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A Spark of Hope - Inuyasha

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'A Spark of Hope’
Brotherly Love






I was just browsing the Sesshoumaru-fan guild on gaiaonline.com when an interesting subject appeared on the forum. ‘Does Sesshoumaru-sama still have brotherly love?’
Since I’d already planned on doing an essay about this, the cogs in my brain began to turn.

You can remain hopeful and say – yes, of course he has brotherly love, he saves Inuyasha’s life all the time. Well, actually, no he doesn’t. He has his own reasons for doing what he does – remember Sesshoumaru is like God. He can’t ever be known. He’s too enigmatic to understand, a bit like Kikyo I guess.
If you think back to the third movie – yes, he did save Inuyasha’s life. He took the full power of Sou’unga’s blow to protect his dear little brother. But at the time, if you watch closely, it seems he grudgingly did this. When it appeared Inuyasha had actually been defeated, he didn’t appear to care either way. It seemed he protected him – and Miroku and Sango picked up on this – but it doesn’t mean it’s the blossoming of ‘brotherly love’. It seems he’d realised that they had to work together to defeat Sou’unga, and having Inuyasha around would be a simpler solution than having him die and the burden falling solely on Sesshoumaru.

And don’t confuse that now Sesshoumaru has compassion and love after rescuing Rin means that he has any spare for Inuyasha. We’re mostly all hopeful that he’ll one day care for Inuyasha as his brother, but just because he has a human companion doesn’t mean this can stretch all the way to our lovable hanyou.
I feel that Sesshoumaru cares for Rin because he can never look back on his past. Uh, what I mean is, Inuyasha was very young when Izayoi died. He would have been alone – back then, don’t you think he would’ve run to his only family for help? I think that he would’ve gone to Sesshoumaru then, but of course we all know that he would’ve been turned away. And if this were so, this is what made Inuyasha strong and independent… and mistrustful.  
I think it’s a way of Sesshoumaru repaying his ‘sins’ for not caring for his little brother in the times when he really needed him. Of course this is just my assumption and not canon at all, but I feel it explains him a little more.
He regrets but he can’t turn back now – he’s the kind of person that never looks back. Take his left arm for example. In the third movie he had every opportunity to take it back – but he didn’t. It would’ve reminded him of how Inuyasha had defeated him that time, and deep inside he may feel a cheat.
He knows he can’t change the past – so why bother trying to keep it in the future unless he can repay it somehow? Inuyasha needs to take a lesson out of his book where that is concerned.

Sesshoumaru acknowledges Inuyasha as his brother, yes. And likewise, Inuyasha acknowledges him as his brother too. But it isn’t affectionately Sesshoumaru calls him “little brother”. It’s to lower him. And Inuyasha replies back sarcastically when saying “big brother”, to humour him.
Typically, half-siblings never get on very well. I know that that’s a stereotype, but it’s the same for me. That Sesshoumaru is actually calling him ‘brother’ astounds me. I have two half-brothers, but I’ve never seen them and I don’t think I ever want to. I don’t hold anything against them, but they’re not my real brothers – not to me. And that’s why it gets me thinking whenever I watch Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru has accepted that Inuyasha is his family, the only family he has left, and there’s nothing he can do about it. He keeps threatening to kill him, and Inuyasha does so likewise, but when it comes down to it – they will never kill each other. And the reason is simply because they’ve got no one else.
I’ve always wondered whether they are the last of the dog-demons. I’m not sure whether or not this is true, but either way, Sesshoumaru wouldn’t want Inuyasha’s life to be wasted. He carries his father’s blood and maybe he may not want to accept this, and hates Inuyasha because of this, but there is still a part of his father in his younger brother. He can’t ignore that.

I think that Sesshoumaru feels threatened by Inuyasha. When you look closely at both of them, you see more of Inu-papa in Inuyasha than you do Sesshoumaru, and I think he’s realised this. I used to think it was Sesshoumaru who appeared, at least, to look like his father – but I don’t actually think that’s true.
Inuyasha’s hair matches his father’s more, and the colour of his skin is the same. Also, when he turns full youkai, he has the same purple marks as Inu-papa. Of course the third movie isn’t canon and they were just piecing together what they thought Inu-papa looked like, but if we take it into consideration, Inuyasha is more like his father than Sesshoumaru in appearance. That is partly why I think he is jealous.
Because it isn’t just looks. It’s personality. Inuyasha has compassion, love, and is kind. Maybe he wasn’t at first –he’d been pushed down too much after his mother died that he’d turned cold – but after gaining Tessaiga, Inuyasha began to protect Kagome, and in return Kagome melted away his walls and brought forth the hanyou we know and love.

The clue is in the swords. It’s the whole reason Tessaiga was given to Inuyasha and Tenseiga to Sesshoumaru. With Tessaiga’s influence, Inuyasha became the good person he really was inside. And Tenseiga is helping Sesshoumaru to change – it was this sword that influenced him to resurrect Rin. And I think Sesshoumaru would agree that this is one of the best things he has ever done. He couldn’t do without Rin now; it would hurt him too much to be without her.
No matter how much he refuses to accept it, he has someone he has to protect now. Just like Inuyasha. His differences and similarities to his brother is what angers him and what makes him hate him. And Inuyasha hates him for his coldness and the fact that he is evil.
Wait. Sesshoumaru – evil? I don’t think I would go that far. He has his moments, like back when he ‘killed’ Kagome and when he fights Inuyasha – but I don’t think that makes him evil. He’s bitter, yes. He’s cold, yes. He’s enigmatic, yes, but that doesn’t mean he’s 100% bad.
I’d say the same for Kikyo. I guess, because of their similarities, that’s why some fans think Kikyo and Sesshoumaru make a good couple. Myself, I don’t see it, considering they’ve only met once – or so I’ve heard. But then if it would get to Inuyasha, you really don’t know the kind of lows Sesshoumaru would stoop to, to anger his younger brother. I’m kidding, really.

