Sesshomaru App for The Institute
Sep. 13th, 2012 02:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regalfluffPLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER: Syn
ARE YOU AT LEAST 14 YEARS OLD?: 31 |D
IF UNDER 18 YEARS OLD, PLEASE STATE YOUR AGE: N/A
CONTACT: AIM: lordmanlycorn EMAIL: lordmanlycorn@gmail.com
PERSONAL JOURNAL: lordaleksander
CHARACTERS PLAYED: Aleksander / The Unicorn
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Sesshomaru
CANON: Inu Yasha
CANON REFERENCE: http://inuyasha.wikia.com/wiki/Sessh%C5%8Dmaru
AGE: 30's
GENDER: Male
YEAR IN SCHOOL/FACULTY POSITION: Shape-shifting Teacher / Sword Fighting Master
APPEARANCE:
HUMAN: Sesshomaru is in his 30's, though he looks younger. He's quite attractive with pale skin and is lean-muscled, his body honed by his hobby of fencing and sparring with broadswords. He stands 6'2" tall and has pointed ears that he generally keeps covered with his hair. He also has dark honey-gold eyes and knee-length silver hair. When his abilities showed up during puberty, Sesshomaru acquired some unique markings that also mostly transfer over to his animal form; to wit: a purplish crescent on his forehead, two dark red slashes along each cheek just under his eyes, and identical dark red slashes around his wrists and forearms. He also has markings that look similar to rather thick red eyeliner over and around each eye.
Sesshomaru normally covers all of his markings with either clothing or makeup, since they would likely give away his secret if he didn't. Sesshomaru has a tail as well. It's very long, rather peachy, and also extremely fluffy. When he was younger, and the tail was both shorter and much less fluffy, he used to hide it. But as he aged, that grew impossible. He now wears it as if it was a rather strange boa, slung over his right shoulder on top of whatever else he happens to be wearing. As for clothing, Sesshomaru can generally be found in either tailored suits or traditional Japanese clothing; mostly yukata, hakama, or kimono.
Human
Transforming
ANIMAL: Sesshomaru's other form is an oversized dog. The dog stands 7' tall at the shoulder and is the same silver color as Sesshomaru's hair, and the tail from his human form becomes a peachy-colored ruff around the dog's neck. The markings on his face are replicated on the dog's face, though the cheek markings coarsen and get ragged along the edges, and the red around his eyes disappears.
Dog
PERSONALITY:
Sesshomaru is a very arrogant man. He's also extremely isolated and standoffish. Despite his rather unusual looks, he's a very handsome man and wouldn't lack for companionship, should he ever care to pursue it. However, he doesn't actually want anyone to share his life. Sesshomaru prefers to be alone and does his best to turn away anyone who might try to get close to him, even his own family. Long ago he made the choice to remove himself from the ability to get hurt by those around him and, for the most part, he's never looked back.
His aloofness has become less of an affectation and more a habit over the years. The more often he pushed people away, the less they tried to get close, and the easier it was to allow the numbing effect of loneliness to act as a balm over the pain of being cut off from human caring. Sesshomaru had been hurt many times, by everyone he'd ever loved, not to mention by perfect strangers as well. In school his looks and superior intelligence had caused constant ridicule, and when his parents began to have problems, he was both a reason for and a pawn in their many disagreements. He tried to push through it but the resentment and anger ate at him, becoming a hard knot inside his chest that he nursed in secret. The isolation that he'd always lived in became a refuge as he retreated deeper and deeper into himself, rebuffing all the overtures that people made toward him. He turned to the only thing that never lied to him and dove headfirst into the world of computers, surrounding himself in the comfort of cold numbers and finite results.
Sesshomaru's father's death was an unexpected blow. He'd tried to bury all of his resentment and anger at the man, wanting to become as cold and calculating as a machine in a vain attempt to protect himself from further pain, but deep down he'd still loved and respected his father and the fact that he could now never mend the rift between them weighed on him. For a while he drowned in guilt and anger at his father for dying before reconciliation could be reached, but that only created more guilt and bitterness over the fact that his father had eventually stopped reaching out for him. He blamed himself for not making more of an effort to mend the broken bond they'd once shared before it was too late. Once again he closeted himself away from the world, hardening his heart against all possible comers, convinced once again that to open himself to anyone was just an invitation for someone else to hurt him.
