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Want To Be Your Slave	By : LordYouko Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 70996 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
Chapter
26 � Something Old and Something New
When Inuyasha opened his eyes, the first things that
registered were the many aches and pains in his body�and the harsh sunlight
coming in from the open curtains.
Blinking open sleepy, tired eyes, the hanyou looked
around hazily, tiny fists bunching weakly in silk sheets. He was in
Sesshoumaru-sama�s chambers, in his bed�but he could
not remember getting into it. What had happened the night before?
�Inuyasha?�
He turned his head towards the familiar voice.
�R-Raia��
��Sesshoumaru-sama�s orders are for me to take care of you today until he
returns.�
With considerable effort, Inuyasha raised himself in
bed. His bottom was sore as hell. But he could not remember Sesshoumaru-sama taking him the night before. And there was a scent on
him�a horrible, stifling scent.
Inuyasha inhaled sharply, looking around for the
source of the scent. His eyes were drawn to the traces of red on the creamy
silk sheets. Blood�there was blood on the sheets. His fingers clenched
involuntarily in mild panic and his eyes were drawn to the reddish brown thing
coating his fingers and nails.
Bringing his hands up, his eyes widened at the
dried, now almost brown blood coating his nails. He could even taste the bitter,
sharp taste in his mouth. Alarmed and now a little frightened, Inuyasha turned
towards the head servant.
�Wh-what happened?�
Raia saw the confusion and fear on the hanyou�s face
and she bit her lip hesitantly.
�I�don�t think � that is, I think it would be better
if you asked Sesshoumaru-sama that.�
Inuyasha�s eyes clouded over with worry but he
lowered his eyes.
�M-may I have a bath?� he asked hesitantly,
wondering if he had the privilege, before being punished for hurting whoever it
was that he had hurt.
Raia nodded, gesturing towards the direction of the
bath house. Inuyasha climbed off the bed and almost stumbled to the ground,
wincing as the movement shot a sharp pain up his ass. The scent of blood was
getting suffocating; Inuyasha felt his stomach clench in protest.
The bath house was located a little way outside
Sesshoumaru�s wing of the castle. Although the demon Lord had his own private,
far more luxurious bathing chamber, Raia had not received explicit instructions
to allow the slave to use it. This bathing house was a natural hotspring turned into an indoor bath,
that was usually used by guests or soldiers or someone from the lower
ranks who had earned a reward. Small and simple but clean, it was a perk
everyone looked forward to and as Sesshoumaru�s personal slave, Raia could not
imagine the demon Lord minding Inuyasha using it, especially considering what
he had gone through the day before.
�W-where is Sesshoumaru-sama?�
The hanyou�s small voice brought Raia out of her
thoughts and she turned her attention back to the hanyou who had undressed
partly and gotten into the warm water.
�He had business to take care of,� Raia answered.
Inuyasha nodded, scrubbing furiously at his hands
and the blood stains on his haori. The red fire rat kimono was easy enough to
clean but blood had seeped into the inner white haori and dried. No matter how
the hanyou scrubbed, the slight light brown stain would not some off.
Tears formed in his eyes as his hands were soon
rubbed raw from the scrubbing and the material came close to tearing. He turned
desperately towards the silent servant.
�D-did I � who did I- that
is, whose blood��
Raia stared helplessly at the heartbroken look in
Inuyasha�s eyes. Sesshoumaru-sama would probably not
be pleased for saying something but she could not bear to let the hanyou go on
thinking he had done something wrong.
�It�s�mostly Gaeten and Jaken�s. They attacked you�
do you remember?�
Inuyasha stared at his hands, now free of any signs
of blood. He vaguely remembered talking to Jaken before his Master had to leave
for somewhere. Then�then he had watched the sunset�in that room, the one with the
important items.
Inuyasha gasped. �Th-the room! Take me there, please?�
Raia mentally winced, seeing the almost desperate,
worried look on the boy�s face.
�Inuyasha,� she began, �I don�t think that�s-�
The tears that had formed in his eyes overflowed and
trailed silently down his cheeks. Raia sighed and nodded.
___________________________________________________________________________
Seeing the look on Inuyasha�s face, Raia almost
regretted her decision. A small fist clenched in her robes. Inuyasha looked
horrified. Wide golden eyes took in the damage to the room and everything in
it.
