PLAYER
Name: Kitten
Age: 25
Personal Journal:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hollowrussian
E-mail:inu_taiyoukai_@hotmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: AIM; SilverCrusnik // Skype; SextaEspadaGrimmjow //![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
Grimmkitty
CHARACTER
Name: Sesshoumaru
Canon: InuYasha
Age: FFFFFFFF IDK. His Wiki says 500, I’ve seen the consensus fluctuate though. He appears in his early twenties though.
Timeline: Just prior to the events of “Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga”
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: n/a
Personality: In general, Sesshoumaru has a pretty stoic personality. He is a youkai of few words, and would rather get physical in order to resolve his business. That is, he likes to maim or kill whatever is bothering him. In the start of the manga he’s shown to be almost playful, smiling more frequently than he does in later chapters, or in the anime, but the recurring theme is that whenever he smiles, there is usually a mocking/sinister undertone. Even in the first few chapters, he makes small teases at Inuyasha and Kagome, such as referring to the latter as “the young filly from before” in the English manga and commending her for offering to die with Inuyasha. Later, his vassal Jaken begs him not to smile as whenever the demon behaves passive-aggressively, it's apparently worse than when he's openly aggressive. This kind of behavior mostly stems from Sesshoumaru being so powerful, and him being extremely well-aware of the fact.
This brings us to the matter of Sesshoumaru’s pride. As an inu taiyoukai, or greater dog demon, he can be observed to dress in clothing befitting nobility, and his mannerisms match that elegance…to a degree. While he has elevated speech patterns, his self-assured, haughty attitude gives him a manner of speech that, in Japanese, has him using pronouns which are only a shade more polite than the ones his half-brother Inuyasha uses. Where Inuyasha might use “temee” as a vulgar form of “you,” Sesshoumaru uses “kisama,” a similarly vulgar, but slightly less insulting form. He usually uses this form for individuals he isn’t particularly fond of. In the anime's English dub, it’s far easier to read the condescension in his voice, especially as the anime version of him expresses this side of his attitude more.
Because of his pride, Sesshoumaru has been goaded into many an attack, not the least of which includes his brutal attacks on Kagome and Inuyasha in his father’s grave, as well as on Naraku for using him on various occasions to attack his brother.
Despite his noble heritage, Sesshoumaru does tend to share many similarities with his younger brother. They are both quick to anger and as the series wears on, both are quick to protect those who travel with them. To his credit however, Sesshoumaru is far more dignified than his half-demon brother, and displays an icy demeanor even in most situations where he's clearly attacking out of anger.
Sesshoumaru is not unintelligent. In fact, he’s rather keen and takes notice of things quickly. In battle, he's a quick study of his opponents and reacts based on what he learns at the moment. Unfortunately, he seems to have an issue with keeping his attention on subjects, or at least he appears that way. When something feels as if it no longer holds merit to him, he will discard the notion entirely, One example includes his second fight with Inuyasha, in which he grievously injured the hanyou to the point of unconsciousness. However, he decided not to take Tetsusaiga simply because in his unconscious state, Inuyasha could still send energy blasts through the blade. Blasts that Sesshoumaru could probably have avoided. Later in the series, he also allows Kagome to use the Tetsusaiga to reverse Inuyasha's berserker demon form, insisting that he had no desire to kill his brother while he was not self-aware. These were both opportunities that the provenly-selfish demon could have claimed Tetsusaiga...and yet he abstained. Even after reviving Rin with Tenseiga, he simply turned and walked away from the situation, contemplating how Tenseiga had convinced him to save a life while simply ignoring both Jaken and the young girl following him.
Sesshoumaru is a very confident individual. He believes wholeheartedly in his own abilities. If not for the fact that he really wants the sword bequeathed to Inuyasha for more than half the series, he would have no underlying issues. He doesn’t depend on the Shikon Jewel like most other demons in the series, and despite spending most of the series with one arm, is rarely shown to be at a disadvantage due to it. He rarely cooperates with any of the cast, and when he does it's usually coincidental.
However, lacking a left arm does prove troublesome to a degree, and on several occasions he does seek replacements, none of which are successful in the long run. Being a demon, Sesshoumaru is shown to be affected—to a very mild degree—by strong purification barriers like the one on Mount Hakurei. This is the only barrier shown to affect him, and it is strong enough that he is hindered in battle while on the mountain. However it is to be noted that most demons found this barrier wholly inaccessible, while Sesshoumaru made it deep into the mountain.
Fears…he has none. Only once has he expressed fear, and it was mostly out of surprise, because he’d never experienced Inuyasha’s demon form before. In quick order, he faced that head to head and dealt with it. His only real fear…? Probably Rin’s permanent death. His young ward has become very important to him, and after her second revival, she’s even more precious to him, though he will never admit it aloud. He doesn’t have to. Sesshoumaru’s actions speak far louder than his words ever will. Because that’s just the kind of guy he is. Not one of many words. At all. He’d rather stare at you and judge you like the piece of dirt you are. Especially if you are human, because he’s very bigoted against humans in his time period…even if later on he warms up.
That said, I'll end on the note that Sesshoumaru is extremely unsociable. He will hold conversations, but again, elevated speech patterns do not a nice person make. He's haughty and clearly has no love for humans, half-demons, or demons below his station. So basically everyone, because anything in between still counts.
Background: Because the Wiki is unfortunately full of misinformation here and there, I would like to create a badly summarized background. Badly summarized meaning...long. The wiki’s probably okay for history if you get bored, this is just more in-depth, however I will be differentiating slightly in the way of abilities and perhaps personality traits. My Sesshoumaru is a blend of Manga/Anime, with slight leaning towards manga.
Wiki Link
(NOTE: THIS IS HIS FULL TIMELINE, FROM WHICH I WILL PERIODICALLY CANON UPDATE)
Sesshoumaru is the son of the Inu no Taishou and his noble full demon mother, both high-class inu taiyoukai of distinguished ability. His parents did not remain together for the entirety of his life, as his father found another love interest and bore the hanyou Inuyasha, his half-brother who he resents for many, many reasons. Most importantly, he resents the fact that Inuyasha shares half of his noble demon blood and besmirches it with dirty human blood. He simply cannot understand how it is that his father would have found Inuyasha’s mother attractive enough to breed an abomination like that.
Throughout the 558-chapter length of the InuYasha manga, Sesshoumaru has proven time and again that he is most likely the most powerful taiyoukai (or daiyoukai, depends on your preference of spelling. I like tai) in the series, at least the most powerful living one that actively fights. Only his father seems to surpass him in strength, and the Inu no Taishou is no longer alive. (His mother, while still alive, does not actively battle, though it can be assumed she is powerful in her own right for Sesshoumaru to seek counsel from her.)
Sesshoumaru's first canon appearance is early on, and he is seeking out his father’s grave. To this end, he pursues his brother and demands the answer from him, coercing him by using a demon known as the Mu-Onna, or the Nothing Woman (Unmother in the English Dub) to impersonate Inuyasha's mother and draw the answer from his soul. Through this manipulation, Sesshoumaru was able to learn of the location of the black pearl within Inuyasha’s eye which leads to his father's grave, and shamelessly ripped it out. He has no remorse for any pain he causes to people, especially not Inuyasha, early on in the series, so this doesn’t bother him at all. In fact, it probably amuses him.