For years he lived alone and lonely, seeing people only rarely and never getting close to anyone. He eventually acquired a personal assistant, Jaken, who slowly managed to insinuate himself into Sesshomaru's daily life. He never really liked the man, but Jaken was reasonably capable and he didn't seem to have much of a problem with the fact that Sesshomaru was a mutant. But it wasn't until Rin showed up that he realized he could still feel something other than anger or frustration. The quiet orphan wormed her way into his house and eventually into his heart. He came to care about the girl, expecting to see her smudged face every day and to hear her bickering with Jaken over stupid things as he worked at his computer. He found he actually missed her when she wasn't there and that he wanted to see her taken care of. For the first time in life, there was someone who seemed to love him for himself, and Rin asked nothing from him, just to be allowed to be near him. It was a revelation of sorts, to find that he was still capable of being emotionally touched by another human being, and while he didn't actually like to admit it, it was a reality.
POWERS/ABILITIES:
Sesshomaru has one primary power, the ability to transform into an enormous dog. He also has accelerated healing and enhanced physical senses and abilities. While in his human form, aside from being able to smell, see, hear and react better than a normal human, he can elongate his fingernails into claws which can be used as weapons, backed up by poison-producing organs under the nail beds. He also has increased strength and stamina beyond what could reasonably be explained by his physical training. In his dog form, Sesshomaru stands seven feet tall at the shoulder and can leap high and far enough that it can appear he has the power to fly, though he can't. His claws are poisonous in his dog form as well, and his saliva has nasty bacteria that make his bite very damaging, similar to that of a Komodo dragon. He tends to drool rather copiously in the dog form and coming into contact with the drool can be dangerous, open wounds or not.
AU HISTORY:
Sesshomaru was an oddity from the beginning. Although he was born to a normal Japanese couple, Sesshomaru was pale, had silvery hair and strange golden eyes. Although he was different, and thus had a difficult time in such a conformist society, Sesshomaru's parents did love him and tried their best for him. They were strict in many ways and had extremely high expectations, encouraging studies and physical fitness more than friendships, but it suited Sesshomaru just fine to expand his mind rather than run around trying to make friends. To keep in shape he took up kendo and swimming, and then later moved to the art of the katana. He excelled in his schooling, his parents providing tutors when the classes fell short of his ravenous mind, and he flew through the various levels, regularly skipping grades to keep up with his mental progress.
When Sesshomaru was twelve, just about the time puberty began to hit him, his parents started to have problems. It was a complete shock to the boy and hardly a helpful change. Sesshomaru floundered for purchase amid the tumultuous household and dove even deeper into his studies and physical training than ever before as a result. He wanted an escape from the fighting, and from the strange things that were beginning to happen to him. He'd never had many friends and the new resentment toward his parents, and the previously-buried anger of the cruelty of the children he dealt with on a daily basis, spilled over beyond his ability to contain. Sesshomaru became sullen and silent, withdrawing even more to nurse his hurt and anger secretly as he went through the motions. Unfortunately, that was quite possibly the worst thing he could do.
As the anger continued to grow, and the discord in his family became outright animosity, Sesshomaru found his life getting more and more out of control. He woke up every morning to new and more horrifying things, changes in his body he couldn't reverse and had no idea how to deal with. He developed markings on his face and arms and resorted to stealing his mother's cosmetics to try and hide them. His ears began to grow, lengthening into a point that seemed to grow more prominent daily, and he did his best to hide the changes with his hair, letting it grow longer to cover the pixie-like tips. The last straw was the tail. He'd gone to bed with a low-grade throbbing at the base of his spine, but he woke up with an abomination. Reluctant, angry and frightened, Sesshomaru finally went to his parents for help, but it was a humiliating experience. The way his parents looked at him and the way they drew back in horror when he showed them his tail; it was, without a doubt, the worst experience of his life. Although they eventually got used to the changes and offered him support, that initial reaction stayed with Sesshomaru and festered, adding more weight to an already-overburdened boy.
At age fourteen, Sesshomaru's father and mother separated and he took the boy to Sweden. It was both a relief and a terrible wrench for Sesshomaru. The change of scenery made his looks a little easier to bear, since he stood out much less among the blonde heads and pale complexions, but his physical changes were getting worse, not better. The tail had grown long and fluffy and to conceal it, he had to shave the offending appendage and shove it down his pants, an uncomfortable and embarrassing procedure. The makeup he had to use to conceal his facial markings made his skin itch and sometimes gave him hives, not to mention the strange way his fingernails sometimes grew long and ragged, dripping something foul-smelling and toxic. He took to wearing the yukata and kimono he'd brought with him in a vain attempt to help the homesickness and loss he was feeling, especially since his mother seemed too busy to host him for any trips back to Japan. Sesshomaru missed his mother, even though she hadn't been the most affectionate woman, and his home, despite how difficult his life had been there. He was, in short, a mess, but there was yet more to come. All of the anger and resentment he'd been feeling came to a head when he was fifteen and his father announced that there was a half-brother on the way. While Sesshomaru had been aware or his father's discreet affair with a local woman, the announcement of a baby as the result was too much.
