Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to update! I had to wait till I had enough clear time in my schedule. I am constantly thinking of the evolution of this fic. I will warn you that I plan on making this a lengthy one. I am getting ready to graduate in May and will be able to update A LOT more in the future. I am a double history major and constantly writing papers so I haven't had time to update my fics much but THAT WILL CHANGE.
I want to give a great thanks to all of my reviewers and all the followers of this story. You always encourage me to write more. Even when I don't have the time to update I am always encouraged to think of how to formulate this story.
I also want to give a special shout out to Kai16Ray for the messages and the support to make time to update. Thank you!
Anyway, on with the update!
Chapter Three
I will not leave you little one.
There were oncoming storm clouds polluting the night sky by the time Sesshomaru and Miroku landed back at the castle. With luck they were able to beat the rain as the sky opened up. "Well that's a bad omen," Miroku mused as they started walking down the candle lit entryway.
The wind was beginning to pick up causing the candles to flicker. Sesshomaru paid no mind to the monk while he led the way to the hanyou's room. He was unsure what condition the hanyou was going to be in. They continued walking and the monk proceeded to continue to try to strike up a conversation. "It is a good thing that the hanyou most likely isn't lucid."
This got Sesshomaru's attention. He looked at the monk almost daring the monk to say something bad about the hanyou after he just travelled to bring the monk to assist with him. Miroku saw the intense glare Sesshomaru gave and cleared his throat. "He…um…he's terrified of thunderstorms the poor thing. I think the thunder is way too much of a stimulus for his hypersensitive hearing."
Sesshomaru processed what the monk said and stopped glaring at him, focusing once again on the candlelit grand hallway.
"Naraku was a cruel master…" Miroku drifted off lost in thought.
Figures when the stupid human begins to talk of something of interest he shuts up. Sesshomaru growled in annoyance. He knew that the monk would be able to provide some information on the hanyou's life. Sesshomaru finally stopped in front of the door to the hanyou's room.
Before Sesshomaru opened the door he turned to Miroku. "You were brought here to treat the hanyou and to find a way to either remove the collar of transfer the ownership. Your safety will depend on your degree of success. For right now you will be focused on the hanyou's wellbeing. If the hanyou survives then you survive and will be sheltered from Naraku. You will report all of your findings to my doctor Yasahiro and to me as well." Miroku was left nodding in intimidation. The Prince was terrifying and Miroku was terrified to even breathe.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as he looked down on the human. "Do not forget your place human." He growled low in a subtle threat. "If the hanyou pulls through, you will fill me in on ALL that I should know about him." Sesshomaru continued to glare as Miroku gulped and nodded. Miroku was beginning to understand what he was getting himself into. If the hanyou did not live then this would be the end of the road for him.
Sesshomaru opened the door to show Yasahiro at the hanyou's bedside. The hanyou was thrashing and having a fit on the bed. His mouth was open, gasping for air, giving off silent screams. Yasahiro was trying to hold down the child's limbs to prevent him from injuring himself any further.
"What is wrong?" Sesshomaru asked while he got closer to the bedside.
"Monk grab his legs but mind the bandages!" Yasahiro ordered, too caught up in trying to help the hanyou.
Miroku moved over as instructed. The hanyou continued to thrash even more. "He is burning up!" Miroku was shocked. He knew that the hanyou would be in bad shape but never would have guessed that he would find him in this condition.
"When you left, my Lord, his anxiety started to go up and he began to panic. He has been having panic attack after attack which is putting strain on his injuries and making the poison spread faster." Yasahiro was struggling to keep the hanyou's arms down. Sesshomaru was watching the two of them struggle against the poor hanyou. "His fever is also going up with all this thrashing and his fits."
Sesshomaru stepped closer to the bed and placed his hand against the hanyou's feverish cheek and stroked it. He released a small amount of calming aura as he did so. The hanyou stopped thrashing violently but continued to tremble in pain. He leaned into the Lord's hand that was now cupping his small face. He began to tremble harder and his face scrunched up while tears began to heavily fall from beneath the bandages that were wound around his small head, covering his eyes.
The hanyou continued to quietly sob while Sesshomaru carefully used his thumb to wipe off some of the tears that were cascading down the hanyou's face. Yasahiro and Miroku let go of the hanyou's limbs when Sesshomaru gave them each a frightening glare. "Leave us." Sesshomaru demanded.
His tone left no room for debate. Miroku and Yasahiro looked at each other before hurriedly taking leave from the room. The only sound that remained in the room was the sound of the hanyou quietly sobbing. It was barely there and not loud enough to be silenced by the collar.
"Hanyou." Sesshomaru called. The hanyou froze and his breath hitched. His cheek was stull pressed against Sesshomaru's cool palm. The hanyou's heartrate seemed to calm down with the small surges of the comforting aura Sesshomaru was giving off.
"Were you afraid that I left you, little one?" Sesshomaru said in a low tone. He did not want any eavesdroppers to hear this new and gentle nature that he had seemed to unearth from within himself.