Now able to access his father’s grave, he then attempts to take the sword of power that his father had left within the pit of his gargantuan remains; the Tetsusaiga (or Tessaiga, again spelling preferences). However, due to his dark heart and disinterest in protecting anyone, Sesshoumaru is unable to draw the sword from the dais it’s imbedded in, for Tetsusaiga is protected by a barrier which prevents him touching it. Eventually, Inuyasha confronts him and they battle over the right to possess this blade, despite the fact that Inuyasha really doesn’t care all that much for it. Kagome Higurashi eventually convinces Inuyasha to take the blade in order to strike Sesshoumaru’s pride, though of course the half-demon is unable to draw the sword out either—he has no real interest in protecting anyone most of the time…at least not this early on.
It is through sheer accident that Kagome draws the sword herself, and most likely out of both annoyance and childishness, combined with the selfishness he exhibits in wanting the Tetsusaiga for himself, Sesshoumaru uses his poison claw to try and disintegrate Kagome. This infuriates Inuyasha and renews his vigor in fighting his elder brother, until Kagome finally reveals that she’s entirely okay, despite having been buried in poison sludge. The Tetsusaiga had protected her.
That seems to be the last straw for Sesshoumaru, and he resorts to transforming into his true demon form in order to rip his brother and the human girl apart and to claim the sword for his own. For the majority of this battle, he seems to be succeeding. However, after Inuyasha brazenly pokes him in the eye with Tetsusaiga, it forces the two of them from the bowels of their father's remains and out onto one of the Inu no Taishou’s shoulders. After a brief conversation between the two protagonists in which Inuyasha states that he will protect Kagome, the Tetsusaiga apparently sees fit to allow Inuyasha to invoke its true strength. Sesshoumaru is not made privy to these changes however, and as he leaps in to attack at Inuyasha, he is felled by the now-transformed blade shaped like a fang, which cleaves his left foreleg clean off. This translates to his left arm in his human form, and remains so for most of the series.
The next time Sesshoumaru encounters Inuyasha, he is in possession of a human left arm given to him by the primary antagonist of the series, Naraku, which allows him to hold Tetsusaiga and perform a technique unknown to his half-demon brother thus far. Sesshoumaru battles ruthlessly and seems prepared to claim the blade, until Inuyasha finally does rip it, and most of the human arm he’d been using, away from his elder brother. This is to great detriment however, as Sesshoumaru does drive his poison claws through Inuyasha’s back and out his abdomen. In the end, he does retreat from this battle as he loses interest and…well, Tetsusaiga protects Inuyasha while he’s unconscious. It can be inferred here however, that Kagome poses little threat to him, as earlier in the fight she had attempted to fire an arrow at him, which he caught and disintegrated with his poison (Anime only; in the manga, she only shatters his armor).
Sesshoumaru does not show up for a while following this fight, until after Inuyasha emulates the attack he had used in this fight, after which point the old flea demon Myoga seeks out the blacksmith who forged Tetsusaiga in order to share this information and seek counsel. By sheer providence (or misfortune, depending), Sesshoumaru had gone to said blacksmith, Totosai, and demanded a sword be forged for him immediately, which the audience finds is a request sidestepped and eventually outright denied. Totosai is mostly a coward when facing the youthful demon, but eventually does raise his voice to say that Sesshoumaru already owns one of his creations; the Tenseiga. It, like the Tetsusaiga, is forged from a fang taken from the Inu no Taishou. However, Sesshoumaru reacts negatively when his inheritance is mentioned, and even insults the Tenseiga, deeming it unworthy as his inheritance.
This is because Tenseiga, unlike Tetsusaiga, is a sword of healing. If the wielder has a kind heart, then Tenseiga can save a hundred lives in one sweep to match Tetsusaiga’s 100 kill rate in one sweep. As such…the blade will not cut the flesh of the living. Because of this, Sesshoumaru obviously finds no use for it, and while he continuously carries it, he never draws the blade in battle. Understandably so.
After acquiring a temporary arm—a dragon’s claw which is much more durable than the previous arm he attempted to use—Sesshoumaru attacks his younger brother with the intent of taking Tetsusaiga again, or breaking the sword so that neither of them can have it. He spends most of the battle concussing Tetsusaiga violently with the dragon claw, eventually going in for the final blow with his right arm…only for Inuyasha to protect the sword with his own stubborn head! Seemingly annoyed, he unleashes poison from his claws to blind his younger brother, which unwittingly makes it easier for Inuyasha to identify the Kaze no Kizu, or Wind Scar, which is the key to unleashing the attack both the brothers have used thus far. To the half-demon, it manifests as a scraping of demonic energy vortices, and where they converge is where he strikes, unleashing the power. Sesshoumaru is overcome, but the Tenseiga, seeking to protect its wielder, transports him from the destructive wave just before he might suffer a fatal blow.
Spared from Tetsusaiga’s lethal cutting edge, the taiyoukai is deposited unconscious into the nearby forest, where he is approached by a young girl named Rin. He reacts like an injured dog, snarling viciously at her, but eventually calms himself. Sesshoumaru is unable to move for several days, in which time the little girl attempts to offer him food and water. He declines both flatly, though she continues to provide. One day she approaches him with some bruises—she had been hunting fish for Sesshoumaru out of the village preserve, and despite her age, the villagers punished her physically for it—to which he inquires where she gained such injuries. Rin only smiles, possibly flattered at his concern.
When Sesshoumaru is finally able to move again, he reunites with his vassal Jaken and beast of burden, Ah-Un. The wind delivers to him, however, the tell-tale scent of blood, which he follows to the corpse of the young girl who had offered him kindness. Sesshoumaru chooses her to “test” his Tenseiga on, and Rin becomes the first individual who he returns to life with his heirloom sword. She chooses to follow Sesshoumaru, which he seems inclined to allow. While he does not provide the love of a devoted parent, Sesshoumaru does eventually seem to find himself attached to the young girl. While Rin forages on her own and must keep up with the dog demon, he does not make it difficult for her. For example, she seems very close to the dragon-headed Ah-Un. This provides her with a ride should she ever become tired. In addition, Sesshoumaru tasks Jaken with caring for Rin continuously throughout the series, and she’s notably absent in dangerous situations, so long as he can help it. He will instruct her to stay behind, which eventually does extend to Jaken, despite Sesshoumaru’s flippant attitude concerning the imp. After all, if he cared not for Jaken, he wouldn’t have revived him after Kaijinbo slew him.
Which brings us to an event; Sesshoumaru eventually crossed paths with the head of Goshinki, an incarnation of Naraku, who he ascertained had chewed the Tetsusaiga in half. Taking the head of the beast to a blacksmith named Kaijinbo, he had the fangs of Goshinki forged into a blade; the Tokijin. The Tokijin proved too much to handle for its maker however, and the evil aura contained within possessed Kaijinbo, forcing him to attack Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru eventually claimed the sword for his own and challenged Inuyasha himself, though this fight ended very quickly with Totosai’s intervention, as Inuyasha was about to lapse into his demon state. Sesshoumaru does notice that something’s off, and seeks the wisdom of Bokusenou, a demon magnolia tree who was an ally of his father and even provided the wood for the scabbards of Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga.
This talk sheds light upon Inuyasha’s unique situation as a half-demon, which Sesshoumaru then decides to test by fighting his brother. Upon seeing what this state truly does to him however, he elects to allow Inuyasha the pittance of continuing to wield Tetsusaiga, which keeps his demon blood from overtaking his heart, and leaves the hanyou to recuperate from his injuries.