�I-I did this�?� Inuyasha asked in a hushed voice,
standing in the centre of the room, eyes glued to the ugly bloodstain on the
carpet. �All this- it�s my fault�Sesshoumaru-sama
trusted me� he trusted me and- and I destroyed-�
Voice breaking, Inuyasha could not help the tears
now falling freely from his eyes. In his life with the slavers, he had made
many mistakes - of course he had, no one could be perfect all the time � and he
had been punished for those mistakes. Some were more serious than others and
had earned him whip lashes and days without food and nights spent outside alone
in the cold.
But they were mistakes, things that he had done
wrong by accident. In all his life, he had never wilfully destroyed anything.
The blood on his claws and the destruction of the room was not something that
happened by mistake. He had�he had actually destroyed everything. The most
precious, valuable items that Sesshoumaru-sama did
not even allow anyone else to touch�he had destroyed them. Sesshoumaru-sama would never forgive him for this. Even if he slaved
all his life, he would not be able to repay the demon Lord for the damage that
he had caused.
And throughout the room, on the rubble and on the
walls, there were bloodstains where Jaken or Gaeten had been thrown at the
walls or on the broken furniture strewn about.
�I�I did this. I did it�I did it��
Raia looked helplessly from the room to the hanyou.
Well, what could she say? It was true, after all. He had done it.
Inuyasha turned despairing eyes up at Raia. �And
Jaken and Gaeten�what- are they alright?�
Raia looked away. �Jaken is�injured but he will be
fine. Gaeten��
Raia trailed off and Inuyasha took a sharp intake of
breath, correctly interpreting her silence.
�He�s dead,� he whispered, eyes slowly glazing over
until they became entirely emotionless. �Because of me...�
The hands that he held out in front of him shook and
though his skin was an angry red colour from scrubbing so hard in the bath, and
there was not even a drop of blood on them, the scent of blood was suddenly
once again suffocating.
�I killed � killed him��
�No,� Raia protested, beginning to panic slightly at
the suddenly dazed look on his face. She had no idea what to do with this
hanyou boy who seemed so struck at the idea of having taken a life. Demons
never reacted like this, not even demon children. Was it his human blood that
was inciting such a reaction?
�In any case,
it didn�t look like Inuyasha had even heard her. He stared blankly at the large
stain of blood on the carpet and then his claws.
�Sesshoumaru-sama,� he
said softly, seemingly talking to himself. �Sesshoumaru-sama
will-�
�Will what?� came a deep
voice from behind him.
Inuyasha spun around, eyes landing on the demon Lord
standing quietly in the doorway.
Raia bowed her head in apology as Sesshoumaru walked
in. She should really have known better than to bring the hanyou here. It would
have been wiser to let the demon Lord do the explaining.
�Master,� Inuyasha said in the same blank tone,
hastily dropping to his knees and lowering his forehead to the ground.
Sesshoumaru walked over leisurely and came to a stop
in front of the kneeling Inuyasha.
�Gaeten did not die by your hands,� he stated
calmly. Inuyasha raised his head hesitantly, looking at the demon prince in
disbelief. The blank look in his eyes wavered.
�Gaeten received his just punishment by my hands for
being a traitor�and for attempting to harm what belongs to me.�
The calm, feelingless look
on Inuyasha�s face shattered and serene golden eyes were once again wide and
vulnerable. �B-but � but the blood-�
Sesshoumaru gestured for him to rise and Inuyasha
got shakily to his feet. �Gaeten attempted to kill you and your youkai fought
back.�
Inuyasha�s eyes grew impossibly wider. �Y-youkai? M-my youkai..?�
Though the slavers didn�t care about his monthly
transformations into a human, they had made sure his youkai would never come
close to the surface. They had told him that they had beaten the evil out of
him. And sure enough, his youkai had never once surfaced, even after all their
humiliations and torture and beatings.
A large hand landed gently on his face and Inuyasha
snapped out of his musings. Long, clawed fingers wrapped around his chin and
gently but firmly lifted his face up.
