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The Tale of the Demon Lord	By : Arianawray Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 56279 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
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V: Strategic Thinking
Much to Inuyasha's surprise, Jaken proved to be a competent tutor. During their first lesson, he taught Inuyasha some of the finer points of calligraphy, tested his reading and letter-writing skills, and introduced him to the principles of statecraft and leadership, which he believed a prince ought to be schooled in.
Despite his grating voice, shortness of temper and clumsiness of movement, the little green demon was mentally sharp enough to impart knowledge, and shrewd enough to know how to cope with the half-demon prince's mercurial personality. He was so loyal to Sesshomaru that he took his word as unquestionable law, and thus looked upon the demon lord's entrusting of his precious half-brother's education to him as a great honour, a charge that he would do his utmost to fulfil.
He was also unexpectedly discreet, despite his long-windedness. He asked no questions about Inuyasha's past, or his present relationship with his brother, nor did he make insinuations or speculative comments about Sesshomaru's motives for bringing Inuyasha back to the castle.
Once the half-demon discovered that the kappa bore him no ill-will, he decided that there was no need to wear a mask around this fellow, and settled down well enough to his first day's lessons. He was a bright lad who had been well-educated by his mother while she had lived, and was a quick learner. However, he was also mischievous by nature and tormented the kappa all morning with his cheeky questions and his considerable arsenal of practical jokes and rude vocabulary – which he had honed while living all those years alone after his mother's death.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, marking the end of the morning, they were both relieved that study time was over, although each quietly concluded that much could be achieved through these lessons in time to come.
Freed at last from the library, Inuyasha leaped easily from its front balcony into one of the landscaped gardens below, not bothering to use the stairs despite Jaken's squawks of protest that it was unbecoming of a prince – even a strong half-demon fully capable of far more spectacular stunts – to jump about like a wild animal. He ignored his tutor's grumbling, dashed through the garden, and disappeared.
He had asked Jaken earlier where he was allowed to go, and the kappa had replied: "Your Highness, all the castle staff have been informed that you are to be given as much freedom within these grounds as Lord Sesshomaru himself enjoys. You may go wherever you please, as long as you do not leave the grounds without his express permission."
So Inuyasha shot off like a bird released from a cage, and began to explore the place that he had rarely dared wander about in for too long at a time when he was a child, as the spiteful demon servants and their children were always lying in wait for him, to bully and hurt him. But no one troubled him now. Apart from a few dirty looks from the old-timers, everything felt different outdoors, and all the newer servants he came across as he wandered through the grounds acknowledged him respectfully without exception.
To the casual onlooker, he was simply discovering all that the castle and its sprawling gardens, ponds and rockeries had to offer; but a more canny observer would have seen that he was scouting the perimeter of the castle itself to see where the guards were posted, and glancing over the grounds to determine where security might be highest or lowest along the high-walled boundaries of its territory.
The guards' barracks, and the stables for the dragons and flying steeds, stood at one end of the grounds, while the quarters of the servants who were mostly engaged in outdoor work stood at another end, alongside the living and working quarters of other employees who did not need to live within the castle proper. A separate structure, rectangular, fairly imposing, and not too far from the castle, was the place where Inuyasha remembered that Sesshomaru held meetings with his ministers and political staff, most of whom travelled to these grounds from their own homes scattered throughout the kingdom as and when required.
The massive castle dominated the central raised ground, with one large wing for the rooms of the kitchen, housekeeping and laundry staff, and another for the rooms of the security and administration personnel. A grander wing was set aside for rooms meant to house important visitors, while an inner wing housed the servants and medical staff who were trusted, trained and qualified to personally attend to the ruling family or their guests.
The most secure wing, heavily guarded inside and out by the best sentries, was for the demon lord and his family. Inuyasha and his mother had slept in its rooms before; his father's room had been there too when he was alive; and of course Sesshomaru – and his mother, when she had resided here – had also lived there. Guards were posted under the windows of his chambers and Sesshomaru's, the only windows left open in that wing, as those rooms alone currently had regular occupants.