So, if I’m so negative to the fact that Sesshoumaru has brotherly love, why is it that this essay is called ‘A Spark of Hope’? Heh, I haven’t even started on the positive side.

Sesshoumaru loved his father. That is fairly obvious, since he is always defending his honour. For example: thumping Inuyasha for ‘desecrating’ their father’s grave. The third movie sheds a lot of light into this too. Sesshoumaru refers to Inu-papa as “chichi-ue”, a very respectful term for ‘father’. He is mostly always in Sesshoumaru’s thoughts during Tenka Hadou na Ken. But Inuyasha caused Inu-papa’s death. Not only did Sesshoumaru not like humans, and was disgusted that his father was even in love with a human, much less having a baby with one, but Inuyasha and Izayoi were, to him, the reason for Inu-papa’s death. Of course Sesshoumaru is going to be affected by this and hate the very cause of his father’s death.
Sesshoumaru wanted to be just like his father – if not stronger – and the only way he could do this was under his father’s guidance and teachings. But Inuyasha broke into all of that, and now that he is older he has grown up more like their father than Sesshoumaru has. And Inuyasha never even met their father. Imagine how much that must hurt Sesshoumaru.

We’re back to the jealousy again. Sesshoumaru sees all of his father’s qualities in Inuyasha that he doesn’t possess. That is what causes the hate. But just because he hates Inuyasha, doesn’t mean he doesn’t respect him. He may not show it, but for some reason I feel he’s mildly impressed after he sees Inuyasha get up off of the floor in the third movie after being ‘defeated’ and after Sou’unga promises Sesshoumaru he’s “next”. When Sesshoumaru realises that what Inuyasha’s been saying about “someone to protect” mirrors exactly what his father said once. Yes, I know that this scene itself isn’t canon, but I still feel that deep down Sesshoumaru respects his brother.
He likes the way Inuyasha refuses to give up. I think he may even be proud of his brother, of becoming strong and independent the way he has, but hates it that he’s wasting this on humans – like some rent-a-guard. He hates it that Inuyasha is so weak – allowing his emotions to control him. Any humiliation in the family reflects on Sesshoumaru, that’s what he feels. If everyone is going to be quick to compare Sesshoumaru to Inuyasha, and not take him seriously because he has a human-loving hanyou for a brother, and a father that brought the same hanyou into the world, he’s going to get annoyed that he isn’t being taken seriously. Youkai will think he’s weak and that he lets his emotions get the better of him. And if everyone is going to pull back, insult him and make a mockery of his family, he’s never going to be able to walk the path of “supreme conquest”.

The only reason Sesshoumaru ever protects Inuyasha is because he’s accepted he’s his brother and it’s his father’s wish for him to stay alive. If his father died protecting Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru wouldn’t want to waste this. You can also argue that he protects him so he can later kill him himself. I’m sure Sesshoumaru himself would argue this.
But when it comes down to it, Inuyasha really is the only family he has left. When you think about it, for 200 years Sesshoumaru has despised Inuyasha. They hardly met during that time, and Sesshoumaru was surprised that Inuyasha even remembered who he was. Now, in less than one year, they meet more than they ever had and Sesshoumaru has become more lenient and accepting towards Inuyasha than he ever has before in his younger brother’s lifetime.

So that’s what I mean. Sesshoumaru has changed so much during the series that everyone is confused to whether he’s coming or going. Jaken can’t even understand why he cares so much for Rin, and neither can Inuyasha or Kagome. Miroku and Sango can’t understand how he feels towards Inuyasha, and neither can Rin understand why it is Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha hate each other. He’s covered his tracks so well that even those closest to him know nothing about him. He’s so mysterious that Rumiko Takahashi doesn’t even give him a real sense of identity. We never know who his mother is, and we don’t even know he and Inuyasha’s family name. At least with Inuyasha we see more and more into his past and discover who his mother is. With Sesshoumaru there’s just a blank page.

But what we do know is that he’s changing, for the better. So much is going on in his mind, and there’s a war he has to win. Good over evil. He’s forever battling his morals and sooner or later – it may be a long time in the future yet – but someday maybe he will begin to feel some kind of affection towards his brother. As it stands, he would rather kill Inuyasha than let him harm (or put in danger) Rin and Jaken – as seen in the third movie. He has more love towards Rin at the moment than he does his own brother. Just as Inuyasha has more love towards Kagome than he does Sesshoumaru. But that’s not to say that it will be that way in the future.
Time heals all wounds.

Because, in the end, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are more like each other than they are willing to admit.
Just listen to these lines and remember.

"Heh, what a nerve.”
“Heh, ridiculous."
I wanted to write an Inuyasha essay. This came out. Basically its explained at the beginning of the essay.
Its solely about this question:

"Does Sesshoumaru still have brotherly love?"

Comment?
PS: I know people who don't watch Inuyasha will not understand this. Its purely based from my fandom. Since it is an essay - I thought this was where it belonged. It isn't fanfiction, even if it is fan-related.
© 2006 - 2024 salvatore-shan
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animegirl007's avatar
I agree with you on some points.....definitely when Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were fighting over the Tessaiga.....Sessy was telling him about the Wind scar..

And yes Inuyasha beat him once but all the other times when they were fighting Sessy had the upper hand, and if he truly truly wanted to kill Inuyasha he would have done it. Proving somewhere unconsciously he really don't want to kill him....

But I sorry Sesshomaru is a deadringer for his father.....except for his father's eyebrows were way wilder looking, and his marking on his cheeks were only one stripe and different coloring.....Inuyasha looks more like his mother...

Good job with your observations