The next time he is coerced by Naraku is via the abduction of his new young ward, Rin. Sesshoumaru is unexpectedly pliant, despite going by things in his aloof manner; he seeks out Naraku’s castle and is allowed in past his barrier. It turns out he planned to kill Naraku, rather than rescue Rin or follow Naraku’s terms at all. Not that Rin was there anyway; she would never have been able to survive the miasma surrounding Naraku's castle. It turns out he was caught in the plan anyway, as Naraku then attempts to assimilate Sesshoumaru's demonic power. The attempt is unsuccessful, due in part to Inuyasha’s interference, and of course Sesshoumaru’s strength. Between the both of them, they might have defeated Naraku if they didn’t argue half the time. ALAS. The battle ends with Naraku’s escape, in part by using Rin as bait. Sesshoumaru leaves the fight to rescue her, and Inuyasha’s group follows for the one to perpetrate the killing would be Sango’s controlled brother, Kohaku. Thankfully…he does not kill Kohaku. In fact, later Kohaku proves important to Sesshoumaru, in a way.
During the Mount Hakurei arc, Sesshoumaru seems less hostile to Inuyasha’s companions, even going so far as to kill the poison user of the Shichinintai, Mukotsu, though he does claim that Mukotsu was not answering his questions, and the threat he posed to Inuyasha’s friends made no difference to him. This arc pretty much is a lot of him pretending he doesn’t care about people while he puts himself in the way of danger to take care of them, as far as his participation anyway. (Shine on with that denial about Rin, you crazy youkai.)
Pretty much everything else in between is inconsequential to his development save for Sesshoumaru breaking Tokijin, and even that’s not much. Nothing’s really interesting, at least not up until Kagura’s death. Kagura, the wind sorceress and one of Naraku's first incarnations, was of little importance to Sesshoumaru. Still, she had demonstrated faith in his ability earlier in the series and attempted to have the youkai kill Naraku, so that she might be free. For whatever whimsical reason—Sesshoumaru tends towards his own whims—Sesshoumaru found himself caring about her goals even if he would not help her directly. His keen nose brought him to her side as she lay dying, poisoned by Naraku for her indiscretions against him, and to his unexpected regret, he is unable to use Tenseiga in order to save Kagura.
The rage and sorrow he had felt on her behalf unwittingly made it possible for his Tenseiga to be reforged as a weapon, not simply a sword for healing. Totosai explained that he would do this, forging Tenseiga anew with the Meidou Zangetsuha technique (which is literally…like the only technique that wasn’t translated to English? Haha.) This technique sends the enemy to the Netherworld. A powerful ability and one that could not simply be entrusted to one who did not possess a mature heart. However, Sesshoumaru is not satisfied with the fact that his technique only creates a crescent-shaped Meidou, and so he seeks counsel from a demoness wiser than he: his own mother. The lady mother states that she had expected him, and by instruction of Sesshoumaru’s father, was to free a hellhound for Sesshoumaru to face. Unexpectedly, this hound takes hold of Rin and Kohaku (who at this point is traveling with Sesshoumaru’s party) and drags them via a Meidou to Hell. Sesshoumaru follows, using the healing Tenseiga to cleave the dog in two and free both of his wards.
During his journey on the path to Hell however…Rin stops breathing. It is upon realizing this that he decides he must slay the overseer of the Netherworld in order to reclaim her soul, and he journeys to the pits of Hell in order to do so, even going so far as to ignore a portal back home provided by his mother as a gift to him. Rin is simply that important to him. Unfortunately, as she reveals later to Jaken, one brought back by Tenseiga cannot be brought back again, and so Sesshoumaru’s journey was in vain. It only provided a lesson; life is finite, and Tenseiga is not a guarantee to immortality. Sesshoumaru does not seem to take this news well, and the grief which strikes his heart at this realization makes him state that his selfish desire has brought Rin to this, and express that he would rather have Rin than perfect the Meidou Zangetsuha technique. Through his feelings he is able to invoke the ability to save a hundred souls, imparting it upon the very souls gathered there in Hell and presumably freeing them from the darkness(??? It's not really clear to me. Then again, I kind of read a translation, and the anime wasn't really clear to me. o.o)
In this manner, he is able to expand his Meidou to an almost-complete circle, escaping Hell with Rin’s body, and Kohaku. His mother notes that he is displeased however, and imparts to him a gift. The Meidou Stone she wears as a necklace around her neck she now shares with him, putting it around Rin’s neck in order to fetch Rin’s soul from Hell. She impresses upon Sesshoumaru that this is the last time Rin’s soul will be returned to her body. Jaken conveys Sesshoumaru’s happiness, as the youthful demon is too stoic to do it himself, to which the lady mother makes a comment that Sesshoumaru has picked up one of his father's curious habits. It's relatively clear she's talking about the soft spot for humans.
The final step to completing his Meidou is fighting the technique’s true owner, Shishinki, through which Sesshoumaru learns that the Tenseiga was actually a piece of Tetsusaiga, cast off because Meidou Zangetsuha was such a dangerous technique that it could not remain a part of the blade. However, once the Meidou Zangetsuha technique was perfected, Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga resonated in a manner that Sesshoumaru took to mean the blades wished to converge as one again…meaning that the technique he had cultivated for so long now needed to be given to the brother he resented.
A harsh blow indeed. Naraku took advantage of this, interfering in this fight by giving Sesshoumaru the chance to clone Tenseiga as Tetsusaiga, and fight Inuyasha on equal ground. Through this fight, he passes Meidou Zangetsuha on to Inuyasha, and while he still resents his brother and does not entirely stop coveting Tetsusaiga, he does accept that Inuyasha is the true wielder of the blade.
Later, in a fight with Magatsuhi where he is almost completely overcome, he does let go of his series-long obsession over Tetsusaiga, which allows for him to receive his own blade, Bakusaiga, in addition to his left arm.WEIRD DEMON MAGIC. THE SWORD WAS IN HIM ALL ALONG. Totosai explains that Bakusaiga had been a part of Sesshoumaru and could only manifest when he could let go of his obsession, and only with letting go of his obsession, could he surpass his father and truly heal from the loss of his arm.
Bakusaiga proves integral to defeating Naraku as well, since it prevents him from recovering. That’s one of its abilities.
Abilities:
Dokkasou/Poison Claws: One of his primary attacks, this is Sesshoumaru’s natural poison claw ability. He can create an acidic poison from his nails which he can secrete, expel, spray, etc. It’s highly toxic and has been shown to liquefy bone and metal. He can also release it by punchingInuyasha in the face just because an opponent.
Speed: Sesshoumaru is extremely fast, enough so that he leaves after-images when he moves. It’s faster than the eye can see, and definitely akin to teleportation, though it’s not actually teleportation. He can move this fast on the ground or through the air. His speed is shown to throw opponents off guard, to the point where in the blink of an eye he'll move from ten feet away to RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. Sometimes it's simply to disorient an opponent, and he mightn't do a thing though. He's weird like that.
Flight: He is capable of independent flight, or by using the fur around his shoulder and which trails behind him. Using the fur he can also transport others along with him.
Senses: Due to his dog demon heritage, Sesshoumaru is gifted with an exceptionally keen sense of smell and his ears are pretty good too. It’s really the nose that’s impressive though. Just by smelling Goshinki’s head, he was able to piece together what had transpired between the demon, and how it had broken Tetsusaiga between its jaws. Similarly, he’s able to track Magatsuhi down through just a tiny piece of flesh via long distances, even if it was a ruse. It is unknown whether his senses are able to be overcome as easily as Inuyasha's in the series, due to their sensitivity.
