Ever Us-How Sesshomaru became a physician

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

Title: "Ever Us"- How Sesshomaru became a physician

Author: Gayle Nightingale

Prompt: From my "Ever Us" universe. Specifically to answer the question -How did Sesshomaru become a physician? The Inu bros are physicians in my "Ever Us" universe. Medicine has come a long way since the 1700s. The medical schools of today weren't around then. How did someone learn to be a doctor? Apprenticeships. But can you see Lord Sesshomaru as an apprentice—Great Scott!

Word Count: -966

Rated: M

Genre: Romance/Family

Pairing: Inuyasha/Sesshomaru.

As you can imagine Sesshomaru of the 1700s would be too proud to be someone's apprentice, as that is how surgeons were trained at the time. So how did the mighty demon learn how to become a physician?

As noted in the letter from Professor Kenichi Takahashi to his history colleagues (Please see "Ever Us-A Historical Perspective of the 1792 Tsunami ") even after Keiko's birth Sesshomaru was proud and Inuyasha dared to refer to him as a "lowly healer" because he had little compassion. It is that Sesshomaru that first entered into the medical profession, the cold distant reserved dog demon.

Physicians and surgeons learned medicine in that time frame by being apprentices. Apprentices were not treated with the deference the Lord of the Western Land was accustomed too.

However, Sesshomaru was determined to learn medical skills as he realized it would benefit his family once he found out Inuyasha could bear children. As proud as he was at that time he would never be able to walk up to a physician and ask to be trained. Equally he would not demand it as he would not have been held to task like apprentices were. But he could observe it and self-study. He had done considerable self-study and observation for many years. In his younger power hungry days he had tortured demons and had observed hearts beating within chest cavities. He had devoured enough animals through the years to realize the organs and muscles were different in consistency and function. While married to Rin he stood guard as she delivered many babies into the world, demon as well as human. He collected medical scrolls and wrote some himself. As an intelligent being he had cataloged his many observations and now that he was ready to learn. He just needed to observe a practicing provider to put it all together.

Thus started Lord Sesshomaru's medical training.

First he invited Jinenji to the Inu castle to be the castle healer. By this time the decreasing number of demons had migrated to the area around the Inu castle for protection and to seek work. They sought out the Lord's protection and in turn brought the Inu brothers the fruit of their labors whether it was woven goods, crops, or arts. The increased number of demons required a healer as well so it was not hard to convince Jinenji to leave his farm and come to the Western palace. Additionally the enlightened humans who cohabited with the demons in peace had intermarried and a larger number of hanyou populated the lands. Finding kindred souls nearby helped Jinenji become more self-confident.

In front of Sesshomaru however, Jinenji was timid. Sesshomaru recognized this and had Inuyasha serve as the intermediary for many years until Jinenji was comfortable in his Lord's presence. All the while Inuyasha scoffed.

Second his patrols of the land appeared to have more focus and not just wandering. He wandered closer to human villages and identified healers. Some Sesshomaru could tell just by listening from a far that they were no better at healing than he was. Other healers attracted the sick and wounded. He observed that if humans would come from far to be treated that that healer may be worth of his time. On one outing through the forest near a village Inuyasha confronted him with questions about his "new" more focused patrols. Sesshomaru stopped and revealed his plan to learn medicine to his mate. Inuyasha listened thoughtfully. In retrospect both men would acknowledge it was one of their most civil discussions. Inuyasha was very impressed with Sesshomaru's thorough thought process and declared his support for the endeavor. Sesshomaru was so pleased with the show of support; he made love with Inuyasha right on the spot. The lovemaking was loud and animalistic and due to the proximity to the hamlet, local villagers felt the need to investigate the area. Fortunately Sesshomaru heard them approach and quickly grabbed Inuyasha and their clothes and flew from the scene. They landed at a private hot springs and after a quick laugh picked up where they had left off. After that Inuyasha always accompanied him on his "patrols" until his pregnancy prohibited it.

When time came for Inuyasha to deliver Sesshomaru declared that no one except him would touch his mate and he would deliver their pup. Jinenji simply nodded and stood to the side to receive the new born. The experience was so magical and miraculous that Sesshomaru was further inspired to study male pregnancies and before too long was THE EXPERT in the field.

As time progressed Sesshomaru and Inuyasha did attend medical schools every one hundred years or so. The timing was dependent on whether or not the humans around them pointed out that they didn't appear to be aging. Sometimes they just pretended to be their own relatives. Other times they just moved their practice and started again. Every time they choose to be physicians. They could be anything but they knew the few demons that were left needed medical providers and both of them loved working together to fight disease and battle pathology. It seemed one career that pleased the samurai deep in them. Cold steel can heal.