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Kintsukuroi	By : LordYouko Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 19864 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and make no money from the writing of this fic.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
A/N: As always, a big thank you to SplendentGoddess for leaving me a review ^.^ I will reply to it via a PM on FF. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 8 – The Witch Miko

“A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, Granny Weatherwax had once told her, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.”

― Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith

…

Blood - flowing, cascading down the ledge of the stone apron under the high windows of the castle of the Lord of the West. The flow wavered where it caught the ridges where the stone had worn out a little through the years.

He looked up. Raindrops stung his eyes but he didn’t lower them. His father’s arm dangled off the edge of the broken balcony of the drawing room on the second floor..

The bite of cold in the air increased impossibly; it was colder than freezing temperatures – yet, it was raining, not snowing. It was like the dark of the night itself held the cold within its bosom, catching and infecting everything it lay its thick, dark blanket on.

Sesshoumaru turned and looked over his shoulder at the long, quiet, empty street where a torch was burning brightly, incongruously, in the pouring rain. He knew his mother was dead. He knew the entire household of the castle of the West was dead. That torch would not be burning if they weren’t.

Rain slid off the naked blade of bakusaiga in his hand. He wanted to sheathe it. He wanted to let go of it. But it was like the sword was a part of his arm, and he could no more let go of it than take his own arm off and put it aside.

The pile of bodies in the courtyard of the castle was beginning to rot, though they looked as fresh as living beings. The stench of death and decomposition rose off the pile and buffeted around him in the rainy winds, as Sesshoumaru looked into the dead, unseeing eyes of little Rin. Her body was on top of the large pile of humans. Hiro was under her, and Miroku’s purple robes stuck out from under him.

They should get rid of the bodies. But nobody was left alive in the castle to perform the last rites.

He wanted to move, to take to the sky, but his feet seemed to be stuck to the ground, and now he was part of it, part of the earth, part of castle ground, and he would stand there for all eternity, watching the pile of bodies rot away. Idly, he wondered how long it took. He had never bothered to find out.

Magenta striped eyelids opened slowly, as Sesshoumaru woke from his dream, breathing slightly hard. He blinked his eyes against the sunlight as he sat up, silk hakama rustling like a whisper. Well. That was new. He hadn’t been thinking about Rin, or Hiro or any of them as far as he recalled. And there was no such empty street inside the palace grounds, although he had seen it someplace before.

The smell of cooked fish reached his nose. He looked around and spotted Inuyasha near the stream, vigorously cleaning what looked like some roots, and putting them on large green leaves.

They chose to camp for the night near streams whenever it was possible. It provided a quick source of water, and the air around it was slightly cooler compared to the hot, musty forest.

The demon Lord got to his feet and walked towards the hanyou, relishing the heat of the day that was such a contrast to his dreams. A small fire was crackling merrily near the stream and next to it, lay the fish – some regular fish, and some demon fish – that Inuyasha had caught and cooked from the stream.

“Did you sleep at all?” Sesshoumaru asked from behind, and Inuyasha jumped, dropping the roots in his hands.

“A- a little, I think, Master,” he said, turning around and bowing his head before the demon Lord. Dark circles lined Inuyasha’s eyes, and he tried to hide them from his Master as he lowered his head.

Sesshoumaru did not seem to notice as he knelt down gracefully next to Inuyasha at the edge of the stream. Leaning forward slightly, he cupped some of the cool, fresh water in his hands and gently splashed it on his face, allowing the dreadful remnants of the dream to fade from memory.

After once again cleaning the roots he had dropped, Inuyasha lay out their breakfast on large leaves – roots and well-cooked fish for him, and slightly cooked fish-youkai for the demon Lord. Sesshoumaru sat cross-legged opposite the half-demon and they began to have their meal.

Inuyasha tried to keep his eyes lowered, but could not help stealing glances at his Master. Even after having gone through this for many days, it still felt surreal to share a meal with his Master, sitting on the same level, as though he were an equal.
When they were travelling like this, he should serve the meal to his Master first, and wait on him while he had it. Then, and only then, should he be allowed to eat. However, because of how dangerous the forest was, the demon Lord had ordered Inuyasha to eat with him in favour of saving time. Inuyasha had to admit it wasn’t wise to take any longer in the forest than necessary, but that didn’t make this any less uncomfortable. He didn’t get any more graceful overnight, and the demon Lord didn’t get any less regal, and it just felt wrong, as though he were doing something naughty.

“Are we still far from the castle, Master?” Inuyasha asked, breaking the silence after a while, as he bit into a bit of the roots along with the fish to give it some slight flavour.