The hanyou began to tremble again as he nodded. His face still remained scrunched and the tears began to flow more rapidly. Sesshomaru sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I told you that I will make you mine, hanyou." He removed his hand from the hanyou's face and began to run his dainty clawed fingers through the hanyou's white locks, mindful of his injured ear.
The hanyou continued to cry but slowly began to calm down with the petting. "I had to find someone who knows more about the collar. That is why I left." The hanyou slightly tilted his head in confusion like a puzzled puppy. "He is a monk by the name of Miroku that was exiled from Naraku's palace."
Sesshomaru did not fail to notice the flinch and the increase in trembling at the name of the bastard Lord. Sesshomaru had no explanation of why he was telling all of these things to the frightened hanyou. He had no idea why the sight of the miserable child tugged at his cold heart. Truthfully he was confused of how anyone could be so cruel to someone so young and innocent. Sesshomaru was not against the use of slaves for sexual enjoyment but he truly believed that they should at least be old enough to feel some pleasure or understand what was happening. The removal of his teeth, voice, and movement was also going way too far. The hanyou was way too young to be used in that manner. He appeared to have the human age of three to four years. Naraku's actions were unforgiveable besides the cruelty of the collar.
Sesshomaru still did not like the reaction that the hanyou gave at the mention of the monk. Wouldn't the hanyou be relieved to see him? Did the hanyou even know him?
"Do you know the monk named Miroku?" The hanyou's breathing hitched and he started to get upset again. The hanyou's heartrate quickened and he started to sob again. Sesshomaru's aura darkened and the hanyou whimpered and tried to move away from him.
Sesshomaru placed his hands on either side of the child's face to trap him. The hanyou's breath hitched again and he continued to try to get away from the Prince. "Hanyou did the monk ever hurt you?" Sesshomaru asked. His tone impassive.
The hanyou was still frozen in fear of the threatening aura that was consuming the room. He then leaned down and put his mouth closer to the hanyou's good ear and growled. "Answer me."
The hanyou shivered at the rush of hot air on his ear before he shook his head back and forth. If the terrified hanyou was telling the truth then why did the hanyou react that way? Sesshomaru gave a small grunt and went to move away. The hanyou once again stopped him by grabbing onto his robes.
"I will not leave hanyou, but you must cooperate and let the others try to help you, understand?" The hanyou nodded slowly but did not remove his tiny hand from the Prince's sleeve. He could tell that the hanyou was losing his strength as his grip was lessening. The fever was taking over as the adrenaline the anxiety gave him was fading away.
"Sleep little one. I have told you that I will not leave you again." Sesshomaru sat back down at the edge of the bed with the hanyou's tiny hand still weakly holding onto his sleeve. The hanyou gave Sesshomaru a small toothless smile before passing out. Sesshomaru listened to the poor hanyou's ragged breathing. He took the hanyou's hand off of his robes and placed it next to the hanyou's side gently. He adjusted the blankets on the hanyou to make him more comfortable. He had no idea if the hanyou was even going to survive the night.
After a good five minutes of listening to the hanyou's soft snores he called the monk and the doctor back into the room. Miroku took a seat in one of the chairs in the corner of the room and Yasahiro went over to the hanyou to check him over.
"He finally passed out not too long ago. His anxiety and fever are both still high." Sesshomaru reported. He was beginning to feel like the hanyou would not make it to be able to even try to have the collar ownership transferred.
"His fever is steady now and hasn't spike any further it appears. His heartrate is down. Having you here my Lord as definitely did wonders for the child. He has latched himself onto you." Yasahiro moved to join the monk on one of the armchairs across from the bed.
"Well, my father was the one that placed the collar on the hanyou. I was there for when my father would do maintenance on it. When Naraku had him ordered to be killed the responsibility fell on me to learn about the collar. With the right amount of research in my father's notes I may be able to figure out how he did it." Miroku reached into the pocket of his robe to find a small black book.
"Unfortunately my father had his notes written in a code. I may be able to break it in a couple of hours." Miroku was terrified. If he failed to help the hanyou then that meant the end of his life as well.
"That is wonderful. At least we have a lead, but you may want to hurry. Time is of the essence. I give the hanyou a day or two max." Yasahiro confirmed as he sighed and leaned back into the plush armchair.
"I am afraid that we have even less than that." Miroku announced. He looked down at the ground with a solemn look on his face. "The hanyou is human on every new moon night. With his current condition I feel that the transformation into his weaker self will kill him." Yasahiro gasped and Sesshomaru remained impassive.
"Then I suggest you get to work monk." Sesshomaru growled. Miroku looked up at the prince nervously and nodded before grabbing the black book and fleeing the room to find a place to work.
Miroku wandered off to a secluded guest room in the immense castle. He remained close enough that he could be summoned if the hanyou's condition worsened.
After a good hour of reading over the text he realized that none of it had made sense to him. His head was starting to hurt from the deep concentration. Miroku rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes trying to think back to memories of his father for any clues of how to decode the text.
Ten years ago…
Young Miroku was running around in the open field that was located next to the small shack that he and his father lived in. He was nine and was eager for his father to come home. His father was summoned up to the castle to check on one of the Master's pets.