�Inuyasha,� Sesshoumaru whispered. �You are
shivering.�
The hanyou clenched his hands into fists and
realized they were indeed shaking. His fingers and toes felt cold and numb. The
demon Lord�s grip did not allow him to turn his face away but he lowered his
eyes. Sesshoumaru-sama had to witness his
unrestrained, untamed side�the worst side of him. He did not know what the
youkai had done but it was safe to say he had disrespected his master along
with destroying some of his most prized possessions. He would be lucky to get
away with his life.
�F-forgive me,� Inuyasha mumbled and heard his own
voice sound raspy and odd. �I have done nothing to deserve your mercy but-�
�No,� Sesshoumaru interrupted sharply and Inuyasha
flinched as if the demon Lord had struck him.
Inuyasha�s knees trembled and only the demon Lord�s
grip on him kept him upright.
�Never apologize when you have done nothing wrong,�
Inuyasha heard his Master say, and he slowly turned incredulous eyes to meet
the demon prince�s.
�Jaken and Gaeten were the ones at fault for
attacking you. You merely defended yourself.�
Inuyasha gasped. �I- but this
room. I did this��
A ghost of a smile reached the demon Lord�s lips. �Jaken� is going to
have a hard time paying for it.�
Inuyasha�s mouth fell open slightly. �Jaken-sama?�
�He and Gaeten were the ones who forced you to
defend yourself. Since Gaeten is dead, it falls upon Jaken to fulfil both their
dues.�
Still holding the hanyou�s chin in his grip,
Sesshoumaru�s thumb came to gently run over his slave�s cheek in a barely there
caress. Cold golden eyes softened imperceptibly.
�Did you think you would be punished for merely
defending yourself?�
A small whimper escaped Inuyasha�s throat. Defending
himself�yes, he might have died if his youkai hadn�t come to the fore. And he
really had no control over his youkai but-
�I�everything here was very valuable. It�s my
fault��
Sesshoumaru�s eyes turned hard again.
�And you,� he said, and his voice, that was suddenly
commanding, made Inuyasha raise his eyes up to reluctantly meet his master�s.
�Your life has no value?�
Inuyasha lowered his eyes. �N-not more than the- the
priceless stuff in this room�?�
�Inuyasha.�
The hanyou flinched at his quiet tone. Had he said
the wrong thing?
Inuyasha lowered his head. �Forgive me. My life�� he
took a deep breath. �My youkai � I�I destroyed something that was precious to
Master. My life is worth nothing in comparison. I wish I could promise that my
youkai will never come out again but � but I ca-can�t...ow!�
Inuyasha raised his hand to his hand slowly,
reaching for his stinging ear, unsure what had just happened.
�M-master flicked my ear.�
Sesshoumaru looked smug as he withdrew the clawed
fingers that had, indeed, flicked one quivering ear.
�That,� he said, �Was for saying my puppy is worthless.�
Inuyasha whimpered, rubbing his ear gingerly. That
had really hurt! �But I-�
�Your youkai only surfaces when your life is in
danger,� the demon Lord said. �You fought them to save your life. What happened
after was not your fault.
Inuyasha remained silent but he knew that wasn�t it.
His life had been in danger plenty of times before � from demons, from the
elements, from starvation � and his youkai had never once risen to the surface.
But something inside his chest loosened at the demon
Lord�s words. Not his fault�when was the last time anyone had told him that? It
wasn�t his fault. He � he had done something wrong, something which wasn�t
supposed to be done and he wasn�t being punished because- because it wasn�t his
fault all of this had started in the first place. The concept of someone
considering his intentions, not his actions, was so foreign to him that it took
time for the demon Lord�s logic to sink in.
Large golden eyes hesitantly searched the demon
Lord�s lighter, colder ones. �M-master is not going to send me away?�
For a moment, Inuyasha could have sworn he saw a
smile in the Lord�s eyes, though his lips had not moved, and then Sesshoumaru
turned away from them and moved towards an upturned table next to which, there
were the remains of an intricately carved sculpture.
�Well,� he replied, turning his back to Inuyasha and
Raia to look down regretfully at the remains of the beautiful sculpture, �I
always did like that sculpture...�
Tears welled up in Inuyasha�s eyes once again and
Raia glared at the demon Lord behind his back. Was it necessary for him to
tease the poor boy who was already so upset?