They had been travelling for days, and the forest only seemed to be getting denser. The faint sunlight that filtered through the trees had given way to a dull, interminable greyness that seemed to be just on the brink of breaking into bright sunlight, but never did. The atmosphere was heavy, like it would rain any moment, but it didn’t.

“Yes,” the demon Lord replied bluntly. Inuyasha flinched inwardly, trying to keep the fear from showing on his face. Minutes passed in silence as Inuyasha’s mind dredged up images of what would happen to him when he transformed into a human in this forest. However, it would do no good to dwell on anxious thoughts and Inuyasha tried to turn his mind onto other channels.

“Master… last when Hiten-san and Manten-san were at the castle-”

“Hiten and Manten-sama,” Sesshoumaru corrected him, looking up from his food and turning piercing golden eyes on his pet. “You must address all of the guests at the castle as –sama. Even a butler or a servant can be flogged for such an error and you are not that. You may address the other servants there as –san.”

The demon Lord well understood why the normally polite hanyou would make such a mistake. Manten’s behaviour towards him the last they had met had been such as to destroy all respect the hanyou may have had for him. But it would not do for him to display such poor manners before the guests at the Council meeting.

Inuyasha turned bright red for the shame of having to be corrected in so simple a thing. “Please forgive me,” he said bowing low. “I meant… when Hiten-sama and Manten-sama were at the castle, Manten-sama asked me to… he tried to-”

Inuyasha trailed off, embarrassed. He lowered the leaf that was serving as a plate and placed it on the ground along with half-eaten fish and roots. He tried to hide his clenched fists inside his sleeves even as his bangs covered his eyes from his Master’s gaze.

“They will try nothing inappropriate with you,” Sesshoumaru assured him. “There is a uniform for the servants and staff appropriate to their station. Once you wear black and my collar around your neck, you will not be troubled unless they are willing to risk personally offending me.”

“Black, Master?” Inuyasha asked, puppy ears swivelling curiously. He had never worn black haori or hakama before. Come to think of it, he had seen no one at the Western castle wear black.

Sometimes Sesshoumaru found himself surprised by Inuyasha’s ignorance of what was common knowledge to him. But then, the half-demon really was very young, and had never in his life been exposed to good society outside of the castle.

“It is worn only as a mark of the wearer’s status as the lowest of the low in society,” Sesshoumaru explained, voice impassive as Inuyasha’s ears drooped dejectedly. “The servants wear brown while the pets, slaves, toys and the like will all be in black clothing of their Master’s choosing. Some like their pets to be… more exposed than others.”

Colour rose to Inuyasha’s cheeks again, and this time, he didn’t have the courage to raise his eyes.

“Wh-what would Master like me to wear?” Inuyasha asked, face feeling hot, eyes trained on the ground.

Across from him, Sesshoumaru smirked. “That depends on how well my puppy behaves on the journey,” he said stoically.

The little blood that had abated from Inuyasha’s cheeks returned full force. That did not bode well for him at all. He was already being a bad puppy, he knew, not sleeping and gathering his strength when he should. At this rate, he would end up in mere strips.

Sesshoumaru sadistically enjoyed his pet’s discomfort as he continued eating his breakfast at leisure. In truth, he had no intention of baring even an inch of Inuyasha’s skin to the eyes of the lecherous Lords and ladies. He didn’t want those bastards oogling his puppy and anyone so much as putting a finger on Inuyasha was going to pull back a bloody stump, peace be damned.

But that did not mean he had to forego the pleasure of watching Inuyasha’s cheeks turn pink as he fretted over the demon Lord’s threat.
It was late afternoon, when Inuyasha found himself – once again – leaning against a tree and panting harshly. Ahead of him, Sesshoumaru’s slow walk petered out as he waited for Inuyasha to catch his breath. It was the fourth time in as many hours that Inuyasha had had to stop for a rest; his feeling of tiredness seemed to be growing worse with each passing day. Privately, he knew that depriving himself of sleep was not helping. Even when Sesshoumaru fell asleep, Inuyasha could not bring himself to close his eyes in the night. He went without sleep as many nights as he could. When he simply could not stay awake, he allowed himself to slumber for a couple of hours before dawn, and even then, he had horrible dreams.

