Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha.

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"Azami-sama, it's time to rise." Azami was silent under the covers. The servant girl feared the hanyou, most of the servants did. She hesitantly padded up to the lump under the covers and drew back the blanket. Azami was still dead asleep. The maid wondered idly if she always slept so deeply. She was curled up, not unlike the Lady's lap dog. Her thick tail brushed her nose and her ears occasionally twitched. She didn't look as intimidating when she was asleep. The maid thought Azami-sama actually looked pretty, beautiful even. She pulled back the sheet a bit more and her eyes shot open. A blade was at her throat; clearly she was a bit groggy with sleep. Her eyes half lidded and her tail was bristled.

"Azami-sama! Please!" Azami calmed and pulled away, immediately working to smooth her ruffled tail. The maid looked at her slightly tousled expression then approached her again, despite her better judgment

"My Lady?" Azami looked at her. It frightened the maid, how little there seemed to be. No happiness, or hatred, just nothing.

"Perhaps, I could help you with your tail." Azami sucked in her cheeks, thinking over her words. After a moment, Azami deemed the maid to be no threat and moved her tail toward her. The maid pulled some grooming supplies out of a chest in the corner. She calmly began moving the comb through the tangles in her fur. Azami was surprisingly compliant and even seemed to enjoy having her tail groomed.

"My, Azami-sama, your tail is so soft."

"Thank you."

"You normally don't sleep so late, My Lady. What were you doing last night?" Her tail twitched.

"That's none of your business." Azami replied curtly. The maid bowed her head. Azami's mind flitted to the night before.

X

The night was filled with the clangs of metal upon metal. Her footwork was hurried as her feet padded and slid across the ground. Her tail whipped around her legs, sweeping against the ground, tainting the white fur with brown. The swords begin flung around excited her. Her bosom heaved with excitement. Her ears were perked up, wonderfully entertained. Azami couldn't remember the last time she had such fun. The Chinese styled sword of the youkai whacked Mugetsu aside and thrust it at her throat, stopping only to spare her life. The tip of the sword pricked her throat, drawing a thin stream of red blood.

"Dead." He dropped the sword and the pair engaged into another sparring match.

Hours passed, running about, swords clashing. Finally exhaustion won over the hanyou and she fell to her knees, panting, her tongue lolling out her mouth like a dog. She looked incredibly undignified and stared at the feet of her sparring partner. To her surprise he did not attempt to strike again but sat beside her. He rustled through his robes before revealing a small bottle of sake and two cups. He poured the sweet smelling liquid in and handed her one. Azami sniffed it, looking for poison or something but found nothing except a pleasant scent. Her tail wagged a bit and she drank it. The fluid was warm and appealed to her tastes more than the sake of humans.

"It is meant for us. It was brewed with inu-youkai in mind." Azami looked up at him then took another sip.

"But it has higher alcohol content. It might not affect me, but it might cloud your head a little." Azami nodded complacently, already feeling buzzed.

"You have great potential as a warrior. Your father is very proud of you." Azami snorted, her tail flicking irritably.

"I am hanyou, he wants nothing from me. He has no pride in me. I am his bastard daughter." She sulked, her ears and tail drooping, only partially from the booze.

"Not true." One ear perked to capture his words.

"You are a trueborn daughter; your human mother was married and mated to our lord."

"Liar…." She slurred.

"No youkai would accept a human woman as their Lady." She continued with a broad sweep of her arm.

"Under normal circumstances, no. Your father is different. He is powerful enough to silence the whole clan. They're all afraid of him, and that's how it should be." Azami considered his words.

"He loved my mother." It wasn't a question.

"I suppose he did. Love isn't in his nature, but he was very attached to your mother." Sesshomaru took another drink. Azami picked up her tail and hugged it. The alcohol was clearly getting to her.

"You father wants you back Azami, you and your brother." Azami buried her face in her tail.

"He wants you to be strong. You are his trueborn daughter, his eldest. You need to be strong. You owe him your strength and your love." Sesshomaru continued, talking about his feelings was strange, even in the third person.

"I owe him nothing." She hissed, one yellow eye peeking from over her tail to glare at him.

"How long are you going to hold on to your resentment, girl?" Sesshomaru asked, anger seeping into his tone.

"I am no girl." She hissed, the cloudy effects of the sake, rapidly fading.

"Then what are you, a pup, a bitch?"

"I am neither, I am a woman." Sesshomaru chuckled. Her tail flicked about irritably.

"What's funny?"

"To be a woman, you must be human. Human you are not."

"I know." Sesshomaru got to his feet.

"I will come again in a fortnight. Then we will spar again, next time I expect you to be dressed more appropriately." She snorted and hopped to her own feet.

"I apologize for offending you." Azami snarled. She flipped her hair defiantly and walked off, her tail sweeping the back of her legs.