He had seen the guards far below when he had peered out of his own window the night before, and he could see a new set there now, and other guards on the roof, making certain that nothing and no one flew, crept or broke into the personal sanctuaries of their lord and his brother – or left without permission.
He could not escape from his brother yet, not while he was still a new and amusing object to him. But he was looking to the future, to a time when Sesshomaru might grow bored with him. At such a time, he might not react so quickly or angrily if Inuyasha left, and he might have enough time to warn his friends in the village to hide until the demon lord's anger had passed.
He would observe how things worked in and around the castle now, so that when the time was right, he would be able to slip out unnoticed. But not now. Not yet.
His head drooped as he turned away from the gardens in the late afternoon and directed his footsteps toward the castle, for that was where he would have to endure Sesshomaru's attentions for as long as he must, until the demon lord tired of his new toy.
As he still had a few hours before dinner, he explored the inside of the castle too, wandering from room to room and surprising a number of servants by walking in on them without warning as they worked. Sentries stood at various doorways and along certain corridors, but none stopped him from going wherever he wanted to.
He turned a corner and padded on his soft boots down a passageway within the security and administration wing, guarded but quieter than other parts of the castle near it, and entered one of the rooms to suddenly find himself in Sesshomaru's presence. The demon lord was looking over documents at a desk near the wall on his right. As he raised his eyes at his brother's entrance, Inuyasha made a quick bow in apology for having disturbed him, and turned to leave.
But Sesshomaru called him back before he could take a step in retreat: "Inuyasha. Come in."
Reluctantly, he moved deeper into the room which he now saw was an office, but so elegantly furnished that anyone who gave it the briefest of glances would know it was used by the demon lord himself.
"Have you had your midday meal?" Sesshomaru asked.
"No, my lord," Inuyasha replied, as the guards were just outside the door, and Sesshomaru had only said he should address him by his name when they were alone.
But his brother came around his desk, tipped up his chin with his hand, and said to him: "You need address me as your lord only in the presence of guests, or the representatives and ambassadors of other tribes who come on official business. Not because it feeds my pride, but because formal situations require it."
"Yes, Sesshomaru," he answered, sufficiently mastering his feelings enough to accept the touch without flinching.
"Why haven't you eaten?" his brother asked, lowering his hand to his side. "The housekeeping staff told me that you ordered nothing from the kitchens."
"I wasn't hungry." It was not the truth, as his tummy had been growling after his lessons with Jaken, but he had been too busy scoping out the grounds. He could hardly say that, however.
"Have some fruit," Sesshomaru said, drawing a plate spilling over with purple grapes across the surface of the desk towards them.
"No, thank you. I can wait for dinner."
"Come now, you could do with something," Sesshomaru insisted, separating a small cluster from the main bunch, severing the stalk easily with his claws.
As Inuyasha hesitated, Sesshomaru plucked off one large, deep-hued, perfectly round grape and held it before the half-demon's lips until he opened his mouth and took the fruit between his teeth, carefully, trying not to make contact with Sesshomaru's fingers, although he could not stop him from stroking his lower lip with his thumb as he released the grape.
He bit down on the ripe, firm sphere in his mouth, and the juices burst over his tongue. It was good – the best of its kind, as the demon lord would expect from everything served to him. The flesh was sweet and the skin crunched with firm succulence as he chewed on it and pushed the pips towards his front teeth with the tip of his tongue.
Sesshomaru held out his hand under Inuyasha's chin. The younger of the two looked up at the elder, eyes widening, then shook his head to say that no, he would not spit out the seeds into his lord and brother's hand. But Sesshomaru inclined his head a little more while raising his eyebrows a fraction to communicate the message that he was still waiting. So with not a little disbelief, Inuyasha worked the pips out of his mouth with his tongue and lips and dropped them into Sesshomaru's open palm.