�I-I�m sorry,� Inuyasha whimpered. �I will��
�Why is this room not cleaned up yet?� a sharp female
voice demanded from the doorway.
Inuyasha bowed hastily to the floor as the Lady of
the West entered, looking distastefully around the room. Her scornful gaze
turned to one of curiosity as she took in the wreckage.
�Did you do this?� she asked the kneeling hanyou who
whimpered at being addressed by the scary lady.
�Y-yes, Tsukiko-sama,�
Inuyasha replied, keeping his forehead pressed tightly against the floor. He
wanted to tell her that he would do anything to try and make up for the damage
that he had caused but he could feel the imperious lady�s eyes burning a hole
in the back of his head and the words stuck in his throat. All that came out
was a piteous whimper.
His ears flickered slightly as he heard a distinct
sniff above him. �Hmm,� she said. �Impressive.�
Inuyasha looked up slowly, now fairly certain he
wasn�t going to get his head lopped off. Lady Tsukiko was staring amusedly at
her son.
�Sesshoumaru, stop sulking over
that inane sculpture. It was high time you got rid of
all this rubbish.�
Sesshoumaru turned to face his mother and glared.
�It was not rubbish.�
Inuyasha stared in surprise from the Lady to his
Master. Raia had her head bowed but she had raised a hand discreetly over her
mouth and Inuyasha had a sneaking suspicion that she was trying not to smile.
Sesshoumaru stuck his nose in the air regally and
turned away from his mother towards the window, silver hair falling gracefully
in place. �I happened to like it.�
The Lady of the West rolled her eyes. �Get someone
to clean this up immediately,� she ordered Raia, �And have the carpets replaced
as well. No matter what they claim, blood stains never completely come off of
those things.�
Raia bowed and hurried away and Tsukiko turned to
her son.
�You must leave immediately to finalize the boundaries
of those villages and towns.�
Sesshoumaru turned around sharply, all traces of
amusement gone, and nodded. His father had summoned him early that morning to
inform him that the village headmen and the heads of the towns, who had been
haggling about their boundaries had finally come to some sort of agreement and
Inu no Taisho had asked his son to go immediately and finalize it before they
changed their minds again.
�Come, Inuyasha,� Sesshoumaru ordered, heading
towards the door after bowing shortly to his mother.
Tsukiko stared after her retreating son and the
hanyou pup, who leapt up and stumbled after him
immediately.
Amused golden eyes once again took in the wreckage
that was the room, lingering over the light bloodstains on the walls where
Gaeten and Jaken had been slammed.
Perhaps hanyou weren�t such wastes of space after
all.
�Mother.�
Tsukiko turned around, to see Sesshoumaru smirking
from the doorway. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
�What?�
Her son had the cat-ate-the-canary expression on his
face.
�If any other servant had dared destroy the simplest
item in this House, you would have them punished severely.�
For a millisecond, Tsukiko froze and then looked
away haughtily.
�Well, the boy isn�t a-a person. He�s a puppy. So it
does not count.�
Sesshoumaru had his trademark evil grin on his face.
�Tsukiko-sama may be
developing a soft spot for a hanyou.�
Tsukiko turned around angrily but her son, who had
his self-preservation instinct highly developed, was already gone.
___________________________________________________________________________
It was late in the evening by the time Sesshoumaru
and Inuyasha made their way back to the castle.
Nothing more had been said about the disaster
Inuyasha had caused and the hanyou did not dare bring it up. He still could not
believe he had not been punished for what he had done. That still did not mean
he didn�t feel bad about it, but at least it did not look like Sesshoumaru-sama was going to send him away. Maybe later, if his Master
was in a good mood, Inuyasha would ask him about it.
The royal carriage made its way through a rough road
between fields and Inuyasha�s ears swivelled, flickering towards the source of
a disturbance. Faint sounds of shouting and cries could be heard from the
distance.
Inuyasha around in alarm as the demon Lord�s aura
darkened with anger.
__________________________________________________________________________________
�You worthless piece of shit, we can�t extend your
deadline anymore. I want my money NOW!�
The man who was on the ground clung to the heavier
man�s leg, whimpering, with tears streaming down his face, �Please I�ll give It to you as soon as I can. Take whatever you want but leave
Satoko alone. My wife�please
don�t.�
The man smirked and kicked out a few times, till the
other man was thrown off and he lay sobbing on the ground.