To add to his misery, his Master was not in a good humour. The demon Lord had seemed to be in such a good mood after mercilessly pulling the hanyou’s leg at breakfast, but every time they had to stop for Inuyasha to get his breath back, he became more sombre and stern. Inuyasha had once again begun to feel like he was being a burden more than a helpful servant to his Master. He wished the demon Lord wouldn’t have to come to his rescue every now and again. Strange demon attacks got more and more common the deeper they went into the forest. After that first kill on the first day, Inuyasha had gradually gotten used to slaying his enemies, and Sesshoumaru allowed him to handle quite a few demons on his own, sometimes even two or three at one time.

But since the last couple of days, they’d started encountering higher level, sentient demons that could talk. Inuyasha wasn’t yet equipped to fight those. In the meantime, he wished his Master would at least make use of him to relieve himself of his tension and anger. But the demon Lord did nothing of the kind, leading the way almost silently.

Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to say something, when a strange, high-pitched screech suddenly rang out through the forest.

Inuyasha froze with his hand still resting on the trunk of the tree and his head lowered. The youkai aura accompanying the inhuman, unnatural sound made it clear this one would be one of those higher-level demons. Normally, Inuyasha would have immediately turned towards its source, weapon in hand, at least ready to defend himself. But today, he found himself frozen to the spot, fear making his heart beat wild.

The demon that burst through the woods flew straight for Inuyasha, and the hanyou managed to duck down low at the very last minute to avoid being hit by its immense wings.

It was something like a bird, its wing-span as large as the tallest tree in the forest. But its wings were brown and leathery entirely featherless. It looked sort of like a bat, but with a beak instead of a mouth, and oddly large, leathery ears like an elephant’s. If Inuyasha hadn’t seen it fly himself, he wouldn’t have believed the bulky mass could even get off the ground.

But it did fly, gliding lightly through the forest as though there weren’t dense trees in its path. And when Inuyasha ducked at the last minute, it should have crashed into the tree right behind him, but it didn’t. It stopped itself short suddenly, in mid-air, within inches of the tree-trunk. Then flapping its great wings and hovering inches off the ground, it turned around in a strange, almost-human movement that sent shivers creeping up Inuyasha’s spine.

Having snapped out of the daze caused by the eerie sound, Inuyasha finally drew his sword. But it was barely as big as the bird-demon’s talon, and he knew it wouldn’t really do him much good. The creature shuffled back on relatively small legs and prepared to reach down and pluck the half-demon off the ground in one bite.

“A half-breed so deep into the forest?” it screeched, blinking down at figure in red clothing. “How did you make it this far?”

“He’s not alone,” Sesshoumaru declared from behind the creature. It whipped its large neck back to look at the other trespasser.

“A taiyoukai,” the creature grinned, a snake-like tongue sneaking out to lick its own beak. “Have you kept the hanyou around for a snack? Well, you may not get a single bite when I’m done with him.”

“The half-demon is off limits,” Sesshoumaru said, sounding bored. The now unsheathed bakusaiga glinted dully in the odd forest light. “Go back to where you came from if you wish to leave with your life.”

The creature laughed, and its laugh was eerily similar to the shriek they had heard earlier. It was delightful to find sane people around these parts. Humans, of course, never made it this far, and most youkai who somehow found themselves here were rambling, haggard fools. This taiyoukai and his hanyou would make an excellent meal.

Before Inuyasha’s eyes, the creature leaned down and gobbled the demon Lord up.

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. The bird demon licked its beak mockingly, and turned cruel brown and black eyes towards the hanyou.

“Even a taiyoukai was no match for me,” it drawled boastfully. “What’s a useless half-breed going to do?”

Inuyasha flinched. His sword wavered in his hand from the demon’s all-too-true words.

But before it could take another step, its stomach glowed green, and bakusaiga’s green light cut through its belly from the inside. Inuyasha shielded his eyes, and only opened them when he heard the tell-tale swoosh that was Sesshoumaru whisking blood and gore off his blade.

Inuyasha lowered his sword, smiling weakly in relief, although he had known the demon Lord couldn’t be defeated that easily.

Sesshoumaru didn’t look happy. He was covered from head to toe in a mucky, gooey substance and he didn’t look the slightest bit pleased.

“Let’s go,” he ordered irritably. Inuyasha sheathed his sword and hurried after him quickly, stumbling over a root in his haste.

Now they would have to look for a stream, Sesshoumaru thought testily. As though their progress wasn’t slow enough as it was. Uncharitably, he wondered if it was entirely necessary for demons to be made of such sticky, smelly muck.

In the back of his mind, he knew the stench of demon insides wasn’t really what was bothering him. The forest seemed to be taking more of a toll on the half-demon than he had anticipated. He didn’t like how jumpy and skittish and weak his pet had become. The deeper they went into the forest, the more incapable of rational thought the hanyou seemed to become. He was avoiding sleep to keep nightmares away, even knowing the toll it would take on his body.