The demon lord turned his hand over an empty, polished wooden bowl beside the plate of grapes, and let the seeds fall into it. Then he asked Inuyasha: "Have another?"
But the half-demon had had quite enough of this peculiar situation, and declined firmly. "No thank you. Please may I go?" he asked. "I should wash up before dinner."
"Certainly. Natsumi probably has your bath ready by now."
He wanted to turn and run, but he forced himself to take his leave with a little bow, and to walk out of the office instead of sprinting away like an ungoverned child.
Jaken had told him in the course of the morning that Sesshomaru spent most of his days either in meetings with his ministers, or working privately in the office on correspondence with other demon tribes, which had appointed new chiefs and pledged their allegiance to him after he and their father had destroyed all the leaders and lords who had gathered against them two hundred years ago. He had the responsibility of settling disputes between the tribes, keeping potential large-scale disturbances from erupting, ensuring that his own territories were not encroached upon by bandits or hostile armies, and looking over the reports of his treasurers to confirm that all the tribute owed to him by the clans living within his lands and by tribes who looked to him for protection was paid on time and not filched by corrupt officials lower down the line.
Jaken had made it plain that Sesshomaru was busy enough, and delegated too little work to others, so Inuyasha was disturbed that he would take even that much time out to feed him grapes. It unnerved him. If Sesshomaru wouldn't keep his distance from him when he was supposed to be working, he could imagine how much worse the nights to come would be, if he chose to let off steam by having what he regarded as fun with his half-demon plaything.
Once he was back in his room, he took a quick look inside the chest where Natsumi had stored his fire rat robe, just to make sure it was still there, even though he knew that no one in the castle would dare to steal it, and the guards would not have permitted anyone other than Sesshomaru, Natsumi or himself to open any of the cabinets, drawers or chests.
Natsumi was setting out the things he would need in his bathroom, and once again asked him if he wished her to serve him during his bath.
In response to her query, he asked: "Do I look like a pervert to you?"
Natsumi bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling. "No, Your Highness. But it is common for Lord Sesshomaru to be attended by his personal servants as he bathes, except on occasions when he wants time and space to think, so I thought you might wish the same."
"Well, I'm not like him."
Although he had never actually seen his brother bathing before last night, Inuyasha remembered from his childhood what information his nose and ears had conveyed to him whenever Sesshomaru had had his daily baths in those days, information supplemented by overheard gossip. His royal brother had always been attended by a troupe of servants, male and female, and he had used any or all of them as he had pleased. They washed him right down to the most intimate places, and when the urge took him – as it often did – he would have them pleasure him, or would do the most extraordinary things to them merely to show that he had power over them, and could control others' bodies in ways that required skill, discipline and strength.
"I will not serve you during your baths if you do not choose it, Your Highness," Natsumi said. "But if you wish me to help you wash your hair, I can do so whenever you want."
"Did you ever attend my brother during his baths?"
"Yes, until recently."
"Did he… do things to you?"
"If by 'things' Your Highness means acts of a sexual nature, then yes, he used to," Natsumi said, lowering her voice. "However, in the last fifty years, Lord Sesshomaru has not demanded much from his servants or his lovers either in his bathroom or his bedroom. He was too preoccupied with searching for you, Your Highness."
Inuyasha's heart sank. Did that mean he would now be expected to make up for those fifty years of relative deprivation all by himself? He groaned and walked into the bathroom, leaving Natsumi to hover near the doorway, just out of sight, to ensure that she would be close by if he needed anything.
He slipped into the perfectly hot water into which Natsumi had sprinkled cleansing herbs and petals for scenting the bath and his skin, and soaked himself in it to relax his limbs, scooping a few handfuls over his head to rinse his hair. He sat in there until she called out to him that it would soon be dinner time, so he should come out and get dressed.
She had set out fresh clothing for him in shades of white and gold, cut from a warmer fabric for evening, but of a simpler design as no guests were expected in the castle.
"Did he choose this too?" Inuyasha asked her.
