the movements having been ingrained into my sub-consciousness from young, the sun rises. It really is the only time I have truly to myself, unless I am asleep. I do cherish my solitude and the quiet peace of daybreak because I know the hours in between dawn and whenever I get to bed are always full with practical routine, mundane logic and the proper decorum required from a daiyoukai.
It is downright stifling sometimes.
Whoever said “With great power comes great responsibility” must have been referring to me specifically because it seems the greater the power I achieve, the more trivial the work I end up dealing with. I don’t even remember where I heard that saying and I am surprised by that; since it is one of the few quotations that hold any parallel to my existence, unlike the other drivel that I am constantly subjected to. It takes great mental strength on my part, which I am thankfully fortunate to have been endowed with, to not see red while dealing with the insignificant and sordid matters that my advisors and lowly subjects whine about during our morning council sessions.
After the prescribed meetings, I head to my study, to start my long day of answering the mountain of scrolls that Jaken dumps on my desk daily. I am a demon who thrives on order but there is very little in the chaos of never-ending land disputes, trade agreements and dare I say it, mating requests. Some days I spend all my daylight hours within that room. My only comfort being that only a chosen few ever dare to disturb my toil; which gives me ample time, too much sometimes, to ponder my future. I am all but immortal and time is both my adversary and an ally. One can only plan so much for supreme conquest especially, when you have no control over anything outside of your realm. You never can tell which way the wind will blow or if fortune will smile in your favor. I sit there and sign my name over and over until mid-day or beyond before I break for lunch or sometimes dinner.
My mealtime’s only source of enjoyment is the presence of my ward, Rin. The reasons I keep her with me are mostly unknown; but, lately I think it is partly because her exuberant personality and superfluous energy keeps me sane. I know Jaken thinks otherwise, but I have to admit, it is always highly amusing to see the little imp being chased or grumbling about being covered in flowers yet again – it is a necessary break in the monotony of these restless days. I would never admit to such a thing though.
At some point I will eventually head off to inspect the troops. If I am lucky, I get to admonish a select few but in these times of peace, there is not much else for them to do but train, train and train some more. I expect perfection but I am well aware that, that is an ideal that cannot truly be attained by any creature, save maybe myself.
But I am not perfect, no matter what the meaning of my name implies, the tedium of my life tells me otherwise – I am utterly bored for most of it. So it is not to any great surprise that I look forward to any skirmish I may find as I peruse my lands in my weekly patrols. Anything to get away from being behind a desk surrounded by people who’s only purpose in life is to grovel to me. The waste…
There is only one other being that I have encountered in my journeys these past few years that revitalizes my senses, almost to homicidal tendencies at times. I would be lying if I said it was my half-brother, InuYasha. As if that hanyou could mentally or intellectually stimulate anything besides the disgust, remorse and general distaste that his existence provides. No, I, Lord Sesshoumaru, Daiyoukai of the Western Lands, am referring to none other than the half-breed’s pack mate and the appointed Shikon Miko, Kagome Higurashi.
Never in my hundreds of years have I ever met a creature, a human no less, who exhibits such disregard for EVERYTHING. Her manners, her speech, her attitude and worse yet, her clothing and yet she possesses the ability to be articulate, intelligent, trustworthy, loyal, understanding and most of all, forgiving. I can not remember how many times I have tried to kill her, either directly or because of her proximity to that idiot hanyou during one of our scuffles; which I secretly enjoy, even if they never amount to anything. And still she has forgiven me, befriended me and tried to heal me on occasion. I just do not understand how she could have so much love for a life that has given her nothing more than endless heartache and insurmountable obstacles and still see the good in everything.
She told me once that I was “in a funk”, I am unsure what exactly that entails but I am willing to find out.