Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Nobody's Bitch but Mine	By : kittenchild Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 11768 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and do not profit from the writing of this story

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Chapter Five:
Kouga stared hard at the youth who burst through the door, pearly whites flashing in a shit-eating grin. His copper hair was long and pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. In human years he appeared to be nineteen years old, and just starting to grow into his long limbs and fill out a bit more. In a hundred years or so he would make for an impressive demon. It was the mischievous look in his long lashed green eyes, as well as a long white tipped fox tail, that allowed Kouga to recognize the scamp.
“Shippo? What are you doing here?”
Had Sesshoumaru taken the runt prisoner too? Or… a spark of hope flared in his chest. What if the kitsune was here to rescue him? Shippo shut the door quietly behind him, an impish sort of smirk on his lips.
“Sesshoumaru will be here in a minute, but I just wanted to check on you to make sure he wasn’t torturing you or nothin’. You okay?”
Kouga jerked fiercely at the chains that bound him to the bed. The metallic clang rattled through the spacious chamber.
“Does it LOOK like I’m okay?!” Kouga growled impatiently.
Shippo cocked his head to the side, studying Kouga’s prone form.
“Actually, the chains aside, it kinda looks like you are. Fine, that is.”
Kouga sighed impatiently, his frustration mounting.
“Are you gonna let me out of these things or not, Shippo?”
The kitsune shoved his hands in his pockets as a rather sheepish look crossed his face.
“Well, when I first got here that’s exactly what I was planning on doing. Your wolves asked me to find you, so…”
“So…what?” Kouga growled softly.
Shippo cleared his throat.
“Well, so I found you, I just, uh, wasn’t aware that you were, uh, you see I-“ he stammered. “I can’t bust you out now that Sesshoumaru’s claimed you.”
“Why the hell not!?” Kouga shouted, feeling the hard bite of iron cutting into his skin as he struggled.
“Cuz’ I’m not suicidal is why! Do you have any idea what Uncle Sess would do to me if I busted you out? I mean, if you were dyin’ or somethin’ well, that’d be a different story. But you look good. Healthy, even.”
Kouga growled his frustration low in his throat. The kitsune could very well be his last chance at freedom, and the little punk was backing out on him. Not that he could blame the kid, no one wanted to make an enemy of Sesshoumaru. A sigh of defeat left him then, and he raised his burning colbalt gaze to Shippo’s guilty eyes.
“Don’t you dare tell my pack about…this.” Kouga warned the fox demon. “When I am freed, I will tell them myself. Just let them know I am fine, and will be returning home shortly.”
Shippo nodded his head. “Yeah, I can do that.”
Shippo cocked his head to the side, his green eyes both curious and perceptive. “You know, I think he’s right.” He mumbled.
Kouga flashed his fangs in a snarl. “What the hell are you talking about runt?”
Shippo gave a sheepish shrug.
“Well…I can’t help but notice…I mean, you look better…but you also smell better. Cleaner. You smell…right.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? What had Sesshoumaru said to the kitsune? Before Kouga could formulate a response to that particularly odd nugget of a comment, the door to the bed chamber burst open with a powerful crack. Both Kouga and Shippo flinched as wood splinters flew through the room.
“Oh, shit.” Shippo squeaked, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fear. Kouga didn’t blame the kid. Standing in the doorway to the master chamber was none other than Sesshoumaru himself. If that wasn’t enough to incite terror into the heart of anyone, then the hot glowing red eyes and elongated fangs certainly would have done the trick.
“Shippo.” The word came out hard as gravel, and sharp as cut glass.
The kitsune in question raised his hands in a placating gesture.
“I-It’s not what it looks like, I swear. I was uh, just leaving.”
Sesshoumaru took a step into the room, and even Kouga swore he could feel the burn of the Tai youkai’s anger threading through the room in waves. There was a righteous fury burning hot in Sesshoumaru’s eyes. The last time Kouga had seen that look he had wound up with a pair of poisonous claws delved deep into his chest.