Sesshoumaru raised one clawed hand and sliced through an overhanging vine viciously. Knowing the hanyou, if he continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before he did something extremely stupid.

“Inuyasha, stay where you are and don’t move,” Sesshoumaru ordered, eyes fixed on the demon before them that grinning cruelly at the half-demon. Inuyasha stared, hypnotized; he couldn’t seem to be able to tear his eyes away from the creature.

It was nearing evening and Inuyasha had been so hopeful of getting a night’s rest before encountering more youkai, that he found himself completely unprepared for dealing with this strange, tall demon with hypnotic red eyes.

Don’t run…

But he had to. He couldn’t be in its presence. He couldn’t. The youkai’s power gently pressed down on his will with an insistent pressure, and try as he might, he could not find the strength to fight it. He told his body not to obey, but it was as if his limbs refused to listen to him, and he took off, heading blindly deeper into the forest.

To his surprise, the demon didn’t chase him. He could feel the creature’s malignant presence fall away. It wasn’t like any other youkai aura that he had felt yet. It was as though it was swathed in evil, and what it could do to him was far worse than bodily injuries or death. He felt his instinctive anxiety lessen the farther he got from it, and he took in deep breaths as much as he was able, thanking the gods he hadn’t made a fool out of himself by being caught in its clutches after his Master had warned him.

When Sesshoumaru, who was gliding just above the tree-tops looking for the hanyou, caught up with him, Inuyasha was still running, and it took the airborne demon Lord catching hold of him from above and pushing him down to the ground to make him stop.

Inuyasha remained where he’d fallen on the dirty ground, heart thundering in his chest, looking up shakily at his Master. Bakusaiga was unsheathed in Sesshoumaru’s hand, and his eyes were icy. The demon Lord stepped forward leisurely towards his prey, and when Inuyasha managed to stand up, Sesshoumaru reached out and backhanded him across the face.

Inuyasha fell once more, clutching his red cheek despondently, and he remained on the ground, lowering his head to allow his bangs to fall over his eyes that were beginning to fill with tears.

“Were you trying to get yourself killed?” Sesshoumaru asked in a deathly calm voice that made Inuyasha want to curl up at his feet and beg for forgiveness. “What did you imagine the outcome would be of running straight into a hoard of strange demons?”

Inuyasha looked up startled, rapidly blinking his watering eyes. “A-a hoard…?”

“That is where the demon was steering you,” Sesshoumaru said, pointing in the direction Inuyasha had been running. “Did you believe such a powerful creature would allow you to run away so easily? Or have you grown too weak to even sense its power?”

“It wasn’t easy!” Inuyasha burst out, looking pleadingly up at his Master. “I’m sorry! I am… but I didn’t… I didn’t know… I didn’t think-”

“It is not your place to think when I give you an order!” Sesshoumaru snarled, eyes flashing with fury.

Inuyasha deflated as if all the air had been taken out of his body, and crumpled to the ground, head bowed low on the dirty ground as tears flowed from his eyes unchecked. “Please forgive me, Master. I-”

“Your leash,” Sesshoumaru interrupted, cold golden eyes hard as diamonds.

Inuyasha looked up in surprise for a moment, then lowered his eyes again and nodded. He always carried his leash with him, along with a spare collar. He reached inside his haori and brought out the long black leather leash and offered it up to his Master, head bowed.

Sesshoumaru raised his kneeling slave’s chin up roughly. Inuyasha’s face was streaked with dirt where it had clung to his tear-stained face when he bowed to the ground. He fastened the leash on the ring in the front of his collar. Then he unwound the long folds of the leash and looped one end around his palm. It was long enough to allow the hanyou to walk comfortably if the demon Lord wanted him to. He hadn’t wanted to restrict the hanyou’s movements at all, in case he needed to defend himself, but it seemed the boy was more of a danger to himself left to his own devices. Now he had half a mind to make the hanyou crawl on the forest floor on his knees as punishment for risking his life so foolishly, but he refrained; there would be time enough for that when they reached where they were headed.

He gestured for Inuyasha to stand, and the hanyou did, dusting the dirt off his hakama at the knees, and getting to his feet. As Sesshoumaru walked forward, leading his pet by the leash, Inuyasha smiled happily, somewhat ashamed and thoroughly relieved. He hadn’t wanted to run away from his Master, he really hadn’t, but it had felt like he didn’t have any control over what he did anymore, and judging by the fact that Master wasn’t that angry at him, he seemed to know that. At any rate, he was happy to have the choice of disobeying taken out of his hands. For the first time in days, Inuyasha found himself breathing a little easier.