Sesshomaru saw red, literally, and something both terrifying and euphoric happened. He began to change, his body morphing and reforming as the emotions flooded through him, growing larger and more powerful than anything he'd ever dreamed possible. When the transformation was done, Sesshomaru had become a giant dog, drooling toxic saliva and flexing poisoned claws as he stared down at his terrified father. A leap that took him halfway to town startled Sesshomaru, and he gave a rather anguished howl before bounding away from civilization, the cries of his father to come back ringing in his ears. He hid in the nearby forest until he managed to change back into a boy again, making his slow, painful way home in the cold darkness of night. He returned to an empty house, scratched, worn and clothed in the torn rags of his once-fine clothing, wishing for nothing more than his father's waiting arms. What he found was a dark and silent house, accusing him in its lack of anyone to welcome him back, proving once again he was a failure and a disappointment.
Although he later found out that his father had left the house because he'd been searching for his son, it was cold comfort and still felt like a betrayal to come home after such an ordeal and find himself completely alone. The rest of Sesshomaru's teen years, and into his twenties, were rather a living hell. He continued to live with his father, though he did his best never to speak to the man, and he spent the majority of his time on campus, taking as many classes as he possibly could. His powers continued to evolve and cause him trouble, but Sesshomaru kept his feelings and problems to himself, loathe to try and involve his father in his life again, especially since the man seemed so happy with his new almost-family. He doted on the baby, making little effort to engage Sesshomaru after the first few rebuffs, and it was sickening to see the way the three of them behaved. It was just bad luck that Sesshomaru was on a ship when news of his father's death reached him.
He'd opted to take a final class that offered a semester at sea, in an effort to get as far away as he possibly could from the happy almost-family, but it meant that when the accident happened, he had no way to make it home. The first time the ship pulled into a port, Sesshomaru fled into whatever wilderness he could find and transformed into the dog. He howled his pain and loss to the empty fields and forests, crossing the foreign countryside like a maniacal banshee until it was time to re-board and continue on. He was tempted to stay in the strange country, to lose himself in the peace of nature, but he reluctantly reverted back into a human, looking as if he'd gone on a three-day bender and barely survived it. The rest of the voyage was a torture; every second spent regretting the loss and steeped in angry resentment that his father would die before he could speak to him again.
Sesshomaru never went back to his father's house. Instead, he took part of the inheritance he received, and his various degrees, and moved to a rather remote part of Sweden. He started his own business, selling his computer and coding skills to the highest bidder, whoever that might be. He was remarkably successful and within a few years, Sesshomaru would never need to worry about money again. However, his life wasn't really worth living any longer. The guilt, anger and regret over his father ate at Sesshomaru, and his mother's pain and attempts to cling to him, after having all but abandoned him for so long, only added to the guilt. He spent his days closeted in his study, rarely leaving the house and not even bothering to try and hide his strange, though controlled, looks and abilities. He acquired a personal assistant, Jaken, a man from his home country who was generally annoying but managed to get things done, and who was someone who didn't seem to care if the man he worked for had odd tattoos and an incongruous boa draped over his shoulder at all times. Sesshomaru had become a recluse, aloof and outwardly uncaring, and he spent every spare moment working to avoid anything resembling human contact. That sort of life couldn't really last though.
During one of his rare trips into town, Sesshomaru met the person who would change his life forever. He wasn't actually paying attention to what was happening around him, since he was busyhiding behindreading a newspaper, but a commotion drew his focus away from the disappointing news of the rest of the world's troubles. He stared at the sight in front of him with disbelief; a small girl was being bullied by several older children, and the girl was only making rather animalistic noises, not shouting for help or yelling at her tormentors. Sesshomaru watched dispassionately as the bullying escalated from name calling to shoving, then to actual physical harm. It was the sight and scent of the girl's blood that actually managed to get under the man's skin. She fell down and came up swaying, her knees skinned and a cut on her cheek slowly dripping blood. Sesshomaru met the girl's eyes and held them, seeing his own pain and emptiness mirrored in the blank brown eyes. He realized the other children had stopped shouting and throwing things at the girl, and that he was growling rather loudly. He also realized that his control was slipping and his dual nature was beginning to show through. He turned on his heel, leaving the paper and the rest of his various purchases where they sat on the ground, and stalked away.