Shippo gulped as he began to back away from the threat of a barely controlled demon. He was, Kouga couldn’t help but notice, putting more distance between himself and the bed. What had the kit done to deserve this rage? Was it the mere fact that he stood in the same room as Kouga? Or was it something else entirely?
“One reason, kitsune. Just one. Now.” The words were short and halting; as if it pained the demon lord to even utter them.
“Uh...well…because…I was just leaving? And…we’re kind of related? Imagine how awkward this is gonna make the family reunions. And…if you kill me, my blood will stain your rugs. Do you know how hard it is to get a bloodstain out of a carpet?”
Sesshoumaru took a menacing step toward the boy.
“Look! I’m sorry okay! I didn’t even touch him!”
“Not good enough, boy.” Just as it appeared that Sesshoumaru was getting ready to lunge, and Shippo was on the verge of wetting himself, a green brown blur streaked through the room.
“Milord! Milord!” the blob squealed in a rather high pitched and ear piercing wail that had every demon in the room wincing in pain.
“Not. Now. Jaken.” Sesshoumaru growled in a tone that broke no argument.
Jaken? How was that slimy little kiss ass still alive?
“B-But Milord I must-“
“Jaken!” Sesshoumaru snarled, his blood red eyes never leaving Shippo’s rapidly paling face.
“Now is not the time.”
Shippo’s eyes swept the room, landing on a rather bedraggled and panic stricken toad demon.
“You know what? I think there’s never been a better time!” Shippo squeaked. “Go on Jaken, we’re all ears!”
Sesshoumaru growled low in his throat as Jaken exploded into rapid fire chatter.
“The village Milord! It’s under attack! Mountain Lion demons, slaughtering the humans. Rin’s family-“
Sesshoumaru’s head swiveled slowly towards his servant in that freeze frame sort of motion that only a predator can possess.
“What did you say?”
Jaken waved his arms in the air, his face stricken. It was then that Kouga noticed the soot and the blood that stained the lackey’s simple robes.
“The Village is under attack Milord! They’re killing everything in sight, burning it to the ground! I-I tried to get the children-“
One minute Sesshoumaru had been standing, posed to lunge at Shippo’s throat, and in the next he was gone.
Silence filled the chamber, one so thick and poignant that Kouga swore he could hear the sound of his heart beating in his chest, the soft shocked whisper of his breath past his lips.
“Wow…that was close.” Shippo mumbled, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. Talk about pissed off, he was getting ready to tear me a new one. I’ve never seen Uncle Sess so mad. Not even the time I dyed his tail hot pink with purple polka dots.
“Tail?”
“Boa, whatever the hell that thing is…”
“Hot pink?”
“I was young, and just learning my kitsune magic. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Are you suicidal?”
“Nope. Just rambunctious.” Shippo flashed Kouga a cheeky grin. “Suicidal was telling him I did it because he was pretty.”
How had Sesshoumaru not killed this kid? Kouga had to wonder. He was surprised that the boy was still standing. Shippo must have seen the question in Kouga’s eyes, because he shrugged his slight shoulders with a nonchalance that only the truly young at heart could possess.
“I changed it back. And then spent three days in the dungeon for it. To be honest though, it was totally worth it. Sometimes Sess takes himself waaaaaay too seriously. Speaking of which, I better go help him. That village means a lot to him. I feel bad for the bastards who attacked it.”
With a cheeky salute and a wink Shippo ran off, hot on the irate demon lord’s tail.

“Great. Terrific.” Kouga sighed, rattling that chains that bound him to the bed. His last shot at freedom had just bolted from the room, leaving him alone to his thoughts and helpless anger.

The putrid smell of blood mixed with the thick, almost acrid, smell of burnt flesh and wood smoke filled Sesshoumaru’s nostrils even before he reached the small village. No more than two miles from his fortress, the village had been a peaceful place, nestled within the heart of his land. He had founded it not so long ago, when Rin had first met her mate. The village had been made up mainly of human refugees who had lost their homes and their families to the war of Naraku. That evil bastard had devastated the land, he and his demon army. No one had been safe from his lust for power and death, not even the humans, poor pathetic creatures that they were.