Strength: Naturally, his strength far surpasses a human’s, and even with one arm he’s able to incapacitate his younger brother. There have been examples of him carrying heavy burdens with one arm, or carrying on entire swordfights or battles just with the one, which shows he is more than capable of holding his own just on raw power alone.
Immunity: Sesshoumaru appears generally immune to diseases/toxins that affect lesser creatures. He is particularly resistant to holy barriers, such as the one on Mount Hakurei. In the anime, he is even seen catching one of Kagome’s arrows of purification between two fingers and disintegrating it. He is also immune to the poison master Mukotsu’s concoctions, and has no problem killing the man.
Regeneration: Sesshoumaru is able to heal from grievous injury in varying stages of speed. It sometimes seems dependent on his will, as in the battle with Magatsuhi he was able to heal his arm almost instantaneously, and even during fights with Inuyasha where he seems to retain substantial damage (not including the first one, nor the one where he was struck by the Wind Scar), he is able to recover pretty quickly. He also did, eventually, manage to heal his entire left arm back.
Demon Form: Sesshoumaru’s true form is that of a giant white dog with red eyes and tealish irises. His facial stripes are joined into a v where his jaw meets, and the fur wrapped around his arm is now a part of this form as a large tuft, as well as his tail. His saliva is poisonous, and it is presumed his claws are also poisonous. In this form, his intelligence suffers slightly, as does his speed. For all that though, he is pretty big and he has sharp claws and fangs to rip his opponents apart.
Immortality: Despite being several centuries old, Sesshoumaru has the appearance of a young man, and ages differently from humans. However, he can be killed like any demon in the Sengoku Era. He simply has yet to encounter anyone even close to capable of performing such a feat.
Mokomoko: That…fur thing he wears. It is a representation of the fur of his true demon form that wraps around his chest and back, as well as his tail. It can be used to constrict and wrap around things if he so chooses to make it do so. It is able to be cut and bleed, as it is technically a part of him, but it can be removed from his body.
Tenseiga: The heirloom bequeathed to him by his father, Tenseiga is a sword gifted to Sesshoumaru which he rarely finds himself using. Most of the time it’s little more than a fancy decoration, but the innate ability of the blade can be considered fearsome in its own right, for Tenseiga has the ability to bring those recently slain back to life. Specifically, it allows for Sesshoumaru to be able to see the messengers of the Netherworld which linger about a person’s corpse for some time. Slaying these otherworldly beings allows for the restoration of an individual’s soul.
Tenseiga does have limits however. It can only be used once on any one individual. And as it is a blade which harms ethereal messengers of Hell, it will not cut the flesh of a living being. However, if used against a creature not of the living world, it can cause injury, as shown by the damage it does to the spectral Magatsuhi while the creature is not possessing a body, or sacrificed flesh from Naraku to sustain its form.
For a time, it was forged to retain the Meidou Zangetsuha technique, but eventually this is passed on to Inuyasha’s Tetsusaiga, a sword which the Tenseiga used to be a part of.
Tokijin: A sword forged from the fangs of Goshinki, the demon who bit Tetsusaiga in half. It was forged specifically to match Tetsusaiga, but harbored all of the dark will of the demon whose fangs were supplied for the blade. As a result, the yoki, or demonic aura that inhabits the Tokijin is unmanageable to all but Sesshoumaru, whose will overpowered it easily and sealed it into the blade. Initially, the blade destroyed its maker completely, though Sesshoumaru had no issue whatsoever taking hold of the blade despite Totosai warning him against it, and proceeded to masterfully attack his half-brother with it.
The Tokijin is capable of firing demonic aura blasts, somewhat like an energy shot. It isn't terribly overpowering, but it would drive a weak opponent to unconsciousness and severely hurt one unused to combat. Sesshoumaru rarely fights those who are not battle ready however, so...it is no problem.
This blade is also sharp, and forged in a more Western style than the katanas usually seen in the show.
Bakusaiga: Bakusaiga is the final sword Sesshoumaru comes into possession of, and it is a blade not forged of his father's fang, but one born from within him. It is a symbol of Sesshoumaru letting go of his grudge against Inuyasha for inheriting Tetsusaiga that he was able to attain the Bakusaiga. It also represents him surpassing his father, and with Bakusaiga came the restoration of the arm he lost very early on in the series in a battle against Inuyasha, and the Tetsusaiga he so coveted.
Bakusaiga takes after its master; it is extremely destructive and cannot be stopped once begun. Specifically, its main given ability is that of decomposition. Whatever the blade cuts is stricken by a blast of energy similar to the Wind Scar, though it is stated by the manga-ka that the Bakusaiga's energy attack is many times more powerful than even Inuyasha's Backlash Wave. This energy blast affects whatever it touches, like a disease or more appropriately, like a venom, breaking it down constantly. To Naraku, this proved particularly detrimental. He was a creature who could cast off parts, and reassimilate them. However, parts affected by Bakusaiga's decomposing abilities would pass this infectious effect on to the main body, destroying it completely in time.
Ambidextrous: Not as grand and glorious as some of the other things, but Sesshoumaru has proven that he is ambidextrous. While he is dominant with his right hand, he was also more than capable of using his left hand to wield a blade or attack while busy. Examples of such include his first wielding of Bakusaiga in his newly restored left arm, and also attempting to use a sword against Magatsuhi-Inuyasha while already holding him back with Tenseiga.
Clothes and Armor: Sesshoumaru never changes his outfit, and despite his specialized armor and how many times it has been broken, it always seems to come back like new. Presumably, the armor is linked to his demonic aura, and repairs itself based on his own power, so he doesn't need a tailor or a smith to fix his things, thanks.
First Person: [Never the talkative sort, Sesshoumaru has only found himself interested in idly exploring his surroundings. He's never seen buildings like this, and assumes that somehow, through some manner of bewitchment, he's been brought to the continent and away from all he finds familiar.
Of course, anyone would find him far from familiar in these surroundings. Sesshoumaru is not wearing anything at all modern, and in fact he looks as if he's fallen out of Feudal Japan. FUNNILY ENOUGH...
He didn't fall so much as glide down with complete and total poise and grace. Demons of his stature do not fall.
Good luck to anyone who approaches the silver-haired demon with the unimpressed look on his face, glancing up at the clock tower and wondering at its function. The symbols, and those long things affixed by the center...they had to mean something?
Sesshoumaru tended to lose himself to his thoughts at times. It didn't mean he wouldn't notice anyone approaching though.]
Third Person: After spending a couple days here, Sesshoumaru had decided he didn’t like it and would be making a sojourn out of the city. He could fly, and he could run fast. Further, he could defend himself from any negative forces that sought to keep him contained. What did he really have to fear from this place?
Now it was only a matter of planning, and figuring out the best way to go about things. And also, avoiding as many of the citizens denizens as possible, because quite honestly, he found them irritatingly nosy in a way that was not endearing. It almost made him yearn for his brother’s incessant wench and her yammering.
…Then again, it would provide good target practice, he had to admit.
“It is such a shame,” he mused quietly to himself, balancing precariously from atop the obelisk in the center of the city’s myriad of shops. “I would have enjoyed a reason to make the fools who brought me here regret their decision.”
Alas, there were greater things he had to worry about. The Tetsusaiga beckoned him, and he could not allow for it to remain with such a shameful master when clearly he, Sesshoumaru, was the true and most perfect candidate to possess such a sublime weapon of destruction.