It wasn't until he realized he could hear the soft pad of bare feet and still smell the bitter tang of the girl's blood that Sesshomaru stopped and looked behind him. The girl teetered to a stop and grinned up at him, showing a missing tooth that made him wonder just how she'd lost it. He turned around quickly and picked up his pace, but the scent of the girl and the sound of her running feet continued to follow him. Eventually he got tired of having an unwanted shadow and stopped again. He faced the girl, glaring down his nose at her as she grinned up at him. For the life of him he couldn't understand why the child kept following him, but he tried to make it plain, in rather harsh language, that it was unacceptable for her to continue following him, and that she needed to get the hell away from him permanently. His words seemed to have no effect on her and with another growl he spun on his heel and ran. It wasn't until two days later that Jaken told him about the dirty little urchin that had apparently taken up residence under his front porch.
A little research cleared up the question of who the girl was, and why she was wandering around without any supervision. Sesshomaru called the authorities multiple times, but the girl, whose name was Rin, continued to escape custody and make her way back to his house. After a while, he told Jaken to just start feeding Rin, as if she were a stray animal, and gradually she became a part of his life. He eventually adopted her, just to make things easier on everyone involved. He cleaned her up and started to give her some basic schooling, the time spent with Rin helping to blunt the sharp edges of his anger and guilt into something easier to deal with. He even made up with his mother, planning with her to send Rin to Japan, with Jaken as a chaperone, for real classes. It was pure luck they left before someone finally outed Sesshomaru for the mutant he was and he was forced to flee his home, and Sweden. The offer from the Institute came at the best time and he leapt at the chance, throwing his lot in with Xavier and his crazy dream of a school for mutants. It wasn't what he'd planned to do with his life, or even what he wanted to do, but he had little choice in the matter. Sesshomaru had to go somewhere and Xavier was the only one offering, even if it meant being forced to deal with witless children who possesed god-only-knew what kinds of powers on a daily basis.
SAMPLE
1ST PERSON SAMPLE:
[Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair, finally looking at his phone. He'd been putting off answering the text as long as he could, but the familiar, and annoying, ringtone had been going off for more than ten minutes. He owed the sender a response. He tipped the phone onto its side and brought up the message, lips twitching slightly as he read it.]
So she managed to pass the test and got on the fencing team. Well well well. I suppose I owe her a reward for that.
[He started to type on the touch screen, fingers flying over the virtual keys, his nails clicking against the hard surface now and then.]
Rin. You did reasonably well to pass the test, but do not get complacent in your academic studies. One test will change nothing in the long run. As to your success in making the fencing team, expect a package in the near future. I believe you will be pleased with what is inside. Do not forget that I expect another perfect semester.
[When he was finished, Sesshomaru set the phone aside and stretched, turning his attention back to the computer screen and the unfinished code he was writing. With luck, this new snippet would earn him some much-needed cash. Although he had a certain amount of cash in secret accounts, anyone as pessimistic as he was would, Sesshomaru was used to having a lot more cash ready at hand. But as long as he was careful, he could sell the new code under another name and make a decent profit. He'd be able to get Rin that new rapier she'd been hoping for in no time . . .]
THIRD PERSON SAMPLE:
Sesshomaru swung the sword with an ease born of long practice. He'd had time to bring only two of his swords with him as he fled toward the Institute, his Tenseiga and Bakusaiga, and he used the practice with both to help him forget that he was now reduced to the role of teacher and mentor to the bumbling and inept youngsters of Xavier's school. How he hated being forced to serve someone else, even someone as noble as Charles. He watched the children out of the corner of his eye as he danced with Bakusaiga, striking the dummy with punishing force even though he was holding back. He heard himself growling with frustration and grabbed hold of his fraying temper, tamping it down to be dealt with later. He could see the wonder in the students' eyes, and the lust for fighting and his weapons in others, and he smiled inwardly. All you had to do was make something a privilege and children would behave, at least for the most part.
He turned abruptly from his dance of death and stopped cold, the tip of Bakusaiga less than an inch from the eye of the boy who'd dared to rise and try to make his way toward the stand holding Tenseiga. His golden eyes were narrowed with displeasure and his voice, while quiet and emotionless, seemed to thunder in the silent gym as it dripped with disdain. He'd been very explicit in his instructions to the children. Sit and breathe and don't move. Now this fool of a boy was daring to not only move into potential harm, should Sesshomaru's attention happen to slip, but he was actually attempting to touch Tenseiga.
"Students who think to touch that which is not theirs will learn that the cost of disobedience is higher than they will want to pay. Do not think that I am less vigilant for having my attention focused on the task at hand. Unlike some of your more forgiving teachers, I do not allow bad behavior in my lessons. You may leave this time unscathed, but do not return."