He still remembered the day his Rin came home, her face a mixture of delight and shy nerves.
“I’ve met someone, Sesshoumaru-sama.”
He closed his eyes, remembering the sharp jab of pain that those words had brought him. He’d known that one day his ward would have to leave him, to go and live with her own kind. A part of him, however, had hoped that she would chose to stay with him. To allow him to protect he war, to care for her.
Who else would bring him bouquets of wild flowers? Who else would skip down the vast corridors of his home, singing in that high pure voice while his loyal (and excessively annoying servant) followed at her heels and berated her for it?
It had been a hard decision to make, to let his ward go. And though he had never admitted his feelings for her to any creature, not even his ward herself, Rin had known. When he had nodded his assent she had flown into his stiff arms and landed a soft, butterfly kiss upon his cheek.
“Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama. For everything.”
Of course had had looked into this Hori character. The man had been a poor blacksmith, living in nothing more than a hovel, in a village that had been all but decimated by Naraku’s war. It was then that Sesshoumaru had decided to found Hollow Haven. After all, no ward of his was going to live in such dire conditions. Hori made his Rin happy, it was up to Sesshoumaru to make sure their life together was a comfortable one.
So he had created the village, sending out word to the humans in neighboring towns that they were welcome to dwell upon his land, under the protection of Sesshoumaru himself. The response had been enormous. Nearly two hundred humans had shown up on his doorstep, their clothes worn and stained, their faced dirt streaked and weary. But it was their eyes that had gotten to him. From toddlers to old men and women, their eyes had told the tale of their suffering and hunger, perhaps more than their gaunt and dirty faces. But their eyes had also shone bright with hope…in an almost desperate way.
Sesshoumaru had not been able to turn them away. Not because he was a particularly caring creature, or even really compassionate. It was the way his ward had looked at him, pride and love shining bright in her eyes.
“You are a good, wonderful person, Lord Sesshoumaru.”
Rin had known that Sesshoumaru detested her kind. And yet…he had allowed nearly two hundred humans to step foot on his land, offering them a form of protection that went un-heard of in that time.
And so Hollow Haven had been built. Homes had risen from the ground, shops and markets filled a once quiet clearing. Trees had been felled and the land leveled to make way for what would become a bustling village. And though it had irked Sesshoumaru to no end that so many humans lived and dwelled no more than two miles from his home…the light of happiness and love that had shone so bright in his ward’s eyes had made it worth it.
His Rin was long gone. Her death had been a quiet and peaceful one, surrounded by both family and friends. And Sesshoumaru? Though he rarely made a visit to Hollow Haven, he still patrolled the outskirts of the village. Rin’s family, a bustling group ranging from all ages, still dwelled there. And he had promised, long ago, to protect them from harm.
That thought brought him back to the present. His promise had been broken. The village was under attack and he had not been there to defend his humans.
A savage growl ripped through hum, thundering through hi lands with an ominous clarity. ‘The fools who have done this will pay.’
It was only a moment later that Sesshoumaru burst through the woods and into the village. His glowed a hot pulsing red, and a roar of fury escaped his throat at the sight of what had once been Hollow Haven.
The homes and fields had been burnt to ashes, black smoldering beams stuck up from the ground like charred and broken bones.
Bodies lay in the streets, faces twisted in horror and streaked with blood. Thick, billowing smoke raged up toward the sky, filling Sesshoumaru’s sensitive nose with the smell of burnt flesh. There was an overwhelming scent of terror in the air, laying like a thick fog over the once peaceful village.
If there were survivors, they had long since fled. And those who had caused the damage? They were long gone as well…the cowards. Beneath the acrid coppery smell of blood, which ran like fine little rivers across the scorched and broken earth, was the undeniable scent of Cat.
Sesshoumaru snarled, making his way down the street, the fires still burning and feeding hot on either side of him.