Another man came forward and placed a foot on his
neck, grinding down. �How many times have we done this, asshole? What the hell
do you take us for? I told you the last time that I want my money TODAY!�
�But I don�t have it!!� the man cried out. �Please, Satoko has nothing to do with this�please don�t��
The men laughed. One of them stepped inside the
house and came out holding a screaming woman by the wrist.
The man on the ground jumped to his feet and
launched himself at the man. But while he was thin and emaciated, the man
holding his wife was muscled and burly. The thug struck out on his chest with
one hand and sent the slighter man flying. He crumpled in a heap on the ground,
panting.
�Well,� sneered the thug, �It seems Satoko and I are gonna have some
fun after all.� He glanced at the terrified girl in his arms. �Look at your
husband over there, honey. Do you really want that little bitch who can�t even protect you? Now me on the other hand��
Satoko
glared at him with hate filled eyes. �Let me go!� she ordered, then her eyes softened as she looked at her husband�s prone
form. He was far too honourable; he would keep on fighting even if it killed
him �And my husband�please, please don�t do this��
The man raised an eyebrow at her. �That bastard
doesn�t have our money, doesn�t have anything valuable in the house except
you�what, do you expect us to just let him go for free?�
Satoko�s
eyes brimmed with tears, glancing despairingly at her husband. �I- we�ll repay
you as soon as we can, just please��
The other thug sighed. �I�m getting a little tired
of this, so lets� end this here....�
He pulled a weapon out of his waistband � a small,
but sturdy looking scythe � and raised it high over his head to strike the man,
smirking down at him, making sure his victim had plenty of time to see the
sharp blade descending over his head. He was in no hurry, after all. Even if
some straggling farmer saw them, which wasn�t likely, the poor bastard would be
too scared to do anything to a king�s soldier. Even if he did, out of some
foolish sense of bravery, it would be the easiest thing to take care of him. No
one noticed a couple of weak-ass peasants disappearing here and there.
He had all the time in the world.
�The slight
man closed his eyes, steeling himself for the blow. If this was how his life
was to come to an end, then so be it.
The man brought the weapon down with a cry, then cursed as his hand was arrested in mid
air.
�What the-� he began,
turning to look at whatever fool had dared to touch him. His face paled when he
realized who it was.�
�S-S-Sesshoumaru-sama��
the grip on his wrist tightened and he was spun around as easily as if he were
a doll.
�Did you intend to kill him?� the demon Lord asked
quietly.
The man looked away, heart beating a mile a minute.
�I- n-no��
He screamed as his arm was twisted and broken at the
elbow. �You would lie to your prince?� Sesshoumaru asked lightly.
His attention turned on the man holding Satoko as the woman whimpered.
�Let go of her,� he said, meeting his eyes. The man�s grip on her tightened for a moment. Sweat began to
form on his brow to have powerful golden eyes fixed on his. He released her and
Satoko ran to her husband, kneeling at his side.
The other men began to back away, preparing to flee.
�Stop,� Sesshoumaru ordered softly without turning
around. The men hesitated. One of them took one look at the fallen thug and
took off as fast as he could.
Sesshoumaru�s poison whip sliced him into three
pieces.
The others whimpered and promptly fell to their
knees. �Forgive us,� they cried as one. Sesshoumaru spared them a disdainful
glance and turned towards the man on the ground. He silently offered him a
hand.
The weakened, bruised man gasped, gaping up at him.
�S-Sesshoumaru-sama,� he said softly. �Is it- it is
really you��
When he failed to take the hand the prince had
offered him, Sesshoumaru grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet.
�It has been a long time�Hiro.�
________________________________________________________________________________
A few minutes later, Sesshoumaru and Hiro sat on a
rough bench in front of Hiro�s hut while Inuyasha sat at his Lord�s feet.
The rest of the thugs who had not resisted were tied
up by Jaken on Sesshoumaru�s orders and were now sitting on the ground,
bemoaning their fate and that of all days, they chose today to extort money
from the dweeb.
Satoko
returned from the hut with a tray with glasses of water on it.
