Chapter Three

Sesshoumaru entered the palace with a heavy step. The first official meeting between him and Higurashi Kagome had been close to disaster. The blood oath was given easily enough, a slightly painful procedure but easily endured. After that a brief introduction was arranged by her father.

He had never considered that a female would not jump at the opportunity to be courted by him. However, it appeared that Higurashi Kagome believed all males were created equal; and not in a favorable equality. He could envision her indignant face still when her father introduced him to her and her bold questioning of why her father was reconsidering his suit when it went against their tradition.

Once it was explained that it was his brother who had originally been proposed to wed her, she merely frowned at him for a moment before stating that his acceptance proved that there must be ways to cheat during the questioning. She had said something along the lines of, "First Miroku and now him. There is no way either one of them met the requirements."

Sesshoumaru was still unsure which questions required what answer and how Higurashi-san was able to tell who lied. He did know that he hadn't lied about his answers though, so, therefore, he gave truthful answers, as his honor required. Nonetheless, he realized it would be harder than he thought to win over the woman, but she was worth the effort. He thrived on challenges and, if he was honest with himself, he knew that he would have been disappointed if she had just accepted him, especially after her earlier fiery display of temper. While she still had the ability to refuse him, according to clan traditions she was required to permit him to court her now that he had the clan lord's approval.

Sesshoumaru, however, dreaded his father discovering what he had done. As the head of the Inu clan, his father was supposed to approve whomever he sought for a wife. He was not going to be pleased that not only had Sesshoumaru sought Higurashi Kagome without permission but had decided to pursue the female his father had picked for Inuyasha.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Sesshoumaru wanted to cringe at the voice shattering the air, nearly making his ears bleed. If Jaken was looking for him it meant his father was looking for him. He really wished there was some place to hide and that his honor allowed him to seek it. He had a feeling that once it was discovered what he had done, he was in for a long session in the dojo with his father and an even longer session of recovery time.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, thank the gods I found you! Your honorable father requests you to join him in his study immediately upon your return." The little youkai panted out as he reached Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru didn't bother acknowledging his father's retainer. He turned sharply on his heel as he came to the hall leading to his father's study. He was not looking forward to this, but it had to be done. There was no telling what reckless actions his father would take if he wasn't informed of the latest developments concerning the Higurashi female.

His steps nearly faltered as he approached the study door. While he trusted his instinct to pursue the Higurashi woman, he acknowledged that it was an impulsive move and one that could incur his father's wrath.

Shaking his head mentally, he opened the shoji door with a flick of his wrist and smoothly glided through, shutting it with a snap. His father sat behind a low table speaking to Inuyasha in hushed tones. The room was nearly suffocating with the weight of his father's youki. It was obvious that the old dog was still fuming over his failure. Sesshoumaru needed to redirect his father's ire to prevent him from doing something stupid; like ruining Sesshoumaru's own plans.

Inuyasha sat opposite his father, his hair still tipped in black, as if someone had dipped the ends into a pot of ink. It spoke of the woman's power, as several hours had passed since her fury had partially purified the hanyou. Sesshoumaru seated himself gracefully on a cushion next to his slouching brother.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru, it's about time you got here," his father said. "Did you have any luck convincing those fools to allow the woman to wed Inuyasha?"

"No," he answered curtly. Sesshoumaru suddenly had the intense feeling he should allow his father to labor under the false impression that he had stayed behind to convince Higurashi-san to allow Kagome to wed Inuyasha.

"Hm, it's hardly a surprise. Perhaps we need to convince them of the merit of it."

Sesshoumaru's heart plummeted into his stomach and he stopped breathing briefly, then regained control of himself. Luckily, his father hadn't noticed his slip. He couldn't allow his father to do anything rash. The Inu no Taisho's way of convincing someone often involved threats, violence and lots of blood.

"Allow me to handle it for now, father. While they have refused to allow Inuyasha to wed the woman, let me continue to discuss the merits of a potential marriage with them." He knew the way he phrased it was, perhaps, misleading, but he needed time. He needed time to persuade Kagome-san to wed him and he needed to keep his father out of the situation. His actions were manipulative, but he wasn't lying. He would be carefully treading the thin line between honor and dishonor. As long as he never lied, though, he was safe from shaming himself.