The village had been destroyed, and with it? His ward’s legacy. Something tore inside of him then. Something so sharp and painful that it sent a blood curdling roar tearing past his lips. It echoed through the land, a sound of soul wrenching pain and anger. Lord Sesshoumaru, the stoic and often deemed unemotional Lord of the Western Lands had lost something very important to him this day. In the destruction of this village and its people, he had well and truly lost all there was left of his Rin.
He didn’t know how long he stood in the center of Hollow Haven, surrounded by death and fire, but a firm hand was eventually placed on his shoulder.
“Shit Sesshoumaru,” Shippo’s young voice came to him on a pained whisper. “I am so sorry.”
Sesshoumaru said nothing. After all, what was there really to say? He had failed these people. He had failed them so horribly that he wasn’t sure if he would ever recover from it. Most importantly, he had failed Rin.
“Were there any survivors?”
“They are all dead.”
Silence, save for the soft crackle of dying flames, filled their ears. Shippo heaved a sigh, and shook his head.
“I’m going t go look around, to make sure…”he trailed off, unsure of what to say.
And then the whelp was gone, calling out through the wreckage, hoping to find someone, anyone, who was in need of aid.
Sesshoumaru turned away, his stomach sick with grief that he refused to show. The time, he knew, would come when he would track down the bastard demons who had done this, leave their entrails dangling like garnishes from the tree tops and set their heads upon spikes outside his castle walls. But not now. No, more than anything, Sesshoumaru needed to be alone.
So he set down the path of the village, heading in a direction that he knew by heart. Perhaps it was fate that pushed him along the path, or perhaps it was something else like a need to wallow in his misery. It didn’t take him long, in either case, to reach his destination. Located towards the outskirts of the village was the destroyed home that had once belonged to his ward. The wooden structure had caved in on itself. The rooftop, made of long grasses, still smoldered and crackled from the fire that had eaten away most of the support beams. This home, perhaps, had been the least damaged by the attack. Yet the evidence of violence and destruction was still plain to see.
A young man, no more than thirty years old, lay face down in the dirt outside of the home. Rin’s grandson. Hori, named after his grandfather. He had been all but beheaded, his clothing in ragged strips as his ravaged body lay face down in a pool of his own blood. Besides him, her small arm resting across his back, was his wife Anya. She too had been nearly beheaded in the attack. Her simple gown had been torn and muddied, the skin beneath ripped to shreds by callous claws. Pain squeezed anew in Sesshoumaru’s heart as he fingered Tensaiga’s hilt. These two were too damaged to be revived. The bastards had seen to that.
His eyes flew to the doorway of the home, which was now tilting precariously on its side. There, a young boy, Hori’s first born son (or what was left of him), lay slumped against the frame. His wide, terrified eyes rested gruesomely in his lap. His bloodied hands still gripped a hunting knife. It appeared that he had been trying to protect his home, his family, even at the tender age of twelve.
Slowly, Sesshoumaru approached the beheaded child, his grief stretching across the hard planes of his face. Hesitantly he knelt down next to the child, his eyes drinking in the damage his enemies had done.
“I…I have failed you.” He whispered the words thickly. “I am so sorry.”
“You sure as hell are gonna be you rotten bastid’!” The young, angered shriek came from inside the dilapidated building. Before Sesshoumaru had time to react, a small fiery ball of rage flew out from within the house and collided against his chest. He felt the sharp, painful, jab of a dagger cutting through his shoulder and imbedding itself into his muscle. Small, tiny fists pummeled his chest and face, leaving tiny red welts in their wake. The scent of tears and grief not his own clouded his nostrils as he recoiled in shock.
Without meaning to, Sesshoumaru stood up, hoisting the wriggling mass of anger up by the shirt collar.
Dangling precariously from his grip was a soot streaked and enraged child.
“You murdering bastid! You poor excuse for a demon! I ain’t fraid of you! I-I hate you. Imma tear out your heart and feed it to you on a stick! Imma-“
The child, Sesshoumaru couldn’t help but notice, was the spitting image of Rin when he had first met her. This little babe couldn’t be more than six years old.