"Yes, Your Highness. But Lord Sesshomaru has not made any further selections of clothing for you. He has instructed me to help you decide what you want to wear from tomorrow onwards."
"But everything in the wardrobe was chosen by him."
"Yes, Your Highness, although Lord Sesshomaru has also said that if you want anything else made, you may order any fabrics you want and have them tailored to your liking."
He thought that idea absurd, because the wardrobe was already bursting with clothes, and if he managed to make his escape early enough, he wouldn't get through so much as a third of them. What did Sesshomaru think he was? A doll he could dress up as he pleased?
His shoulders sagged as it occurred to him that if Sesshomaru really wanted to treat him like a doll and dress him up, he would be able to do exactly that, without meaningful opposition.
Natsumi saw him deflate, but did not dare to ask why. So she dried and combed his hair and helped him to dress, mostly in silence, before he went to the dining hall for dinner.
Again, Sesshomaru eyed him as he entered, but unlike at breakfast, he did not try to touch him, nor did he say much to him. Servants came and went from the table constantly throughout their meal, bringing messages and letters, and Inuyasha gathered that something of a political nature had cropped up that needed the demon lord's immediate attention.
"I must deal with this," Sesshomaru said to Inuyasha, crumpling up a note in his hand. "I shall see you later tonight."
He left Inuyasha to finish his excellent meal of rare steak, which he did at his leisure, before returning to his room to await his brother's summons.
The message came soon enough, conveyed to Natsumi through one of the demon lord's personal servants: Sesshomaru was still occupied with his work, but His Highness the lord's brother was to go to his chambers in two hours' time.
Inuyasha shrugged when he got the message, but he was in fact tense, as he wondered what he would have to endure tonight, when last night had been humiliating enough. Natsumi set a large sandglass on its end to help him keep track of the time, then asked if he needed anything more. He said no, so she withdrew to her own quarters.
Left alone, he wandered about his room, opening cabinets and chests to see what was in them. Besides the generous quantity of clothing and accessories he had previously seen, he found some bed linen, fine stationery, skin and hair oils, and tortoiseshell combs, as well as a host of miscellaneous but well-made items. Displayed on various pieces of furniture were ornaments and works of art like jade figurines and porcelain vases.
He felt like smashing the lot, but that could wait till it was safe for him to run away. Then he would leave a trail of broken, ridiculously expensive stuff all over the floor of this room, and piss over it too, as a memento to his perverted brother.
For now, though, he was required to please him – in any way he demanded. Although… there was nothing to say that he couldn't start finding ways to behave badly while obeying Sesshomaru in the main, was there? He just needed to think about how to approach this…
He found, however, that dreaming up strategies was draining. Tired after his long day, and sleepy from the large amount of steak he had consumed, he sat on the edge of his bed trying to think, but growing drowsier by the minute as he waited for the two hours to pass. Soon, he slipped off his boots and lay down on his side, curling up against his pillows and drawing up his sock-clad feet.
Later – too much later – he shot upright as his unconscious mind warned him that he had overslept, and that since receiving the message from Sesshomaru, he had been in his room not for two hours but possibly three. His eyes flew open as he sat up, only to see Sesshomaru standing in front of him, towering over his bed, gazing down at him out of a pair of unreadable golden eyes set in an impassive face.
Inuyasha was furious with himself – that he would do something as stupid as doze off and oversleep right after reminding himself that he needed to please Sesshomaru until he had found a good way to get back at him or get away. Dazed with sleep and light-headed from sitting up so suddenly, he jumped to his feet and swayed for a second as he lowered his eyes and blurted out: "I'm sorry – I fell asleep. I–"
Standing there with his head bowed, he could not look into Sesshomaru's face, and the demon lord remained silent for a long time. But at last he spoke, to give the order: "Go to my room now."
Inuyasha hurried out of his room and padded down the passageway in his white-socked feet to Sesshomaru's chambers. He could sense his brother walking at a slower pace behind him, and felt his eyes burning into his back every step of the way.
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The Tale of the Demon Lord