At the very least, if this city wanted him to stay, it could have brought his brother and saved him traveling time. What a bother.
Name: Kitten
Age: 25
Personal Journal:
hollowrussianE-mail:inu_taiyoukai_@hotmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: AIM; SilverCrusnik // Skype; SextaEspadaGrimmjow //
CHARACTER
Name: Sesshoumaru
Canon: InuYasha
Age: FFFFFFFF IDK. His Wiki says 500, I’ve seen the consensus fluctuate though. He appears in his early twenties though.
Timeline: Just prior to the events of “Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga”
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: n/a
Personality: In general, Sesshoumaru has a pretty stoic personality. He is a youkai of few words, and would rather get physical in order to resolve his business. That is, he likes to maim or kill whatever is bothering him. In the start of the manga he’s shown to be almost playful, smiling more frequently than he does in later chapters, or in the anime, but the recurring theme is that whenever he smiles, there is usually a mocking/sinister undertone. Even in the first few chapters, he makes small teases at Inuyasha and Kagome, such as referring to the latter as “the young filly from before” in the English manga and commending her for offering to die with Inuyasha. Later, his vassal Jaken begs him not to smile as whenever the demon behaves passive-aggressively, it's apparently worse than when he's openly aggressive. This kind of behavior mostly stems from Sesshoumaru being so powerful, and him being extremely well-aware of the fact.
This brings us to the matter of Sesshoumaru’s pride. As an inu taiyoukai, or greater dog demon, he can be observed to dress in clothing befitting nobility, and his mannerisms match that elegance…to a degree. While he has elevated speech patterns, his self-assured, haughty attitude gives him a manner of speech that, in Japanese, has him using pronouns which are only a shade more polite than the ones his half-brother Inuyasha uses. Where Inuyasha might use “temee” as a vulgar form of “you,” Sesshoumaru uses “kisama,” a similarly vulgar, but slightly less insulting form. He usually uses this form for individuals he isn’t particularly fond of. In the anime's English dub, it’s far easier to read the condescension in his voice, especially as the anime version of him expresses this side of his attitude more.
Because of his pride, Sesshoumaru has been goaded into many an attack, not the least of which includes his brutal attacks on Kagome and Inuyasha in his father’s grave, as well as on Naraku for using him on various occasions to attack his brother.
Despite his noble heritage, Sesshoumaru does tend to share many similarities with his younger brother. They are both quick to anger and as the series wears on, both are quick to protect those who travel with them. To his credit however, Sesshoumaru is far more dignified than his half-demon brother, and displays an icy demeanor even in most situations where he's clearly attacking out of anger.
Sesshoumaru is not unintelligent. In fact, he’s rather keen and takes notice of things quickly. In battle, he's a quick study of his opponents and reacts based on what he learns at the moment. Unfortunately, he seems to have an issue with keeping his attention on subjects, or at least he appears that way. When something feels as if it no longer holds merit to him, he will discard the notion entirely, One example includes his second fight with Inuyasha, in which he grievously injured the hanyou to the point of unconsciousness. However, he decided not to take Tetsusaiga simply because in his unconscious state, Inuyasha could still send energy blasts through the blade. Blasts that Sesshoumaru could probably have avoided. Later in the series, he also allows Kagome to use the Tetsusaiga to reverse Inuyasha's berserker demon form, insisting that he had no desire to kill his brother while he was not self-aware. These were both opportunities that the provenly-selfish demon could have claimed Tetsusaiga...and yet he abstained. Even after reviving Rin with Tenseiga, he simply turned and walked away from the situation, contemplating how Tenseiga had convinced him to save a life while simply ignoring both Jaken and the young girl following him.
Sesshoumaru is a very confident individual. He believes wholeheartedly in his own abilities. If not for the fact that he really wants the sword bequeathed to Inuyasha for more than half the series, he would have no underlying issues. He doesn’t depend on the Shikon Jewel like most other demons in the series, and despite spending most of the series with one arm, is rarely shown to be at a disadvantage due to it. He rarely cooperates with any of the cast, and when he does it's usually coincidental.
However, lacking a left arm does prove troublesome to a degree, and on several occasions he does seek replacements, none of which are successful in the long run. Being a demon, Sesshoumaru is shown to be affected—to a very mild degree—by strong purification barriers like the one on Mount Hakurei. This is the only barrier shown to affect him, and it is strong enough that he is hindered in battle while on the mountain. However it is to be noted that most demons found this barrier wholly inaccessible, while Sesshoumaru made it deep into the mountain.
Fears…he has none. Only once has he expressed fear, and it was mostly out of surprise, because he’d never experienced Inuyasha’s demon form before. In quick order, he faced that head to head and dealt with it. His only real fear…? Probably Rin’s permanent death. His young ward has become very important to him, and after her second revival, she’s even more precious to him, though he will never admit it aloud. He doesn’t have to. Sesshoumaru’s actions speak far louder than his words ever will. Because that’s just the kind of guy he is. Not one of many words. At all. He’d rather stare at you and judge you like the piece of dirt you are. Especially if you are human, because he’s very bigoted against humans in his time period…even if later on he warms up.
That said, I'll end on the note that Sesshoumaru is extremely unsociable. He will hold conversations, but again, elevated speech patterns do not a nice person make. He's haughty and clearly has no love for humans, half-demons, or demons below his station. So basically everyone, because anything in between still counts.
Background: Because the Wiki is unfortunately full of misinformation here and there, I would like to create a badly summarized background. Badly summarized meaning...long. The wiki’s probably okay for history if you get bored, this is just more in-depth, however I will be differentiating slightly in the way of abilities and perhaps personality traits. My Sesshoumaru is a blend of Manga/Anime, with slight leaning towards manga.
Wiki Link
(NOTE: THIS IS HIS FULL TIMELINE, FROM WHICH I WILL PERIODICALLY CANON UPDATE)
Sesshoumaru is the son of the Inu no Taishou and his noble full demon mother, both high-class inu taiyoukai of distinguished ability. His parents did not remain together for the entirety of his life, as his father found another love interest and bore the hanyou Inuyasha, his half-brother who he resents for many, many reasons. Most importantly, he resents the fact that Inuyasha shares half of his noble demon blood and besmirches it with dirty human blood. He simply cannot understand how it is that his father would have found Inuyasha’s mother attractive enough to breed an abomination like that.
Throughout the 558-chapter length of the InuYasha manga, Sesshoumaru has proven time and again that he is most likely the most powerful taiyoukai (or daiyoukai, depends on your preference of spelling. I like tai) in the series, at least the most powerful living one that actively fights. Only his father seems to surpass him in strength, and the Inu no Taishou is no longer alive. (His mother, while still alive, does not actively battle, though it can be assumed she is powerful in her own right for Sesshoumaru to seek counsel from her.)
Sesshoumaru's first canon appearance is early on, and he is seeking out his father’s grave. To this end, he pursues his brother and demands the answer from him, coercing him by using a demon known as the Mu-Onna, or the Nothing Woman (Unmother in the English Dub) to impersonate Inuyasha's mother and draw the answer from his soul. Through this manipulation, Sesshoumaru was able to learn of the location of the black pearl within Inuyasha’s eye which leads to his father's grave, and shamelessly ripped it out. He has no remorse for any pain he causes to people, especially not Inuyasha, early on in the series, so this doesn’t bother him at all. In fact, it probably amuses him.