“-and then Imma pull out your nails one by one, and then-“
As the child raged, her cherubic cheeks flushed with anger and her wide brown eyes grew wet with unshed tears, Sesshoumaru took his time studying her.
“And then I’m going to…”She sniffled, cursed, and burst promptly into heart wrenching tears.
“Y-you killed my mommy!” the girl sobbed, her small body trembling and shaking from the force of it. “You k-killed-“ she broke off, her face crumpling with a type of pain that seemed unfathomable in one so young.
Gently Sesshoumaru brought her to his chest, cradling the sobbing child in his strong arms.
Rin’s legacy…it had not yet been extinguished.
Sesshoumaru turned from the rather grisly scene of Rin’s old home. He ignored the pained, pitiful sobs coming from Rin’s great granddaughter and instead made his way through the village.
“Hey Sess! I found…whoa.” Shippo skidded to a halt, his eyes flying to the crying child in Sesshoumaru’s arms. A child who currently had her fearful, soot streaked face buried in Sesshoumaru’s haori.
Sesshoumaru ignored the shocked kitsune, and continued to make his way out of the village and into the surrounding forest. Shippo, stunned, followed at his heels. Eventually the child’s cries settled down into small whimpers, until they ceased to exist at all. Then, and only then, did she grow stiff in his arms.
Sesshoumaru knew the exact moment that she raised her head from his chest to study him. He didn’t look down, didn’t dare meet those inquisitive, accusatory, eyes. Instead he looked onward, marching steadily down the path that would lead them back to his castle.
There was a small hiccup, and then a whimper. Sesshoumaru could actually taste the child’s fear, and it left a bitter coating on the back of his tongue.
“A-are you gonna’ eat me?” Her half whispered, half sniveled question almost stopped him dead in his tracks. Shippo, no more than ten paces behind them, let out a choked laugh.
Sesshoumaru looked down slowly at the child in his arms.
“I do NOT eat humans.”
That did little to abate the girl’s fears. Instead, her terror only increased. And yet, despite the cloying scent…her eyes narrowed in anger and her breathing grew harsh.
“I’m not gonna let you kill me!” she shrieked, and then began to struggle in his arms. “Not unless I gets to kill you first!”
It was surprising how much effort it took to contain the struggling child without having her drop to the forest floor.
“I have no intentions of killing you, girl.”
Her struggles ceased for a moment, and then began anew.
“Liar! Murderer!” She screeched. “I don’t believe you! My Papa said that there aint a demon you could trust in the whole wide world! Well, except fer Lord Sesshoumaru…and everyone knows he ain’t real!”
This again startled another strangled laugh from Shippo.
Sesshoumaru merely raised an eyebrow at the child.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah it is, you big bully. Papa was always talkin’ bout that demon, but none of us ever saw him. Papa said that we was safe cuz Lord Sesshoumaru was lookin’ out for us. But he lied. H-he…”
She hiccupped, coughed, and fought back tears. “He’s dead. He’s dead, and my mommys dead, and my broth-brother’s dead- and it’s all your fault!”
The child’s words, though misdirected, were more true than she knew. It WAS his fault that her family was dead. He had failed to protect them, to the point that even this child thought he was a mystical creature, concocted by her father.
Sesshoumaru didn’t know what to say. There were no words he could utter that would bring her family back to her. Nothing he could do that would make this better. So he kept walking, holding an increasingly agitated child in his arms. The scent of her fear clung thickly to his skin. The closer they got to the castle, the more terrified she became.
“For the love of- she’s terrified! Would you just tell her who you are already?”
Bothersome kitsune, Sesshoumaru thought with a mental snort. If he had cared to tell the child of his identity then he would have.
After some time with no response from the demon lord, Shippo jogged up beside them. The girl turned her head to look at the kitsune, her eyes suspicious.
“Are you a demon?”
“Yup.”
“Are you gonna eat me?”
Shippo chuckled and shook his head.