That night, Inuyasha was forced to lie down. The demon Lord did not take off Inuyasha’s leash when they settled down to rest, and instead, looped it around his hands a few more times so that it was even shorter, making it impossible for Inuyasha to move or even sit up without waking his Master.

Miserably dreading the nightmares, and at the same time, knowing he deserved this punishment, Inuyasha quietly lay down on his side, head resting on his arm folded under him. His face was turned towards the demon Lord, because if he tried to turn on his other side, the leash pulled at his collar.

Glancing up at his Master who already seemed to be falling into slumber, Inuyasha thought for a moment how nice it must be to be strong enough to sleep soundly in such a forest and be untroubled by the kind of dark dreams that he had. His Master had said that the forest affected him too, but Inuyasha had decided he had only said so to make him feel better, because not once in all these days had the demon Lord woken up covered in sweat, or shivering from head to toe like he did. As exhaustion made his eyes fall shut, Inuyasha sent up a small prayer to whatever gods were listening to allow him one night, just one night of sound sleep.

But ever since he was a child, the gods had never really listened to the half-demon at all. In his sleep, he had forgotten about his leash, and it wrenched his neck painfully, when he woke up screaming.

Once the sun had risen properly and breakfast had been had, Inuyasha found himself almost dragging his feet as he walked behind his Master on his leash. His Master was angry at him, he just knew he was, even though the demon Lord had said nothing further. He hadn’t been allowed to even hunt for food as usual. Instead, the demon Lord had left him tied to a tree by his leash like a dog while he went off to hunt.

After he returned, the demon Lord had untied him long enough to gather firewood and make a fire, but he had held his leash the whole time. Inuyasha had had to endure the shame of being tugged by his collar when he stepped too far away, and he was glad there was no one around to witness his humiliation except his smirking Master who lay leisurely under a tree while Inuyasha slogged to make a fire in the cold, damp morning.

So far today, they had already encountered two youkai attacks, and it was only a little after noon. The demon Lord had dispatched all of them within seconds without giving them the chance to even say a word, all the while holding Inuyasha’s leash in one hand. Inuyasha knew he should be contrite for having forfeited all freedom through his foolishness, but watching his Master’s cold, furious eyes as he made mince-meat of the strange and dangerous youkai of the forest, Inuyasha, to his dismay, found himself aroused.

It shouldn’t be, but it was sexy, being held captive and defenceless by the throat while his Master dispatched their enemies one-handed. The thought that these very same youkai, that were too strong for him to even resist, let alone fight, were nothing before his Master’s strength, that through all the dangers, his life was no longer in his own hands, sent little shivers of excitement up his cock, and into his belly.

“M-Master,” he said hesitantly, when the demon Lord had sheathed bakusaiga.

Sesshoumaru, who had been prepared to walk on, turned around to look at the hanyou, and Inuyasha lowered his eyes, blushing furiously to have his Master’s gaze on him.

“Master… I want to… may I… please you with my mouth?” he mumbled.

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow, and glanced at the demon carcass not a few feet away. “Here?”

Inuyasha nodded vigorously. “I was trying to be good all day, but… please?”

“All day?” the demon lord asked, his voice suddenly low and amused.

Inuyasha blushed even more but nodded hesitantly.

Sesshoumaru walked towards his puppy, winding the leash around his hand as he covered the distance, until he was right in front of the pup. Glancing downwards, he could see the tell-tale tent in Inuyasha’s hakama.

“And what has brought this on?” he asked, voice unreadable.

Inuyasha’s eyes were trained on the ground and puppy ears twitched as he tried to think of a good answer.

“Master was… Master was angry,” he mumbled.

The demon Lord reached out and brushed a finger against a flickering puppy ear. “Hmm… and?”

Inuyasha blushed even more and bit his lip anxiously. “I like it… I like it when I get to be of use in relieving Master’s anger.”

But Sesshoumaru always knew when his pet was keeping something back, and he asked, “Is that all that this is about?”

Inuyasha wished he could sink into the ground and disappear. But he knew his Master wouldn’t let him go without an honest answer.

“And- and the leash,” he said in a barely audible whisper.

Sesshoumaru frowned and gave a not very gently tug on the same leash, jerking Inuyasha’s head forward. “It seems puppy enjoyed his punishment a little too much,” he said, and the lace of anger, along with cold amusement behind the statement made Inuyasha shudder with excitement.

“Go on,” the demon Lord said. “Get on your knees.”