Miroku wondered what kind of pet the Master had. He hoped that it would be a cute cat or a fluffy dog. His father was called up to the castle every other day to check on the pet. It must have been very sick for his father to have to go up to the Master's chambers. Miroku wondered why the pet wasn't just brought to their quarters.
Whenever he asked his father about it his father always changed the subject and looked sad. He did not want to talk about the pet ever. It didn't make sense. What was so wrong about talking about it?
Miroku noticed his father walking to the house and ran over to meet him. His father was out of breath and running carrying something in his hands. Whatever it he had was wrapped in a bloody blanket. The blanket was made out of gorgeous eccentric fabric. Miroku could tell that it was from the Master's chambers. Miroku was concerned.
Before Miroku was able to speak his father cut him off. "Miroku not now. I need you to run and to get a pot full of water from the stream and bring it back to the house. Tell no one that I brought anything here. Be quick as possible." His father ran past him into the house and cleared the kitchen table with one arm while cradling the bundle in the other. Miroku was startled by the commotion but remembered his task.
After fetching the water he walked in to find his father taking the clothes off of a small child. Upon closer inspection he found that the child was a boy and a hanyou. He looked at his father nervously as he handed over the small pail of water.
His father took the metal pail and placed it over the fire to warm up the water. Miroku eyed the small hanyou on the table. He was so pail and fragile. There were streaks of blood down the hanyou's face that looked like tears. The hanyou's eyes were covered by bandages.
"Father why-"Miroku was cut off by his father.
"Not now Miroku. We need to focus now on helping him and then we can talk. We don't have much time before Master's guards come to look for him. Master will not be happy when he finds out that his prized pet is gone." His father removed the pail from the fire and grabbed a knife from beside the table.
Miroku was confused. Prized pet? The Master had a pet human? The answer puzzled him. He knew that the master had slaves in the palace but he had no idea what it meant to have a human as a pet. His father cut the dirty bandages off of the hanyou's face and Miroku gasped.
The hanyou's eyes were horrendous. They were covered in blood and infectious grime. It was impossible to tell the where the hanyou's eyes even where under all of the pus and blood. The smell hit Miroku and he had to resist the urge to throw up. The eyes were rotting out of the child's head. His father looked at the eyes and took in a deep breath to compose himself before he set to work.
It was a good two hours before the hanyou's eyes were cleaned of the infected mess and the hanyou was bandaged and placed in his father's bed to rest. His father covered the boy in his thickest blanket. He was so tiny. He could not have been any more than three relative to the stature of a human child. It was unsure to tell the child's actual age. It was most likely that he was older than him and his father put together.
"Son we need to talk." His father gently placed his hand on Miroku's shoulder and guided him to the newly cleaned kitchen table. They sat down and his father sighed.
"I know that this is going to be hard for you to hear, but I am in trouble son." Miroku gasped. He knew that his father must have been in some sort of trouble after stealing the child away from the Master.
"This is going to be very hard to understand but I need you to try to be mature about it son. The Master has left the castle for a couple of months to attempt to take over some territory from the cat demons. At the end of those months I will most likely be killed for stealing his precious pet away from the castle."
Miroku started to cry as he listened to his father.
"I will teach you everything that I know as quickly as possible. You must be the one to look after his pet." His father held onto Miroku as the confused boy cried.
"Father I don't understand, what is so special about the boy? Why is he a pet?" Miroku sobbed into his father's chest as he held him.
"You will understand that soon enough my son. Just remember these words whenever you are lost. A candle will be able to reveal the truth to you no matter how dark it seems." His father kissed the top of his head
Miroku rushed out of the memory of his father. "That's it!" He took a candle and held it to the pages of the book. How stupid was he that he couldn't figure it out quickly. His father coated the pages of his book in a special liquid that prevented the text from burning easily. The heat would reveal the hidden text under it. That text would be coded as well but it would hold the right information.
Miroku grabbed a candle from one of the holders in the room and placed it under the page. Slowly there was a crackle and the ink began to appear. Miroku knew that there would then be a trap on the writing that would hold a spirit guarding the text. Miroku prepared himself to exorcise it. Once the spirit was dealt with all was left was trying to decode the text.
It was another hour before Sesshomaru and Yasahiro heard anything from the monk. The hanyou was not doing any better in the hours that the monk was gone. His fever slowly was rising again but Sesshomaru's comforting aura was helping. The excitement of the fits had taken all of the small amount of strength that the hanyou had.
Sesshomaru heard footsteps as the door to the bedroom swung open and Yasahiro jumped in surprise. Miroku burst through the room smiling.
"I found a way to transfer the collar!"
Alright. So I know that the scene with Miroku's dad and the journal was a little cheesy and kind of anticlimactic in revealing how to deal with the collar. The next chapter will include the process of trying to transfer the ownership. There will also be some drama between Sesshomaru and his dad. I promise you that there will be a lot more of cuter caring scenes between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha in the future.
I thank you everyone who encouraged me to keep writing. I have spring break next week so I will definitely be able to update ALL of my stories. Please keep a lookout for the continuation of this series!
Once again thank you and please review! They encourage me to write more!