“I don’t eat humans, and I don’t care to either. Besides, if I ever tried to hurt a human my foster mother would kill me.”
“Why? I thought all demons ated humans.”
Shippo shook his head.
“Nope. Only the really bad ones do.”
The look she shot him was purely skeptical.
“Why would your momma kill you?”
“Because she’s a human. Well, sort of…she’s a miko.”
“Your momma is a miko? Now I know you’re lying!”
“Nope, cross my heart.” Shippo mad a small x across his chest and flashed the girl a wink.
“Have you ever heard of the great miko Kagome?”
“The miko who killed Naraku? In the legends?”
“Yep. The very same. She’s my foster mother. I met her when I was very young.”
“No way! You’re lying!”
Shippo laughed.
“I’m not, I swear. When I was little I used to travel around the country with her and Inuyasha. You’ve heard of Inuyasha, right?”
The girl nodded her head against Sesshoumaru’s chest. “He’s the half demon who killed Naraku.”
“The very same. He’s my foster father.”
“He’s supposed to be very brave.”
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. Inuyasha brave? More like pigheaded and stubborn.
Shippo shrugged.
“I suppose you’re right. It takes a lot of guts to go up against someone a lot stronger than you. Did you know that when Naraku was defeated, we were there?” Shippo indicted both himself and Sesshoumaru.
“No way! That was a long time ago!”
“Demons live for a very long time.” Shippo explained patiently.
As they talked Sesshoumaru noticed that the scent of fear began to fade from the girl. Despite his idiocy, it seemed that Shippo was proving to be somewhat useful, though Sesshoumaru would never admit it to the whelp.
“How did you do it?”
Shippo smiled, almost bitterly.
“It wasn’t easy. Naraku was very powerful. We all helped in our own ways to defeat him.”
“Then you must know Lord Sesshoumaru!” the little girl whispered with a trace of awe, her breath baited as she waited for a response.
Shippo glanced at Sesshoumaru’s impassive face, the stiff line of his jaw and the placidly smooth features that revealed nothing of his true feelings.
“Oh, I know him alright.”
“Is…is he still alive?” There was just a touch of wonder and worry in her young voice.
“Yup. Alive and kicking.”
The girl’s brow furrowed as she slipped into deep thought.
“Then where was he today?” Before Shippo could respond she cut in again.
“Do you think it was him who scared those demons away? They were in my house. They…they were gonna find me. And then…there was a great big roar, and they all ran away!”
“I think you might be right about that. He must’ve been really angry.”
“Yeah.” She dropped her head. “I just…I just wish he’d been there earlier…before…before…” She sniffled, and then straightened her shoulders.
“I’m sure if he could have been there earlier, he would have.” Shippo, in his own way, was trying to console both the child and the Tai youkai.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She heaved a sigh, her eyes large in her pale face.
“Where are we going?” The girl finally mustered up the courage to ask after a moment of silence had passed.
“To Lord Sesshoumaru’s castle.” Shippo replied easily. “It’s right over that hill up ahead.”
“Am I gonna get to meet him?” A small trace of excitement replaced the pain in her eyes if only for a moment. Then abruptly, she hung her head.
“I’m sorry. I know that was a silly question. Sesshoumaru-sama doesn’t like humans much. And…and I’m not even a good one.”
“What? Why would you think that? You seem pretty nice to me.”
The girl shook her head.
“No. Mamma and my brother think I’m too…unruly. They say I don’t listen and I cause too much trouble. He’d never want to meet me.”
“I don’t think that’s true at all. I think that Lord Sesshoumaru is happy to know you’re alright. He cared for your great grandmother very much. Your family is very important to him.”
A lesser demon might have flushed, or shifted awkwardly. Sesshoumaru, however, simply wished the fox kit would shut his flapping jaw.
“I’m the only one left?” Her voice came out small and frightened.
Sesshoumaru instinctively wrapped his arms tighter around the child, as if she were precious cargo. And indeed, she was. If none of Rin’s descendants had managed to make it out of the village alive…then this child was his last thread remaining to his human ward.