"Come on, old man, can't I just get a courtesan like Sesshoumaru? I don't need some wife when a courtesan would do the same job."

Sesshoumaru recognized his brother was going into full pout mode. This gave him a good opportunity, however, to get rid of Hitomi. He couldn't risk the Higurashi clan hearing of her remaining in his service; Higurashi-san would assume that he was 'uninterested' in wedding his daughter. While Kagome-san was fiery and would probably prove to be a handful, as a wife he felt it was worth it to pursue her.

Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha calculatingly. "Do you desire Hitomi's services as your own?"

"What?" Inuyasha asked surprised.

"Sesshoumaru, what's this about? You plan to give away your courtesan?" his father asked baffled.

"I have no use for her and I know that Inuyasha has always desired her."

"No use for her? Have you set your eye on someone else as a courtesan?" His father's amber eyes glinted harshly in the light of the oil lamps.

"At present, no. I find her annoying, though, and would gladly pass her on. The only reason she is still in my service is because she was a gift and there has been no one I wished to gift her to."

"Sure, Sesshoumaru, I'll take her," Inuyasha replied eagerly. Sesshoumaru could smell the musky sent of his arousal tainting the room. "Who cares if she's annoying, as long as she's good," Inuyasha said smugly.

Sesshoumaru merely nodded at his brother in reply. Let the boy take his nod as he saw fit to interpret it.

Sesshoumaru guarded closely the secret that the reason he had never used Hitomi's services was because he had not yet fully matured. It had been assumed that, with his massive power and a size, nearly as great as his father's, he had reached full maturity. For only upon full maturity did an inu become sexually active. Achievement of adult maturity allowed for an inu to protect his offspring to the greatest of his abilities.

The reason Sesshoumaru chose to hide this fact was a painful one: though his people believed that he was already a worthy successor to his father, he possessed slightly less power than his sire. This being so, his father was confident that Sesshoumaru could never successfully challenge him for the throne of the Western Lands. If his father realized that his elder son was not fully matured, it would certainly put his life in danger.

The Inu no Taisho was a powerful warrior, a brilliant tactician and ruled with a firm hand. The Inu no Taisho, unfortunately, was also obsessed with power; not only the strength of one's youki and one's physical abilities, but all forms of power from monetary to intellectual. And he was jealous of such power in others. Sesshoumaru had no doubt that his sire would seek to assassinate him if he found out that he had not yet attained his full adult abilities. It was a painful fact and he guarded this secret closely.

Hitomi was silenced when he had informed her that he did not find her appealing in any way. He was truthful when he said he didn't find her desirable. While she was attractive, he recognized she was vapid and rather dim and, since he was yet an adolescent, he could not utilize her only function. A part of him wasn't sure he would have even if he was able to. If he could not stand the woman as a person, why bed her when he might find someone to enjoy in and out of the bed chamber?

He had assured her that he would never grace her bed, but that she could save face by intimating to the fact that he had. It prevented her having to face the shame of being rejected as long as she never came out and actually said he had bedded her.

In the end, his secret was safe and none were the wiser. He had to tolerate the occasional attempt made by Hitomi to persuade him to change his mind, but that only favored his masquerade. He did not like treading the narrow line between falsehood and honor, but it had to be done for his very survival.

Courting Higurashi Kagome would be a bit risky, since he wouldn't be able to properly wed her, even if he managed to get her to agree to the marriage. There was no telling when he would finally mature. It could be long after Higurashi Kagome ceased to live. It was a risk he was willing to take, however. He found that the more he thought of marrying her, the more he wanted to do so, even if they could never achieve full intimacy. But, in order to even entertain the idea of it, he needed his father to back down and let him handle things.

"Very well, Sesshoumaru, since you seem confident, I'll allow you to handle the Higurashis," his father agreed.

Sesshoumaru nodded and prayed he knew what he was doing.