When the boy continued to stand and tremble before him, Sesshomaru allowed a soft growl to ring through the room. His eyes turned a bloody red and his lips began to curl up and back, the slashes on his cheeks darkening as the edges became jagged. He wasn't smiling and the teeth that filled his mouth were growing larger and more pointed by the second. Although the students couldn't know it, he had no intention of actually transforming; he was merely driving home his point. As he spoke, the shape of his growing muzzle distorted his words slightly, making them harsher and more threatening than they normally would be.
"I told you to run, little boy. Unless you really want to see just what happens to someone who tries to steal my swords . . ."
PLAYER: Syn
ARE YOU AT LEAST 14 YEARS OLD?: 31 |D
IF UNDER 18 YEARS OLD, PLEASE STATE YOUR AGE: N/A
CONTACT: AIM: lordmanlycorn EMAIL: lordmanlycorn@gmail.com
PERSONAL JOURNAL: lordaleksander
CHARACTERS PLAYED: Aleksander / The Unicorn
CHARACTER INFORMATION
NAME: Sesshomaru
CANON: Inu Yasha
CANON REFERENCE: http://inuyasha.wikia.com/wiki/Sessh%C5%8Dmaru
AGE: 30's
GENDER: Male
YEAR IN SCHOOL/FACULTY POSITION: Shape-shifting Teacher / Sword Fighting Master
APPEARANCE:
HUMAN: Sesshomaru is in his 30's, though he looks younger. He's quite attractive with pale skin and is lean-muscled, his body honed by his hobby of fencing and sparring with broadswords. He stands 6'2" tall and has pointed ears that he generally keeps covered with his hair. He also has dark honey-gold eyes and knee-length silver hair. When his abilities showed up during puberty, Sesshomaru acquired some unique markings that also mostly transfer over to his animal form; to wit: a purplish crescent on his forehead, two dark red slashes along each cheek just under his eyes, and identical dark red slashes around his wrists and forearms. He also has markings that look similar to rather thick red eyeliner over and around each eye.
Sesshomaru normally covers all of his markings with either clothing or makeup, since they would likely give away his secret if he didn't. Sesshomaru has a tail as well. It's very long, rather peachy, and also extremely fluffy. When he was younger, and the tail was both shorter and much less fluffy, he used to hide it. But as he aged, that grew impossible. He now wears it as if it was a rather strange boa, slung over his right shoulder on top of whatever else he happens to be wearing. As for clothing, Sesshomaru can generally be found in either tailored suits or traditional Japanese clothing; mostly yukata, hakama, or kimono.
Human
Transforming
ANIMAL: Sesshomaru's other form is an oversized dog. The dog stands 7' tall at the shoulder and is the same silver color as Sesshomaru's hair, and the tail from his human form becomes a peachy-colored ruff around the dog's neck. The markings on his face are replicated on the dog's face, though the cheek markings coarsen and get ragged along the edges, and the red around his eyes disappears.
Dog
PERSONALITY:
Sesshomaru is a very arrogant man. He's also extremely isolated and standoffish. Despite his rather unusual looks, he's a very handsome man and wouldn't lack for companionship, should he ever care to pursue it. However, he doesn't actually want anyone to share his life. Sesshomaru prefers to be alone and does his best to turn away anyone who might try to get close to him, even his own family. Long ago he made the choice to remove himself from the ability to get hurt by those around him and, for the most part, he's never looked back.
His aloofness has become less of an affectation and more a habit over the years. The more often he pushed people away, the less they tried to get close, and the easier it was to allow the numbing effect of loneliness to act as a balm over the pain of being cut off from human caring. Sesshomaru had been hurt many times, by everyone he'd ever loved, not to mention by perfect strangers as well. In school his looks and superior intelligence had caused constant ridicule, and when his parents began to have problems, he was both a reason for and a pawn in their many disagreements. He tried to push through it but the resentment and anger ate at him, becoming a hard knot inside his chest that he nursed in secret. The isolation that he'd always lived in became a refuge as he retreated deeper and deeper into himself, rebuffing all the overtures that people made toward him. He turned to the only thing that never lied to him and dove headfirst into the world of computers, surrounding himself in the comfort of cold numbers and finite results.
Sesshomaru's father's death was an unexpected blow. He'd tried to bury all of his resentment and anger at the man, wanting to become as cold and calculating as a machine in a vain attempt to protect himself from further pain, but deep down he'd still loved and respected his father and the fact that he could now never mend the rift between them weighed on him. For a while he drowned in guilt and anger at his father for dying before reconciliation could be reached, but that only created more guilt and bitterness over the fact that his father had eventually stopped reaching out for him. He blamed himself for not making more of an effort to mend the broken bond they'd once shared before it was too late. Once again he closeted himself away from the world, hardening his heart against all possible comers, convinced once again that to open himself to anyone was just an invitation for someone else to hurt him.