�I- forgive me, I have nothing more to offer you, my
Lord,� Hiro said softly, embarrassed. Sesshoumaru took the offered glass
silently and turned his eyes back on his childhood friend.
While the boy had always been rather pale and
sickly, now he had become literally gaunt. His cheeks were stretched and his
eyes had sunk into his head. There were dark circles around them and they had
lost their sparkle. Sesshoumaru noticed he moved slowly and with difficulty,
distinctly favouring his left leg.
�What happened to you?� Sesshoumaru asked, �You look
ill.�
Hiro smiled, a small, sad
smile. �I don�t believe I have that many days left in me��
�Hiro!� his wife admonished. �Please don�t talk like
that.�
She turned to Sesshoumaru. �He does not allow his
body to recover, working day and night on the field. His health was not that
good to begin with and since those thugs started harassing us for the land, demanding
�protection�, he works day in and day out, trying to make enough money to
satisfy those monsters. I keep telling him that it�s no use, that the more
money he gives them, the more they�ll demand.�
Tears gathered in her eyes and she raised the sleeve
of her kimono against her mouth. �They�ll just keep harassing him, beating him
till he - till he��
She broke down into soft sobs and Hiro reached out
and took her hand in both of his. �I could not live with myself if I didn�t do
everything in my power to protect my wife and daughter. If it means kami-sama takes me a few years earlier, so be it but I worry
about them.� He glanced up at Satoko with eyes filled
with love and fear. �After I am gone��
�Hiro�� Satoko
interrupted, gently squeezing his shoulder.
Sesshoumaru�s eyes hardened with anger. Those thugs
were going to pay.
�Why are you here?� he asked, glancing around at the
small, almost untillable land. �I remember you planned
to apply for the post of a clerk in the treasury.�
�I did,� Hiro told him. �I worked for 2 years�and
then��
Sesshoumaru frowned. �And then what?�
Hiro hesitated, hands twitching in his lap. �I-�
�What happened?� Sesshoumaru asked.
�T-there were�some of people who worked just above
me offered me a bribe�they wanted me to participate in an embezzlement scheme.
I refused and�� he made a half- hearted gesture. �Well, here I am.�
�There are corrupt officers in the treasury?� he
asked quietly, his soft voice not betraying his anger at the way the boy had
been treated.
Hiro looked down and said nothing.
�Why did you not come to me?� he asked.
Hiro looked up at the prince in surprise. �I- I
couldn�t trouble you with my petty problems,� he said. �I came back to my
family farm and took over after my father passed away. I and Satoko were doing fine till�till about 6 years ago, these
soldiers began to ask for money for protection.�
�Soldiers?�
Sesshoumaru asked. �Those vermin are soldiers in the royal army?�
Hiro nodded. �Foot soldiers�or- or guards, I think.�
�I told him we should leave the land,� Satoko put in, �but our daughter is still young and we had
nowhere else to go. We�we asked her to go over to my sister�s house for� a few days till
things calmed down here.�
Hiro stared at the ground, seemingly debating
something. Finally, he glanced up at the demon Lord. �Sesshoumaru-sama?� he said hesitantly.
The demon Lord turned his eyes back on him.
�I- I have a favour to ask of you.� He took a deep
breath. �After I am gone, could you see to it that Satoko
and my daughter are taken care of?�
Sesshoumaru�s eyes hardened and Hiro flushed. �I- I
know it may be too much to ask of you, prince but please I- I have nowhere
else-�
�Hiro,� Sesshoumaru interrupted and the other man
stopped at the quiet command. �You and your family will accompany me to the
castle now. I will make sure you get a deserving post and your family will be
housed in the castle along with the other palace employees.�
Satoko
gasped and Hiro looked up with a start. �N-no my prince that is too much I-�
�Hiro,� Sesshoumaru said, eyes softening. �You did
not deem fit to come to me for your troubles. I see you do not abide by the
bonds of our friendship so this is an order from your prince.�
He glanced up at Satoko
and then back at Hiro. �You are coming with me.�
Satoko
let out a little exclamation and bowed low to the demon Lord. Hiro stared at
him for a long moment. Then he bowed his head and slowly slid off the bench. He
got on his knees and knelt on the ground, bowing his head but before he could
touch his head to the ground, strong hands caught him by the arms and raised
him up.