Inuyasha heart raced as he allowed his knees to buckle under him. But there wasn’t enough give in the leash, and he gasped and looked up at his Master pleadingly as the collar choked him. Sesshoumaru watched him for a moment with cruel amusement in his eyes, before he slowly, deliberately unwound the leash a little and allowed Inuyasha to comfortably fall to his knees.

Inuyasha’s fingers were trembling as he reached out and freed his Master’s cock from his hakama. An amused and angry Sesshoumaru was a dangerous Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha knew he would be shown no mercy in the use the demon Lord would make of him. The thought just made the half-demon harder.

Inuyasha shuffled forward on his knees and began to slowly and sensually bring his Master’s organ to hardness. The demon Lord’s hand came to rest on his head. Those clawed fingers were simply playing idly with his ears, but the touch made Inuyasha all the more horny, and he couldn’t help but squeeze his things together desperately.

His ministrations yielded fruit before long, and soon, the demon Lord was hard and heavy in his mouth. Inuyasha’s mouth watered as he tasted his Master’s precum, and enjoyed the feel of the large, pulsing cock on his tongue.

He had just begun to bob his head up and down, when loud screeches rent the air, and Inuyasha heard the flapping of hundreds of massive wings. It seemed to be coming from the direction Sesshoumaru had his back towards, and Inuyasha prepared to release the cock from his mouth to see. But the hand on his head was suddenly like lead, and he was not allowed to pull back.

“You will finish what you started, Inuyasha,” the demon Lord said, voice deep and husky with arousal. He didn’t have to look at the birds to know they were vulture-like youkai; he could tell from the sound of their screeches. The carcass must have attracted these vulture-like bird youkai, and by their angry sounds, the fact that there seemed to be two people left living didn’t seem to have pleased them any.

The hanyou’s eyes were almost rolled up in his head as he tried to look up desperately. Inuyasha’s panic amused him; more, it pleased him, and he allowed the birds to get closer and closer, even as he pushed Inuyasha’s head down on his cock, breaching his throat, making it convulse in panic.

And the hanyou truly was panicking, muffled moans and hums all he could manage as his Master continued to cant his hips forward, enjoying Inuyasha’s little throat closing up around his engorged member.

The birds were almost overhead now, flying in large circles, casting large dark shadows below.

“Touch yourself,” Sesshoumaru murmured. Inuyasha’s head almost shot up in surprise, but the demon Lord did not allow him to move and Inuyasha was left with looking up at him pleadingly.

When his order was not obeyed, Sesshoumaru pulled the leash tighter, choking Inuyasha further even as he stabbed into his throat. Feeling like he couldn’t breathe, Inuyasha fumbled in his own hakama for his hard cock and hastily began to pump.

Sesshoumaru seemed satisfied with this, and he loosened the leash, allowing some reprieve to the suffocating hanyou. He pulled back from his throat slightly, only to push right back in after Inuyasha had taken not more than one or two deep breaths.

Inuyasha moaned around his Master’s cock as his own hand on his cock drove pretty much all other thoughts out of his head. He wanted to think about the threat overhead, about how they were both in a vulnerable position like this, but between his Master’s rough and thorough use of his mouth and being allowed to take care of his own needs, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

The demon Lord felt Inuyasha’s surrender in the relaxation of his muscles and in the way his breathing eased, and he smiled pitilessly, raising a hand above his head.

His poison whip snapped straight up in the air and fell upon the birds ruthlessly, spinning breath-taking green designs in the sky, tearing their bodies into little pieces.

Inuyasha froze for a moment as body parts and blood rained around them, somehow leaving them untouched, and then his hand and his mouth sped up frantically. How foolish of him to think they were ever in any danger. How silly of him to have thought he could sense danger when his Master didn’t. The demon Lord had once again shown him how insignificant his worries and thoughts were before his Master’s orders, and Inuyasha devoted himself to the task at hand with all the more enthusiasm, determined to make up for his lack of faith with his mouth.

He came shuddering in his own hand even as the demon Lord pushed his head down and shot his cum down Inuyasha’s abused throat.

A few minutes of walking later, the clearing seemed to appear from out of nowhere. One minute, they were walking along in the deep, impenetrable forest, and the next, they walked through some trees onto a lovely open space.

Inuyasha’s first impression of it was that they had bizarrely happened upon a human village. There were several huts scattered a little distance away, and smoke was merrily coming out of the chimney of some. He could see a few young girls in the distance, playing happily on the ground.