Now able to access his father’s grave, he then attempts to take the sword of power that his father had left within the pit of his gargantuan remains; the Tetsusaiga (or Tessaiga, again spelling preferences). However, due to his dark heart and disinterest in protecting anyone, Sesshoumaru is unable to draw the sword from the dais it’s imbedded in, for Tetsusaiga is protected by a barrier which prevents him touching it. Eventually, Inuyasha confronts him and they battle over the right to possess this blade, despite the fact that Inuyasha really doesn’t care all that much for it. Kagome Higurashi eventually convinces Inuyasha to take the blade in order to strike Sesshoumaru’s pride, though of course the half-demon is unable to draw the sword out either—he has no real interest in protecting anyone most of the time…at least not this early on.
It is through sheer accident that Kagome draws the sword herself, and most likely out of both annoyance and childishness, combined with the selfishness he exhibits in wanting the Tetsusaiga for himself, Sesshoumaru uses his poison claw to try and disintegrate Kagome. This infuriates Inuyasha and renews his vigor in fighting his elder brother, until Kagome finally reveals that she’s entirely okay, despite having been buried in poison sludge. The Tetsusaiga had protected her.
That seems to be the last straw for Sesshoumaru, and he resorts to transforming into his true demon form in order to rip his brother and the human girl apart and to claim the sword for his own. For the majority of this battle, he seems to be succeeding. However, after Inuyasha brazenly pokes him in the eye with Tetsusaiga, it forces the two of them from the bowels of their father's remains and out onto one of the Inu no Taishou’s shoulders. After a brief conversation between the two protagonists in which Inuyasha states that he will protect Kagome, the Tetsusaiga apparently sees fit to allow Inuyasha to invoke its true strength. Sesshoumaru is not made privy to these changes however, and as he leaps in to attack at Inuyasha, he is felled by the now-transformed blade shaped like a fang, which cleaves his left foreleg clean off. This translates to his left arm in his human form, and remains so for most of the series.
The next time Sesshoumaru encounters Inuyasha, he is in possession of a human left arm given to him by the primary antagonist of the series, Naraku, which allows him to hold Tetsusaiga and perform a technique unknown to his half-demon brother thus far. Sesshoumaru battles ruthlessly and seems prepared to claim the blade, until Inuyasha finally does rip it, and most of the human arm he’d been using, away from his elder brother. This is to great detriment however, as Sesshoumaru does drive his poison claws through Inuyasha’s back and out his abdomen. In the end, he does retreat from this battle as he loses interest and…well, Tetsusaiga protects Inuyasha while he’s unconscious. It can be inferred here however, that Kagome poses little threat to him, as earlier in the fight she had attempted to fire an arrow at him, which he caught and disintegrated with his poison (Anime only; in the manga, she only shatters his armor).
Sesshoumaru does not show up for a while following this fight, until after Inuyasha emulates the attack he had used in this fight, after which point the old flea demon Myoga seeks out the blacksmith who forged Tetsusaiga in order to share this information and seek counsel. By sheer providence (or misfortune, depending), Sesshoumaru had gone to said blacksmith, Totosai, and demanded a sword be forged for him immediately, which the audience finds is a request sidestepped and eventually outright denied. Totosai is mostly a coward when facing the youthful demon, but eventually does raise his voice to say that Sesshoumaru already owns one of his creations; the Tenseiga. It, like the Tetsusaiga, is forged from a fang taken from the Inu no Taishou. However, Sesshoumaru reacts negatively when his inheritance is mentioned, and even insults the Tenseiga, deeming it unworthy as his inheritance.
This is because Tenseiga, unlike Tetsusaiga, is a sword of healing. If the wielder has a kind heart, then Tenseiga can save a hundred lives in one sweep to match Tetsusaiga’s 100 kill rate in one sweep. As such…the blade will not cut the flesh of the living. Because of this, Sesshoumaru obviously finds no use for it, and while he continuously carries it, he never draws the blade in battle. Understandably so.
After acquiring a temporary arm—a dragon’s claw which is much more durable than the previous arm he attempted to use—Sesshoumaru attacks his younger brother with the intent of taking Tetsusaiga again, or breaking the sword so that neither of them can have it. He spends most of the battle concussing Tetsusaiga violently with the dragon claw, eventually going in for the final blow with his right arm…only for Inuyasha to protect the sword with his own stubborn head! Seemingly annoyed, he unleashes poison from his claws to blind his younger brother, which unwittingly makes it easier for Inuyasha to identify the Kaze no Kizu, or Wind Scar, which is the key to unleashing the attack both the brothers have used thus far. To the half-demon, it manifests as a scraping of demonic energy vortices, and where they converge is where he strikes, unleashing the power. Sesshoumaru is overcome, but the Tenseiga, seeking to protect its wielder, transports him from the destructive wave just before he might suffer a fatal blow.
Spared from Tetsusaiga’s lethal cutting edge, the taiyoukai is deposited unconscious into the nearby forest, where he is approached by a young girl named Rin. He reacts like an injured dog, snarling viciously at her, but eventually calms himself. Sesshoumaru is unable to move for several days, in which time the little girl attempts to offer him food and water. He declines both flatly, though she continues to provide. One day she approaches him with some bruises—she had been hunting fish for Sesshoumaru out of the village preserve, and despite her age, the villagers punished her physically for it—to which he inquires where she gained such injuries. Rin only smiles, possibly flattered at his concern.
When Sesshoumaru is finally able to move again, he reunites with his vassal Jaken and beast of burden, Ah-Un. The wind delivers to him, however, the tell-tale scent of blood, which he follows to the corpse of the young girl who had offered him kindness. Sesshoumaru chooses her to “test” his Tenseiga on, and Rin becomes the first individual who he returns to life with his heirloom sword. She chooses to follow Sesshoumaru, which he seems inclined to allow. While he does not provide the love of a devoted parent, Sesshoumaru does eventually seem to find himself attached to the young girl. While Rin forages on her own and must keep up with the dog demon, he does not make it difficult for her. For example, she seems very close to the dragon-headed Ah-Un. This provides her with a ride should she ever become tired. In addition, Sesshoumaru tasks Jaken with caring for Rin continuously throughout the series, and she’s notably absent in dangerous situations, so long as he can help it. He will instruct her to stay behind, which eventually does extend to Jaken, despite Sesshoumaru’s flippant attitude concerning the imp. After all, if he cared not for Jaken, he wouldn’t have revived him after Kaijinbo slew him.
Which brings us to an event; Sesshoumaru eventually crossed paths with the head of Goshinki, an incarnation of Naraku, who he ascertained had chewed the Tetsusaiga in half. Taking the head of the beast to a blacksmith named Kaijinbo, he had the fangs of Goshinki forged into a blade; the Tokijin. The Tokijin proved too much to handle for its maker however, and the evil aura contained within possessed Kaijinbo, forcing him to attack Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru eventually claimed the sword for his own and challenged Inuyasha himself, though this fight ended very quickly with Totosai’s intervention, as Inuyasha was about to lapse into his demon state. Sesshoumaru does notice that something’s off, and seeks the wisdom of Bokusenou, a demon magnolia tree who was an ally of his father and even provided the wood for the scabbards of Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga.
This talk sheds light upon Inuyasha’s unique situation as a half-demon, which Sesshoumaru then decides to test by fighting his brother. Upon seeing what this state truly does to him however, he elects to allow Inuyasha the pittance of continuing to wield Tetsusaiga, which keeps his demon blood from overtaking his heart, and leaves the hanyou to recuperate from his injuries.