For years he lived alone and lonely, seeing people only rarely and never getting close to anyone. He eventually acquired a personal assistant, Jaken, who slowly managed to insinuate himself into Sesshomaru's daily life. He never really liked the man, but Jaken was reasonably capable and he didn't seem to have much of a problem with the fact that Sesshomaru was a mutant. But it wasn't until Rin showed up that he realized he could still feel something other than anger or frustration. The quiet orphan wormed her way into his house and eventually into his heart. He came to care about the girl, expecting to see her smudged face every day and to hear her bickering with Jaken over stupid things as he worked at his computer. He found he actually missed her when she wasn't there and that he wanted to see her taken care of. For the first time in life, there was someone who seemed to love him for himself, and Rin asked nothing from him, just to be allowed to be near him. It was a revelation of sorts, to find that he was still capable of being emotionally touched by another human being, and while he didn't actually like to admit it, it was a reality.
POWERS/ABILITIES:
Sesshomaru has one primary power, the ability to transform into an enormous dog. He also has accelerated healing and enhanced physical senses and abilities. While in his human form, aside from being able to smell, see, hear and react better than a normal human, he can elongate his fingernails into claws which can be used as weapons, backed up by poison-producing organs under the nail beds. He also has increased strength and stamina beyond what could reasonably be explained by his physical training. In his dog form, Sesshomaru stands seven feet tall at the shoulder and can leap high and far enough that it can appear he has the power to fly, though he can't. His claws are poisonous in his dog form as well, and his saliva has nasty bacteria that make his bite very damaging, similar to that of a Komodo dragon. He tends to drool rather copiously in the dog form and coming into contact with the drool can be dangerous, open wounds or not.
AU HISTORY:
Sesshomaru was an oddity from the beginning. Although he was born to a normal Japanese couple, Sesshomaru was pale, had silvery hair and strange golden eyes. Although he was different, and thus had a difficult time in such a conformist society, Sesshomaru's parents did love him and tried their best for him. They were strict in many ways and had extremely high expectations, encouraging studies and physical fitness more than friendships, but it suited Sesshomaru just fine to expand his mind rather than run around trying to make friends. To keep in shape he took up kendo and swimming, and then later moved to the art of the katana. He excelled in his schooling, his parents providing tutors when the classes fell short of his ravenous mind, and he flew through the various levels, regularly skipping grades to keep up with his mental progress.
When Sesshomaru was twelve, just about the time puberty began to hit him, his parents started to have problems. It was a complete shock to the boy and hardly a helpful change. Sesshomaru floundered for purchase amid the tumultuous household and dove even deeper into his studies and physical training than ever before as a result. He wanted an escape from the fighting, and from the strange things that were beginning to happen to him. He'd never had many friends and the new resentment toward his parents, and the previously-buried anger of the cruelty of the children he dealt with on a daily basis, spilled over beyond his ability to contain. Sesshomaru became sullen and silent, withdrawing even more to nurse his hurt and anger secretly as he went through the motions. Unfortunately, that was quite possibly the worst thing he could do.
As the anger continued to grow, and the discord in his family became outright animosity, Sesshomaru found his life getting more and more out of control. He woke up every morning to new and more horrifying things, changes in his body he couldn't reverse and had no idea how to deal with. He developed markings on his face and arms and resorted to stealing his mother's cosmetics to try and hide them. His ears began to grow, lengthening into a point that seemed to grow more prominent daily, and he did his best to hide the changes with his hair, letting it grow longer to cover the pixie-like tips. The last straw was the tail. He'd gone to bed with a low-grade throbbing at the base of his spine, but he woke up with an abomination. Reluctant, angry and frightened, Sesshomaru finally went to his parents for help, but it was a humiliating experience. The way his parents looked at him and the way they drew back in horror when he showed them his tail; it was, without a doubt, the worst experience of his life. Although they eventually got used to the changes and offered him support, that initial reaction stayed with Sesshomaru and festered, adding more weight to an already-overburdened boy.