The atmosphere had shifted again as soon as they entered the clearing. The air was suddenly sweeter, lighter, and the odd, heavy weight that Inuyasha had felt when he stepped into the forest had cleared. He could hear birds chirping loud and clear again, and the sky overhead was a crisp, clear blue. Inuyasha raised his head up and took in great gulps of air, feeling like he could breathe freely again.

“Sesshoumaru! What’re you doing here?” bellowed a female voice.

Inuyasha turned towards the voice.

A young woman was stepping out of the largest hut, a miko by the looks of her outfit. She had a slender, almost bony face and looked to be in her late twenties.

As she came closer, Inuyasha frowned. He had known a few mikos when he was a child. He had even lived with one for a little while after his mother passed away, before the slavers had caught hold of him. They were pure, gentle creatures, tending to the sick and wounded, protecting humans from demon attacks.

This woman didn’t look gentle. Her long hair was untied, and in wild disarray. She wore strange bracelets on her wrists, and there was a short sword tucked into her obi. Even her voice wasn’t pleasant, but rather, raspy and loud.

And she had addressed Sesshoumaru-sama without his title. Inuyasha knew mikos to be polite and respectful women. It gained them nothing to offend people when their duties were often unpleasant, like exorcising demons possessing people.

But Sesshoumaru didn’t seem offended. A rare smile was on his lips as he watched her approaching. “Mafuyu,” he said in greeting.

Mafuyu stepped forward with a grin, and before Inuyasha’s scandalized eyes, proceeded to give Sesshoumaru a hug.

And to his greater astonishment, Sesshoumaru returned it briefly, silk sleeves enveloping her comparatively slight frame before the female stepped back.

“And who might this be?” she asked, eyes raking over Inuyasha from head to toe.

Inuyasha bowed low, figuring that anyone who was on such close terms with Sesshoumaru deserved as much respect as he would give to Lady Tsukiko and Lord Inu no Taisho.

“This is Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru introduced.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Inuyasha,” Mafuyu said, eyes lingering on the collar around Inuyasha’s neck. “Come on over here, both of you, and I’ll get you a cup of tea.”

Bewildered, Inuyasha followed her. The clearing was larger than it had appeared at first glance. There was a shrine, and a large hut next to it. Scattered around it were the several smaller huts he had seen earlier. Inuyasha could faintly hear the sounds of sweeping coming from inside the shrine.

A fire was burning where the miko led them and a pot of tea was already boiling on the fire. There was a young boy crouching next to the fire, tending to it. He was wearing only a loin cloth and collar. The fire reflected dully off the boy’s dark, oiled smooth skin, and his hard, carved muscles, and if it weren’t for his pointed ears and clawed fingers and toes, he would have passed for a human.

Strangely enough, wicker chairs were laid out before the fire, instead of seats on the ground as was traditional, and Mafuyu gestured for Sesshoumaru to take a seat before sitting down herself.

“This is Taiko,” Mafuyu introduced, glancing towards the boy. He jumped a little, apparently startled at hearing his name, but kept his eyes lowered, and only concentrated on taking the tea-kettle off the fire.

The demon Lord took the proffered seat, and as Inuyasha knelt at his feet, the hanyou caught a closer glimpse of Taiko. The collar around his neck seemed to be made out of some kind of wiry material that looked a little like a dry, thorny vine wound around his neck. It seemed to bite into his neck every time he moved or tensed his neck muscles; there was dried blood crusted on the skin of his neck, and when he reached over to pour tea into tea-cups, a few fresh drops of blood oozed out. Taiko’s respectfully lowered face gave no indication of the pain he felt, although Inuyasha saw Mafuyu’s eyes linger on it with a strange kind of satisfaction.

“How long has it been, Sesshoumaru?” Mafuyu asked, turning her eyes back to Sesshoumaru. “Certainly, before you got this one,” she added, glancing at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him at that. Mikos were human. That meant this woman here, if she really was a miko was human. He had been with Sesshoumaru-sama for over 200 years. How was it possible for a human woman to live that long?

“Yes, I really am a miko, little one,” Mafuyu said, turning her penetrating gaze on Inuyasha, eyes twinkling. Inuyasha turned bright read. Could she read minds? Was she inside his head?

Mafuyu laughed. “No, I can’t read minds, though I do enjoy messing with them. Don’t worry, all your dirty little secrets are safe inside your head,” she said with a wink.

Inuyasha averted her eyes, blushing bright read.

Taiko crawled over to her and kneeling at her feet, handed her a cup of tea, raising his eyes for a moment to make sure he didn’t spill any. She took it without so much as glancing at him, and only Inuyasha noticed the adoring look in Taiko’s eyes when he looked at her.