The next time he is coerced by Naraku is via the abduction of his new young ward, Rin. Sesshoumaru is unexpectedly pliant, despite going by things in his aloof manner; he seeks out Naraku’s castle and is allowed in past his barrier. It turns out he planned to kill Naraku, rather than rescue Rin or follow Naraku’s terms at all. Not that Rin was there anyway; she would never have been able to survive the miasma surrounding Naraku's castle. It turns out he was caught in the plan anyway, as Naraku then attempts to assimilate Sesshoumaru's demonic power. The attempt is unsuccessful, due in part to Inuyasha’s interference, and of course Sesshoumaru’s strength. Between the both of them, they might have defeated Naraku if they didn’t argue half the time. ALAS. The battle ends with Naraku’s escape, in part by using Rin as bait. Sesshoumaru leaves the fight to rescue her, and Inuyasha’s group follows for the one to perpetrate the killing would be Sango’s controlled brother, Kohaku. Thankfully…he does not kill Kohaku. In fact, later Kohaku proves important to Sesshoumaru, in a way.
During the Mount Hakurei arc, Sesshoumaru seems less hostile to Inuyasha’s companions, even going so far as to kill the poison user of the Shichinintai, Mukotsu, though he does claim that Mukotsu was not answering his questions, and the threat he posed to Inuyasha’s friends made no difference to him. This arc pretty much is a lot of him pretending he doesn’t care about people while he puts himself in the way of danger to take care of them, as far as his participation anyway. (Shine on with that denial about Rin, you crazy youkai.)
Pretty much everything else in between is inconsequential to his development save for Sesshoumaru breaking Tokijin, and even that’s not much. Nothing’s really interesting, at least not up until Kagura’s death. Kagura, the wind sorceress and one of Naraku's first incarnations, was of little importance to Sesshoumaru. Still, she had demonstrated faith in his ability earlier in the series and attempted to have the youkai kill Naraku, so that she might be free. For whatever whimsical reason—Sesshoumaru tends towards his own whims—Sesshoumaru found himself caring about her goals even if he would not help her directly. His keen nose brought him to her side as she lay dying, poisoned by Naraku for her indiscretions against him, and to his unexpected regret, he is unable to use Tenseiga in order to save Kagura.
The rage and sorrow he had felt on her behalf unwittingly made it possible for his Tenseiga to be reforged as a weapon, not simply a sword for healing. Totosai explained that he would do this, forging Tenseiga anew with the Meidou Zangetsuha technique (which is literally…like the only technique that wasn’t translated to English? Haha.) This technique sends the enemy to the Netherworld. A powerful ability and one that could not simply be entrusted to one who did not possess a mature heart. However, Sesshoumaru is not satisfied with the fact that his technique only creates a crescent-shaped Meidou, and so he seeks counsel from a demoness wiser than he: his own mother. The lady mother states that she had expected him, and by instruction of Sesshoumaru’s father, was to free a hellhound for Sesshoumaru to face. Unexpectedly, this hound takes hold of Rin and Kohaku (who at this point is traveling with Sesshoumaru’s party) and drags them via a Meidou to Hell. Sesshoumaru follows, using the healing Tenseiga to cleave the dog in two and free both of his wards.
During his journey on the path to Hell however…Rin stops breathing. It is upon realizing this that he decides he must slay the overseer of the Netherworld in order to reclaim her soul, and he journeys to the pits of Hell in order to do so, even going so far as to ignore a portal back home provided by his mother as a gift to him. Rin is simply that important to him. Unfortunately, as she reveals later to Jaken, one brought back by Tenseiga cannot be brought back again, and so Sesshoumaru’s journey was in vain. It only provided a lesson; life is finite, and Tenseiga is not a guarantee to immortality. Sesshoumaru does not seem to take this news well, and the grief which strikes his heart at this realization makes him state that his selfish desire has brought Rin to this, and express that he would rather have Rin than perfect the Meidou Zangetsuha technique. Through his feelings he is able to invoke the ability to save a hundred souls, imparting it upon the very souls gathered there in Hell and presumably freeing them from the darkness(??? It's not really clear to me. Then again, I kind of read a translation, and the anime wasn't really clear to me. o.o)
In this manner, he is able to expand his Meidou to an almost-complete circle, escaping Hell with Rin’s body, and Kohaku. His mother notes that he is displeased however, and imparts to him a gift. The Meidou Stone she wears as a necklace around her neck she now shares with him, putting it around Rin’s neck in order to fetch Rin’s soul from Hell. She impresses upon Sesshoumaru that this is the last time Rin’s soul will be returned to her body. Jaken conveys Sesshoumaru’s happiness, as the youthful demon is too stoic to do it himself, to which the lady mother makes a comment that Sesshoumaru has picked up one of his father's curious habits. It's relatively clear she's talking about the soft spot for humans.
The final step to completing his Meidou is fighting the technique’s true owner, Shishinki, through which Sesshoumaru learns that the Tenseiga was actually a piece of Tetsusaiga, cast off because Meidou Zangetsuha was such a dangerous technique that it could not remain a part of the blade. However, once the Meidou Zangetsuha technique was perfected, Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga resonated in a manner that Sesshoumaru took to mean the blades wished to converge as one again…meaning that the technique he had cultivated for so long now needed to be given to the brother he resented.
A harsh blow indeed. Naraku took advantage of this, interfering in this fight by giving Sesshoumaru the chance to clone Tenseiga as Tetsusaiga, and fight Inuyasha on equal ground. Through this fight, he passes Meidou Zangetsuha on to Inuyasha, and while he still resents his brother and does not entirely stop coveting Tetsusaiga, he does accept that Inuyasha is the true wielder of the blade.
Later, in a fight with Magatsuhi where he is almost completely overcome, he does let go of his series-long obsession over Tetsusaiga, which allows for him to receive his own blade, Bakusaiga, in addition to his left arm.
Bakusaiga proves integral to defeating Naraku as well, since it prevents him from recovering. That’s one of its abilities.
Abilities:
Dokkasou/Poison Claws: One of his primary attacks, this is Sesshoumaru’s natural poison claw ability. He can create an acidic poison from his nails which he can secrete, expel, spray, etc. It’s highly toxic and has been shown to liquefy bone and metal. He can also release it by punching
Speed: Sesshoumaru is extremely fast, enough so that he leaves after-images when he moves. It’s faster than the eye can see, and definitely akin to teleportation, though it’s not actually teleportation. He can move this fast on the ground or through the air. His speed is shown to throw opponents off guard, to the point where in the blink of an eye he'll move from ten feet away to RIGHT IN YOUR FACE. Sometimes it's simply to disorient an opponent, and he mightn't do a thing though. He's weird like that.
Flight: He is capable of independent flight, or by using the fur around his shoulder and which trails behind him. Using the fur he can also transport others along with him.
Senses: Due to his dog demon heritage, Sesshoumaru is gifted with an exceptionally keen sense of smell and his ears are pretty good too. It’s really the nose that’s impressive though. Just by smelling Goshinki’s head, he was able to piece together what had transpired between the demon, and how it had broken Tetsusaiga between its jaws. Similarly, he’s able to track Magatsuhi down through just a tiny piece of flesh via long distances, even if it was a ruse. It is unknown whether his senses are able to be overcome as easily as Inuyasha's in the series, due to their sensitivity.