“I don’t know. They might have escaped the attack, and could be hiding out in the forest. If they’re out there, we’ll find them.”
The girl nodded solemnly, her eyes suddenly too old for her young face.
“What if they aren’t? What if they don’t come back? What’s gonna happen to me?”
Shippo glanced at Sesshoumaru.
“I suppose you’ll live with Lord Sesshoumaru, just like your great grandmother did a long time ago.”
“But what if he doesn’t like me? What if he wants to send me back?” She looked scared, and Shippo couldn’t really blame her. Too much was happening to her too soon.
“He likes you just fine.”
“How do you know?”

“Because,” Shippo sighed, suddenly sick of Sesshoumaru’s tense silence. “He’s been carrying you for the last two miles, and refuses to let you down. Even with that god-awful dagger in his shoulder.”

The child in his arms turned shocked eyes up toward Sesshoumaru’s stoic face. There was the soft, nearly silent sound of their footsteps padding gently across the forest floor. In the distance birds made hesitant, short calls as if to assure themselves that the danger had finally passed. Sesshoumaru could hear the soft tempo of the girl’s heart begin to quicken as shock set in.
She said nothing, at a complete loss for words, and still she stared boldly up at him. Sesshoumaru could actually feel her discomfort, exasperated by the discovery of his identity. And still he refused to turn his eyes toward her, to look into her face and see the accusation, the confusion there.
After he delivered the girl into Jaken’s care, he would have to journey back to Hollow Haven and search his land for survivors. There were many demons who owed him fealty, as they both lived and hunted on his lands. Sesshoumaru would recruit them to help clean up the mess that was once Rin’s home. If there were survivors then it would be up to the humans whether or not they chose to stay on his land and return to their broken village.
After he had seen to that, he would go after the attackers himself. It wouldn’t take him long to track the cowards down. The Cat Youkai had been bothersome pests from day one. The males of the tribe were unusually aggressive, and in the habit of praying upon lesser defenseless creatures. The fact that they had even dared to set foot onto his land was proof enough that they thought little of his reputation. The past one hundred years had been relatively quiet for Sesshoumaru. Perhaps he had been too lax in his guard, expecting the respect and fear he had spent years cultivating prior.
A grim smirk touched the corners of his lips. He would have to establish himself as a demon to be rectified with once again, and he knew that those bastards had given him a golden opportunity to do so. After he was through with those cat youkai, no one would mistake Sesshoumaru for a weakling ever again.
“Sesshoumaru-sama?” the small voice startled him out of his thoughts. His eyes drifted down toward the girl child he cradled in his arms.
“I’m…I’m sorry I stabbed you with the knife. I-I didn’t know…I can fix it!” She sounded so earnest, eager to make up for her imagined wrong doing.
“It is fine. You did well to attack a strange demon who had entered your home. This Sesshoumaru does not fault you for it.”
Truth be told the wound did not even bother him in the slightest, though he became aware that the girl must find the sight garish even after all she had seen today.
“If…If you let me down I can walk, Sesshoumaru-sama.”
“No.”
The child flinched beneath his stern tone.
Shippo sighed.
“He doesn’t want you to hurt yourself. You look pretty banged up. That’s one thing you’ll have to learn about him kiddo- he aint that great with words.”
Sesshoumaru arched a brow.
“Ironic, considering Ain’t is not a word, boy.”
Shippo rolled his eyes as the little girl in Sesshoumaru’s arms smothered a laugh.
“And he’s real prickly about grammar too. I’m Shippo by the way, what’s your name?”
“Ari.”
“Ari, huh? That’s a pretty name.”
They crested the hill and Ari caught her first sight of Sesshoumaru’s fortress. She drew a sharp breath, tired eyes full of wonder.
“I-It’s so beautiful.” She whispered, admiring the tall, staid, stone structure with the soft, leafy ivy climbing up the walls. The fortress was surrounded by forest on all sides but there were small fields to the north where long grasses waved gently with the wind and wild flowers dotted the green lawn.