He straightened, trembling, because Sesshoumaru�s
grip would not allow him to bow. Tears fell from his eyes and he kept his head
bowed. �Thank you,� he said, voice shaking with emotion. �I don�t know how
I�ll-�
�Hiro,� Sesshoumaru interrupted. The man looked up
hesitantly.
There was a slight smile on Sesshoumaru�s lips.
�Shut up.�
________________________________________________________________________________
Once they were back at the castle, Sesshoumaru took
him to Miroku. The prince had left a couple of trusted servants behind,
informing them to bring the daughter to the castle once she returned. Hiro and
his wife had protested but it did not seem wise to let Hiro go untreated for
much longer.
Miroku cleaned and bandaged his injuries that he had
received from being smacked around by the thugs. He asked the demon Lord and
Inuyasha to wait outside while he spoke with Hiro and his wife.
A few minutes later, Miroku emerged from his office.
�There is nothing seriously wrong with him,� he told
Sesshoumaru. �His body has suffered because of overworking, not having enough
nutrition and constant stress. He needs to relax for a period of time, mentally
and physically. He�s alright now, but any further stress could be very dangerous.
Is that alright, Hiro-san?�
Hiro didn�t meet the monk�s eyes. �I- I�m afraid I
can�t do that, Miroku-sama. I don�t have any money to
fall back on and Sesshoumaru-sama was generous enough
to give me a job at the palace. I�ll work hard and-�
�You will do nothing of the kind,� Sesshoumaru cut
in smoothly. �I will make sure the work is not strenuous. And you will start
the job only once these injuries have healed. How long will that take, Miroku?�
Miroku caught his eye and understood what he was
implying. �It will take at least a 3-4 weeks,� he said
with a straight face. �Even if the wounds heal superficially within a few days,
it will take at least 4 weeks before I can say they have completely healed.�
Hiro looked from Miroku to Sesshoumaru, frowning. �That�s
really not necessary. I can�t-�
�It�s not an option,� Sesshoumaru said sternly. �I
cannot have castle employees� health in jeopardy. If Miroku thinks you need 4
weeks to recover, then you will take up work after 4 weeks.�
�Miroku-sama, please, I
know you are saying this to get me to rest but-� he began, turning pleadingly
towards him.
Miroku shook his head solemnly. �I�m sorry, there�s
nothing I can do.�
Hiro quieted down sullenly, glancing up discreetly
at the expressionless countenance of the prince who had, once before, forced
him out of his solitude and lonely life.
It seemed some things never changed.
___________________________________________________________________________
The thugs who had been harassing Hiro were held
captive in the dungeon, awaiting punishment. The one with the broken arm sat
propped up against the dungeon wall, groaning quietly. The others were shackled
hands and feet. Some tried to sleep or were too depressed to speak but two of
them were awake. News of Gaeten's execution had travelled quickly through the
lands and right now, the money they had gotten out of the farmers did not seem
worth it.
"We should never have agreed," whispered
one of them to the other shackled next to him. "Sesshoumaru-sama has no mercy for traitors and that scrawny wimp seemed
to be a friend of him." He sighed. "We're screwed."
"How were we to know that the prince would
appear there?" the other whispered back fiercely, arms already beginning
to ache from the weight of the shackles. "He hasn't travelled that way in
years."
His friend groaned in despair. "We're going to
die here. This would never have happened if he hadn't put us up to it.
If it wasn't for him, we would never even have thought of-"
"That's not the worst of it," the other
prisoner replied. "If they decide to torture us for the name of the person
who put us up to this-"
The other man cursed sharply. "T-they can't.
They don't know anything about anyone else being involved. The-they think we
were just greedy�right?'
His friend shrugged,
shackles and chains clanging loudly in the dark, quiet dungeon. "I am more
afraid of him than of anything Sesshoumaru-sama
would do to us."
The first man made a sharp disagreeing noise.
"Sesshoumaru-sama would be no less cruel. Even
if-"
"Shut up," the other ordered hoarsely,
"If we betray his name to anyone at the royal palace, Naraku-sama's wrath will be worse than execution."
___________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Review please! ^.^
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