Strength: Naturally, his strength far surpasses a human’s, and even with one arm he’s able to incapacitate his younger brother. There have been examples of him carrying heavy burdens with one arm, or carrying on entire swordfights or battles just with the one, which shows he is more than capable of holding his own just on raw power alone.
Immunity: Sesshoumaru appears generally immune to diseases/toxins that affect lesser creatures. He is particularly resistant to holy barriers, such as the one on Mount Hakurei. In the anime, he is even seen catching one of Kagome’s arrows of purification between two fingers and disintegrating it. He is also immune to the poison master Mukotsu’s concoctions, and has no problem killing the man.
Regeneration: Sesshoumaru is able to heal from grievous injury in varying stages of speed. It sometimes seems dependent on his will, as in the battle with Magatsuhi he was able to heal his arm almost instantaneously, and even during fights with Inuyasha where he seems to retain substantial damage (not including the first one, nor the one where he was struck by the Wind Scar), he is able to recover pretty quickly. He also did, eventually, manage to heal his entire left arm back.
Demon Form: Sesshoumaru’s true form is that of a giant white dog with red eyes and tealish irises. His facial stripes are joined into a v where his jaw meets, and the fur wrapped around his arm is now a part of this form as a large tuft, as well as his tail. His saliva is poisonous, and it is presumed his claws are also poisonous. In this form, his intelligence suffers slightly, as does his speed. For all that though, he is pretty big and he has sharp claws and fangs to rip his opponents apart.
Immortality: Despite being several centuries old, Sesshoumaru has the appearance of a young man, and ages differently from humans. However, he can be killed like any demon in the Sengoku Era. He simply has yet to encounter anyone even close to capable of performing such a feat.
Mokomoko: That…fur thing he wears. It is a representation of the fur of his true demon form that wraps around his chest and back, as well as his tail. It can be used to constrict and wrap around things if he so chooses to make it do so. It is able to be cut and bleed, as it is technically a part of him, but it can be removed from his body.
Tenseiga: The heirloom bequeathed to him by his father, Tenseiga is a sword gifted to Sesshoumaru which he rarely finds himself using. Most of the time it’s little more than a fancy decoration, but the innate ability of the blade can be considered fearsome in its own right, for Tenseiga has the ability to bring those recently slain back to life. Specifically, it allows for Sesshoumaru to be able to see the messengers of the Netherworld which linger about a person’s corpse for some time. Slaying these otherworldly beings allows for the restoration of an individual’s soul.
Tenseiga does have limits however. It can only be used once on any one individual. And as it is a blade which harms ethereal messengers of Hell, it will not cut the flesh of a living being. However, if used against a creature not of the living world, it can cause injury, as shown by the damage it does to the spectral Magatsuhi while the creature is not possessing a body, or sacrificed flesh from Naraku to sustain its form.
For a time, it was forged to retain the Meidou Zangetsuha technique, but eventually this is passed on to Inuyasha’s Tetsusaiga, a sword which the Tenseiga used to be a part of.
Tokijin: A sword forged from the fangs of Goshinki, the demon who bit Tetsusaiga in half. It was forged specifically to match Tetsusaiga, but harbored all of the dark will of the demon whose fangs were supplied for the blade. As a result, the yoki, or demonic aura that inhabits the Tokijin is unmanageable to all but Sesshoumaru, whose will overpowered it easily and sealed it into the blade. Initially, the blade destroyed its maker completely, though Sesshoumaru had no issue whatsoever taking hold of the blade despite Totosai warning him against it, and proceeded to masterfully attack his half-brother with it.
The Tokijin is capable of firing demonic aura blasts, somewhat like an energy shot. It isn't terribly overpowering, but it would drive a weak opponent to unconsciousness and severely hurt one unused to combat. Sesshoumaru rarely fights those who are not battle ready however, so...it is no problem.
This blade is also sharp, and forged in a more Western style than the katanas usually seen in the show.
Bakusaiga: Bakusaiga is the final sword Sesshoumaru comes into possession of, and it is a blade not forged of his father's fang, but one born from within him. It is a symbol of Sesshoumaru letting go of his grudge against Inuyasha for inheriting Tetsusaiga that he was able to attain the Bakusaiga. It also represents him surpassing his father, and with Bakusaiga came the restoration of the arm he lost very early on in the series in a battle against Inuyasha, and the Tetsusaiga he so coveted.
Bakusaiga takes after its master; it is extremely destructive and cannot be stopped once begun. Specifically, its main given ability is that of decomposition. Whatever the blade cuts is stricken by a blast of energy similar to the Wind Scar, though it is stated by the manga-ka that the Bakusaiga's energy attack is many times more powerful than even Inuyasha's Backlash Wave. This energy blast affects whatever it touches, like a disease or more appropriately, like a venom, breaking it down constantly. To Naraku, this proved particularly detrimental. He was a creature who could cast off parts, and reassimilate them. However, parts affected by Bakusaiga's decomposing abilities would pass this infectious effect on to the main body, destroying it completely in time.
Ambidextrous: Not as grand and glorious as some of the other things, but Sesshoumaru has proven that he is ambidextrous. While he is dominant with his right hand, he was also more than capable of using his left hand to wield a blade or attack while busy. Examples of such include his first wielding of Bakusaiga in his newly restored left arm, and also attempting to use a sword against Magatsuhi-Inuyasha while already holding him back with Tenseiga.
Clothes and Armor: Sesshoumaru never changes his outfit, and despite his specialized armor and how many times it has been broken, it always seems to come back like new. Presumably, the armor is linked to his demonic aura, and repairs itself based on his own power, so he doesn't need a tailor or a smith to fix his things, thanks.
First Person: [Never the talkative sort, Sesshoumaru has only found himself interested in idly exploring his surroundings. He's never seen buildings like this, and assumes that somehow, through some manner of bewitchment, he's been brought to the continent and away from all he finds familiar.
Of course, anyone would find him far from familiar in these surroundings. Sesshoumaru is not wearing anything at all modern, and in fact he looks as if he's fallen out of Feudal Japan. FUNNILY ENOUGH...
He didn't fall so much as glide down with complete and total poise and grace. Demons of his stature do not fall.
Good luck to anyone who approaches the silver-haired demon with the unimpressed look on his face, glancing up at the clock tower and wondering at its function. The symbols, and those long things affixed by the center...they had to mean something?
Sesshoumaru tended to lose himself to his thoughts at times. It didn't mean he wouldn't notice anyone approaching though.]
Third Person: After spending a couple days here, Sesshoumaru had decided he didn’t like it and would be making a sojourn out of the city. He could fly, and he could run fast. Further, he could defend himself from any negative forces that sought to keep him contained. What did he really have to fear from this place?
Now it was only a matter of planning, and figuring out the best way to go about things. And also, avoiding as many of the citizens denizens as possible, because quite honestly, he found them irritatingly nosy in a way that was not endearing. It almost made him yearn for his brother’s incessant wench and her yammering.
…Then again, it would provide good target practice, he had to admit.
“It is such a shame,” he mused quietly to himself, balancing precariously from atop the obelisk in the center of the city’s myriad of shops. “I would have enjoyed a reason to make the fools who brought me here regret their decision.”
Alas, there were greater things he had to worry about. The Tetsusaiga beckoned him, and he could not allow for it to remain with such a shameful master when clearly he, Sesshoumaru, was the true and most perfect candidate to possess such a sublime weapon of destruction.
At the very least, if this city wanted him to stay, it could have brought his brother and saved him traveling time. What a bother.