Sesshoumaru had never really taken the time to perceive his home as beautiful. Instead he had admired the sturdiness of the stone, the tall, impenetrable walls, and the secret passage ways that led to escape routes in case he was under siege. Ari’s great grandmother had thought his home beautiful as well, Sesshoumaru remembered. Perhaps it was a human thing.
He knew one being, however, who firmly detested the stone structure, the surrounding forest and the jagged boulders that spelled death to anyone who tried to flee from the fortress. And that person was currently locked in his chambers, manacled to the bed because he was foolish enough to try to leap from the open window.
Kouga. Another responsibility that Sesshoumaru was coming to regret.
Speaking of the troublesome wolf youkai, he had been terribly quiet in the past couple of hours. Usually the wolf’s irritation, anger, and melancholy moods drummed steadily in the back of his mind until it gave the Tai youkai a remarkable headache.
At the moment, Sesshoumaru could sense nothing coming from his wolf.
As they neared the castle, a bedraggled and worry ridden Jaken stumbled out of the front gate.
“Milord! Milord!” he squealed, running on his stubby little legs, his arms raised high above his head.
“It’s the toad thing! I know him!” Ari said, flabbergasted at the odd sight Jaken made.
Shippo snorted back a laugh.
It wasn’t until Jaken got closer to their group that Sesshoumaru noticed the ugly purplish knots and bruises decorating his servant’s face.
“Milord! He’s escaped! I tried to stop him! I did, I swear! But he beat me unconscious. There was nothing I could do!” Jaken wailed, collapsing to the ground at Sesshoumaru’s feet. “I have failed you Milord. Please forgive this humble- oomph!”
Sesshoumaru snarled, golden eyes flashing daggers at the toad.
“Where is Kouga, Jaken” The words were clipped and short.
“I-I don’t know milord, he escaped.” Jaken was wringing his tiny little hands together.
“Well, I suppose it was going to happen eventually Sess, there’s no point in getting too upset about it. I mean, after all, he did pay his dues. It’s been almost a month.” Shippo tried, and failed, to calm the Tai youkai.
“Shippo, take the girl inside. Jaken, you will see to her wounds and care for her. Then I want you to send messengers out to the demons, Hollow Haven must be taken care of. I will go after the wolf, when I come back I will see to you.”
Jaken swallowed thickly, murmuring platitudes under his breath. Gently, Shippo took Ari from Sesshoumaru’s arms.
“You know, you could just let him go.” Shippo said as he rearranged the child so that the top of her head tucked gently beneath his chin.
Sesshoumaru snarled, irritated at the whelps constant suggestions.
“Perhaps you have failed to notice, boy, but there are enemies hiding on my land. The wold is vulnerable right now. If he runs into them, not only will he not have the strength to fight them off but he is marked with my scent. They will kill him.”
Shippo cursed softly as Jaken whimpered.
“Then I’ll come with you! I’ll help-“
“You,” Sesshoumaru cut in, “will stay here and protect the fortress and the girl.”
Shippo’s mouth snapped shut and a look of foreboding crossed his handsome features.
When and if Sesshoumaru found the wolf prince, there was no doubt in his mind that the wolf would be in for it. Sesshoumaru was not a demon you wanted to cross on any day. The fact that Kouga had chosen the worst possible time to make his escape did not help matters.
“Go inside. Lock the gate and allow no one in until I return.”
And just like that, Sesshoumaru was gone.
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.A/N: Sooooooo....what did you guys think? I don't know why, but I'm really just not feeling this chapter. I will say that things get pretty hairy in the next chapter. Poor Kouga :( Anyway, pleeeease review. Constructive criticism is most welcome. Also...I didn't really proof read this one- so if there are some huge spelling errors let me know. I did the most basic spell check...but you know how that works when you dont go back and read it. Apparently "wold" is a word. I keep fat fingering the frickin' keys. XP REVIEW! SPANKS!
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Nobody's Bitch but Mine