“This is the daughter of the priestess Midoriko, Inuyasha,” Sesshoumaru said, accepting the cup of tea she passed to him.

Inuyasha tore his eyes away from Taiko abruptly, startled. “T-the Midoriko-sama of legends? But- but how is that possible-?”

“The miko blood in us is too strong,” Mafuyu said, absently reaching out playing with Taiko’s hair as he readied another cup. He blushed and the cup in his hand trembled drawing the attention of Mafuyu and her guests.

“Pardon him, he is unused to guests,” Mafuyu said, giving Taiko an indecipherable look that had him blushing and lowering his head even more.

“It is a blessing – or a curse – of my bloodline,” Mafuyu continued, taking the cup Taiko handed her. “I had a choice to either sacrifice myself heroically in battle like my mother, or allow myself to age gracefully and pass into old age and death like my sister, or I could do this-” she gestured expansively at the clearing, and the bracelets on her arms clanked together “- come here and settle in the middle of nowhere in this cursed forest, and carve out a little piece all of my own.”

Mafuyu leaned forward and handed Inuyasha the cup of tea. An irrational shiver of fear went down Inuyasha’s spine as she leaned close to him; she smelled odd – like smoke and blood and something else he couldn’t put a finger one. Inuyasha accepted the cup with trembling hands, face flaming red – no one ever offered tea to a slave, but he couldn’t very well refuse her.

“S-so it’s the curse of the forest that allows you not to age?” Inuyasha asked hesitantly, once she had sat back in her seat with her own cup of tea.

Mafuyu laughed. “You have been travelling through the forest. Do you really think it would do anybody any favours?”

Inuyasha blushed and looked away, feeling stupid. Of course the horrible forest would never do anything good for anybody.

“I told you,” she said, “The miko blood is too strong in me. At one time, I was taught that that means I don’t get to live the life everyone else does. It was only later I learned that it also means I get to do what they don’t. Time was being a fickle bitch, so I paused it for a little while.”

Inuyasha slowly lowered the cup of tea he had raised to his lips and stared.

Mafuyu’s eyes twinkled amusedly. “Well, drink it before it gets cold,” she said.

Inuyasha blinked, glanced up at his Master who was sipping his tea at leisure, and took a sip.

Later, after tea was had and the guests had freshened up, Inuyasha found himself exploring the little clearing alone while his Master spoke with the miko in the shrine.

“So, what really brings you here, Sesshoumaru?” Mafuyu asked, once they were inside. Her voice was suddenly not raspy and loud at all, but melodic and well-modulated. Her wild-looking eyes were suddenly clear and focused and sharp, although they still shone with dark and undefinable things.

The shrine consisted of a simple hut that was protected by a spell; no one on the outside, even with the keenest demon hearing, would be able to overhear them. It would probably seem strange to an outsider, a miko inviting a taiyoukai into a shrine, but Mafuyu knew that far worse things often happened in the supposed sanctity of shrines, so she figured the gods wouldn’t really mind a demon Lord in here.

Sesshoumaru, who sat in the traditional seiza position opposite the miko, reached inside his robes, and pulled out the small vial containing the liquid he had extracted from Inuyasha’s wound.

“I want to know what this is,” he said, handing it over to her.

Mafuyu discerned the grave look on Sesshoumaru’s face, then held the little bottle up to her eye-level, looking at it with her piercing eyes.

“I will have to test it to be sure,” she said finally. “I can tell you in a few days.”

Sesshoumaru nodded. “In that case, we may have to impose upon your hospitality a little longer.”

Mafuyu waved this off airily. “Stay as long as you like. I’ll be glad of the company. It gets pretty quiet out here.”

She smiled that cheeky smile he remembered from so many years ago. “Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know Inuyasha better. Poor kid must really be something else to put up with you all the time and be so happy about it.”

Sesshoumaru smiled one of his rare, genuine smiles.

Technical note: The stone apron described in Sesshoumaru’s dream is an architectural term used to describe “a raised section of ornamental stonework below a window ledge, stone tablet, or monument.” (source: Wikipedia). It’s that thing under windows that sometimes doubles as the roof-like extension for the window underneath it.

A/N: Mwwaaahahaaaahaa I bet you hadn’t expected that =^.^= So we find out the real reason why Sesshoumaru wanted to go through the forest.

My chapters for this story seem to be getting longer and longer. 16 Microsoft pages o.o Sorry if it was too long. Please review and let me know what you think. As always, criticism, flames, all welcome. Jaa ne!
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