At age fourteen, Sesshomaru's father and mother separated and he took the boy to Sweden. It was both a relief and a terrible wrench for Sesshomaru. The change of scenery made his looks a little easier to bear, since he stood out much less among the blonde heads and pale complexions, but his physical changes were getting worse, not better. The tail had grown long and fluffy and to conceal it, he had to shave the offending appendage and shove it down his pants, an uncomfortable and embarrassing procedure. The makeup he had to use to conceal his facial markings made his skin itch and sometimes gave him hives, not to mention the strange way his fingernails sometimes grew long and ragged, dripping something foul-smelling and toxic. He took to wearing the yukata and kimono he'd brought with him in a vain attempt to help the homesickness and loss he was feeling, especially since his mother seemed too busy to host him for any trips back to Japan. Sesshomaru missed his mother, even though she hadn't been the most affectionate woman, and his home, despite how difficult his life had been there. He was, in short, a mess, but there was yet more to come. All of the anger and resentment he'd been feeling came to a head when he was fifteen and his father announced that there was a half-brother on the way. While Sesshomaru had been aware or his father's discreet affair with a local woman, the announcement of a baby as the result was too much.
Sesshomaru saw red, literally, and something both terrifying and euphoric happened. He began to change, his body morphing and reforming as the emotions flooded through him, growing larger and more powerful than anything he'd ever dreamed possible. When the transformation was done, Sesshomaru had become a giant dog, drooling toxic saliva and flexing poisoned claws as he stared down at his terrified father. A leap that took him halfway to town startled Sesshomaru, and he gave a rather anguished howl before bounding away from civilization, the cries of his father to come back ringing in his ears. He hid in the nearby forest until he managed to change back into a boy again, making his slow, painful way home in the cold darkness of night. He returned to an empty house, scratched, worn and clothed in the torn rags of his once-fine clothing, wishing for nothing more than his father's waiting arms. What he found was a dark and silent house, accusing him in its lack of anyone to welcome him back, proving once again he was a failure and a disappointment.
Although he later found out that his father had left the house because he'd been searching for his son, it was cold comfort and still felt like a betrayal to come home after such an ordeal and find himself completely alone. The rest of Sesshomaru's teen years, and into his twenties, were rather a living hell. He continued to live with his father, though he did his best never to speak to the man, and he spent the majority of his time on campus, taking as many classes as he possibly could. His powers continued to evolve and cause him trouble, but Sesshomaru kept his feelings and problems to himself, loathe to try and involve his father in his life again, especially since the man seemed so happy with his new almost-family. He doted on the baby, making little effort to engage Sesshomaru after the first few rebuffs, and it was sickening to see the way the three of them behaved. It was just bad luck that Sesshomaru was on a ship when news of his father's death reached him.
He'd opted to take a final class that offered a semester at sea, in an effort to get as far away as he possibly could from the happy almost-family, but it meant that when the accident happened, he had no way to make it home. The first time the ship pulled into a port, Sesshomaru fled into whatever wilderness he could find and transformed into the dog. He howled his pain and loss to the empty fields and forests, crossing the foreign countryside like a maniacal banshee until it was time to re-board and continue on. He was tempted to stay in the strange country, to lose himself in the peace of nature, but he reluctantly reverted back into a human, looking as if he'd gone on a three-day bender and barely survived it. The rest of the voyage was a torture; every second spent regretting the loss and steeped in angry resentment that his father would die before he could speak to him again.
Sesshomaru never went back to his father's house. Instead, he took part of the inheritance he received, and his various degrees, and moved to a rather remote part of Sweden. He started his own business, selling his computer and coding skills to the highest bidder, whoever that might be. He was remarkably successful and within a few years, Sesshomaru would never need to worry about money again. However, his life wasn't really worth living any longer. The guilt, anger and regret over his father ate at Sesshomaru, and his mother's pain and attempts to cling to him, after having all but abandoned him for so long, only added to the guilt. He spent his days closeted in his study, rarely leaving the house and not even bothering to try and hide his strange, though controlled, looks and abilities. He acquired a personal assistant, Jaken, a man from his home country who was generally annoying but managed to get things done, and who was someone who didn't seem to care if the man he worked for had odd tattoos and an incongruous boa draped over his shoulder at all times. Sesshomaru had become a recluse, aloof and outwardly uncaring, and he spent every spare moment working to avoid anything resembling human contact. That sort of life couldn't really last though.
During one of his rare trips into town, Sesshomaru met the person who would change his life forever. He wasn't actually paying attention to what was happening around him, since he was busy
It wasn't until he realized he could hear the soft pad of bare feet and still smell the bitter tang of the girl's blood that Sesshomaru stopped and looked behind him. The girl teetered to a stop and grinned up at him, showing a missing tooth that made him wonder just how she'd lost it. He turned around quickly and picked up his pace, but the scent of the girl and the sound of her running feet continued to follow him. Eventually he got tired of having an unwanted shadow and stopped again. He faced the girl, glaring down his nose at her as she grinned up at him. For the life of him he couldn't understand why the child kept following him, but he tried to make it plain, in rather harsh language, that it was unacceptable for her to continue following him, and that she needed to get the hell away from him permanently. His words seemed to have no effect on her and with another growl he spun on his heel and ran. It wasn't until two days later that Jaken told him about the dirty little urchin that had apparently taken up residence under his front porch.
