Taiyokai's Wife
The dog demon's nose scrunched as he surveyed the village. It had been completely destroyed. The stench of burning huts and burning bodies could probably be scented for miles. He was searching for survivors, but thought it unlikely that he would find any.
He heard something behind him and spun, sword drawn. A human woman fell to her knees at his feet, clothes torn, body dirty and slightly burned.
"InuTaisho-sama, please, have mercy!"
The woman had obviously been wealthy at some point. The scraps of her kimono were silk and her skin looked soft and well cared for. He continued to look down at her.
"Please, sir! Please help us. I will do anything! There are children, sir. We need help!"
The great general smirked. It had been a while since any female had begged at his feet. It had been a while since a female had been on her knees for him. The palace he had inherited when he married his wife was far and he had needs…
He removed the armor that covered his groin and undid his belt. The woman was still staring wide eyed as he stroked himself under her gaze.
"Suck," he ordered. He was almost never disobeyed. This time was no exception.
o…o…o…o…o
Kimiko could smell the other women on her husband when he returned.
"I trust you cared for the survivor's?" she asked.
He bowed slightly. "As my lady wished."
"Hn."
InuTaisho continued walking, leaving his wife surrounded by tittering ladies. They all knew her shame. Everyone seemed to.
She left in the opposite direction in a swirl of multi-colored silk.
It did not matter that he didn't love her. He only had his power because of the crescent moon on her forehead. He had only been a general. Her father had made him great.
o…o…o…o…o
He could smell her heat cycle. Every male in their castle could. She seemed to be walking everywhere she knew he would be, just to make sure he knew what time of year it was. He growled. He would not get to see his concubines now, not until he had satisfied her.
He tracked her down to a lounge where she was having tea with a foreign woman. He dragged her to her room, ignoring her claws in his arm and the slap of her hand against his cheek, and threw her on the bed. He stripped himself, then ripped her layered kimono off, tossing it aside.
That accomplished, InuTaisho flipped his wife so she was on her hands and knees and plunged into her. She was wet and ready but she still cried out, protesting against his uncouth behavior. Only when they were both exhausted did he let her go and collapse beside her. In his sweaty, satisfied stupor, he pulled her against him.
It was times like that she hated him most. For a few hours, it almost seemed as though she was loved.
He was gone before she awoke. He returned to repeat the process everyday for the next week. After that, her heat cycle ended and he left to the arms of his concubines again.
She watched him leave that last night and wondered at the cruelty of her society. Everyone knew of her shame. She had married a man with a fondness for human women and he was not ashamed to wear their scents around others. Her father had ordered their marriage on his deathbed so that her family would not lose the throne, for a woman could not rule. And she herself could not take any other lover for fear of a child that revealed her indiscrepency or the rumors that would whisper in her footsteps. It was not acceptable for a female to have multiple lovers.
o…o…o…o…o
InuTaisho was in another village. The headman had needed military support and he had needed to be away from the castle. The tribe of yokai destroying some of the Western Land's largest rice paddies had been killed under the dog's supervision and he planned to rest in the village for the evening.
The headman noticed the general eying his eldest daughter, a girl or sixteen. His heart pounded. He had heard of the lord's love of young women.
"Who is that girl?"
"My daughter, Sachiko. My lord, I will have her draw a bath for you."
InuTaisho met the man's eyes and nodded. The man ran off to tell his daughter of her new duties.
o…o…o…o…o
Kimiko could feel as her body changed. She became shorter tempered and nauseous. She wanted to eat strange things. A few months in, she noticed the weight gain.
She clenched her eyes shut. Her husband was gone for now, chasing some bandit or another and likely collecting more women. A messenger had been sent to tell him the news. He knew when to be back to meet his child.
Her personal guard watched her every step now. Kimiko knew of his care and attraction towards her. He knew there was nothing she could do. The larger she grew, the more distant he became.
o…o…o…o…o
InuTaisho stared at the beautiful little creature in his wife's arms. His first-born son. Whatever affection he lacked for his wife was apparent in his eyes as he examined his child. His key to freedom.
He held the boy for half an hour before the baby began to squall. "Here," he said, gently handing the heir to the Western Lands back to his mother. "I need to leave."
Kimiko knew what he had seen in her little Sesshomaru. Yes, InuTaisho loved him. But he also saw the ability to take more women to his bed, whenever he wanted. He had given her the promised heir.
She brushed the fine silver hair her baby had away from the crescent moon on his forehead.
"Never break a woman's heart like this, my sweet Sesshomaru. Never feel that affection your father does. Human women will only destroy what little I can give you."
For the first time in many years, the demoness allowed herself to cry. No one, not even the guard that had once loved her, was around to see.