A little research cleared up the question of who the girl was, and why she was wandering around without any supervision. Sesshomaru called the authorities multiple times, but the girl, whose name was Rin, continued to escape custody and make her way back to his house. After a while, he told Jaken to just start feeding Rin, as if she were a stray animal, and gradually she became a part of his life. He eventually adopted her, just to make things easier on everyone involved. He cleaned her up and started to give her some basic schooling, the time spent with Rin helping to blunt the sharp edges of his anger and guilt into something easier to deal with. He even made up with his mother, planning with her to send Rin to Japan, with Jaken as a chaperone, for real classes. It was pure luck they left before someone finally outed Sesshomaru for the mutant he was and he was forced to flee his home, and Sweden. The offer from the Institute came at the best time and he leapt at the chance, throwing his lot in with Xavier and his crazy dream of a school for mutants. It wasn't what he'd planned to do with his life, or even what he wanted to do, but he had little choice in the matter. Sesshomaru had to go somewhere and Xavier was the only one offering, even if it meant being forced to deal with witless children who possesed god-only-knew what kinds of powers on a daily basis.
SAMPLE
1ST PERSON SAMPLE:
[Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair, finally looking at his phone. He'd been putting off answering the text as long as he could, but the familiar, and annoying, ringtone had been going off for more than ten minutes. He owed the sender a response. He tipped the phone onto its side and brought up the message, lips twitching slightly as he read it.]
So she managed to pass the test and got on the fencing team. Well well well. I suppose I owe her a reward for that.
[He started to type on the touch screen, fingers flying over the virtual keys, his nails clicking against the hard surface now and then.]
Rin. You did reasonably well to pass the test, but do not get complacent in your academic studies. One test will change nothing in the long run. As to your success in making the fencing team, expect a package in the near future. I believe you will be pleased with what is inside. Do not forget that I expect another perfect semester.
[When he was finished, Sesshomaru set the phone aside and stretched, turning his attention back to the computer screen and the unfinished code he was writing. With luck, this new snippet would earn him some much-needed cash. Although he had a certain amount of cash in secret accounts, anyone as pessimistic as he was would, Sesshomaru was used to having a lot more cash ready at hand. But as long as he was careful, he could sell the new code under another name and make a decent profit. He'd be able to get Rin that new rapier she'd been hoping for in no time . . .]
THIRD PERSON SAMPLE:
Sesshomaru swung the sword with an ease born of long practice. He'd had time to bring only two of his swords with him as he fled toward the Institute, his Tenseiga and Bakusaiga, and he used the practice with both to help him forget that he was now reduced to the role of teacher and mentor to the bumbling and inept youngsters of Xavier's school. How he hated being forced to serve someone else, even someone as noble as Charles. He watched the children out of the corner of his eye as he danced with Bakusaiga, striking the dummy with punishing force even though he was holding back. He heard himself growling with frustration and grabbed hold of his fraying temper, tamping it down to be dealt with later. He could see the wonder in the students' eyes, and the lust for fighting and his weapons in others, and he smiled inwardly. All you had to do was make something a privilege and children would behave, at least for the most part.
He turned abruptly from his dance of death and stopped cold, the tip of Bakusaiga less than an inch from the eye of the boy who'd dared to rise and try to make his way toward the stand holding Tenseiga. His golden eyes were narrowed with displeasure and his voice, while quiet and emotionless, seemed to thunder in the silent gym as it dripped with disdain. He'd been very explicit in his instructions to the children. Sit and breathe and don't move. Now this fool of a boy was daring to not only move into potential harm, should Sesshomaru's attention happen to slip, but he was actually attempting to touch Tenseiga.
"Students who think to touch that which is not theirs will learn that the cost of disobedience is higher than they will want to pay. Do not think that I am less vigilant for having my attention focused on the task at hand. Unlike some of your more forgiving teachers, I do not allow bad behavior in my lessons. You may leave this time unscathed, but do not return."
When the boy continued to stand and tremble before him, Sesshomaru allowed a soft growl to ring through the room. His eyes turned a bloody red and his lips began to curl up and back, the slashes on his cheeks darkening as the edges became jagged. He wasn't smiling and the teeth that filled his mouth were growing larger and more pointed by the second. Although the students couldn't know it, he had no intention of actually transforming; he was merely driving home his point. As he spoke, the shape of his growing muzzle distorted his words slightly, making them harsher and more threatening than they normally would be.
"I told you to run, little boy. Unless you really want to see just what happens to someone who tries to steal my swords . . ."