X

Azami couldn't stifle the yawn that escaped her jaws as she strode down the hall. Her ears flattened as her jaw unhinged, revealing her white fangs, the missing one now replaced. She wasn't in her warrior dress, but a casual day kimono. The kimono was made of simple cotton was a pretty shade of deep purple, complementing the mark on her forehead. Her hair was loose and trailing around her body angelically. However, some hair was held back with a beautifully made hairpin. Her feet padded along, one hand secured on Mugetsu. As she walked down the hall, she sashayed her hips unintentionally. She was absorbed in her thoughts, so much so that she didn't seem to acknowledge the stares of the men. Azami seemed in good humor, though with her it was hard to tell. She had walked a good bit to the garden to meet with her lord. He caught her eyes and she bowed down, her white hair spreading over the earth.

"Okumoto-sama."

"Azami-sama, you look lovely today."

"Thank you My Lord." He smiled, gazing upon her lovingly. His wife nudged him roughly.

"What is the reason for this change in wardrobe?"

"I do own kimono, the ones that your lordship has generously bestowed upon me."

"You don't often wear them; you often wear your armor."

"It is not good for the body to strain it every day."

"This is true." The silver pin, holding back some of her hair caught his eye. It was well crafted. The silver pin had a purple crescent moon on the top, with a gold tassel and the pale purple beads hanging off of it. He smiled upon seeing it pinned in her hair. She didn't wear that ornament often.

"You are in a good mood, to be wearing that pin." Azami's hand flew to the pin holding her hair back. There was a flash of self-consciousness in her face for a flash. Her tail shivered awkwardly. Azami looked to see the true Lady glowering at her, recognizing the pin. Thankfully the moment was broken by Ichiru's entrance.

"Nee-san!" He yelped, crashing into her. Her brother was always eager to see her. She was sure if he had a tail too, it would be wagging whenever she was with him. Azami grasped her brother and pulled him onto her lap. Though he was well over fifty years old, Ichiru still looked like a boy ranging from eleven to twelve. He was every bit a younger brother to his seventeen looking sister, Azami. Azami scratched his ears.

"You look pretty today!"

"Thank you, Ichiru."

X

Ryoko stormed down the hall, her hair swinging back and forth. Her lord husband had been even more distant as of late. She found him in a sitting room. She slammed the door open, he didn't even glance at her. He was writing something, but she didn't even bother to read what it was. Ryoko had other things on her mind. She knelt down at his side and tapped him. Sesshomaru continued to ignore her.

"Husband!" Sesshomaru put down the brush he was writing with.

"What is it, Ryoko?"

"Husband, you've been acting strange as of late. And I smell a hanyou on you. What the hell is this?"

"Something that is none of your business Ryoko." He moved to leave. Surprisingly she grabbed onto him.

"No, you will tell me something right now." Impressed by her authoritative display, he stopped to listen.

"Who was the hanyou? I can tell by the smell it's female, so it isn't your half-brother. Who was it?"

"My pup." He told her bluntly then left, ignoring her incredulous expression.

He didn't know that after she left that his current wife flew into a flurry of angry motion. The servants stood fearfully outside the door listening to the Lady of the West tearing the place to pieces with her bare hands. No one had ever seen her so angry. She stormed out of the room and into her own private quarters. Ryoko began picked up documents and letters, searching for something that would have led her to this conclusion.

"I thought I killed that bitch and her bastard brother. Damn it! I know they killed the human whore so why…"She trailed off as the answer came to her.

They never found the bodies of the pups.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! Ryoko, like everyone assumed them dead. Even if they hadn't been killed they surely should have fallen victim to the wild. Damn those pups to hell. Ryoko had to admit, she had underestimated the bitch pup. Even when she was a newborn she seemed strangely aware. The pup was aggravatingly resourceful and even more youkai than a hanyou should be. She remembered the pup walking when she was still a newborn. Even more did Ryoko member the look of subtle pride that Sesshomaru had in the bitch pup. She remembered that human whore that picked up the toddling puppy and holding her up to Sesshomaru. Then she remembered Sesshomaru taking the bitch half-breed and carrying her with the faintest hint of a smile on her face. Damn it. Then another thought occurred to her.

What about the bastard pup?

Crap, she hadn't even considered the male pup. The bitch was strong, how strong was the male? Ryoko remembered the stories about her lord husband's half-brother Inu-Yasha. Even though he was the previous Lord's hanyou bastard, he was stronger than many demons, though still nothing compared to his older brother. She didn't even want to know what would happen when her Lord Husband eventually brought them here. They would come to the palace, she knew it. The bitch and the bastard were only pups when their mother was killed. There was a solid chance they didn't remember their attacker. There was even less of chance to trace the attacker back to her.

They were only hanyou after all, how smart could they be?

X

"Nee-san you're so smart!"

"It's just kanji, Ichiru." Azami told him, not glancing up from her calligraphy.

"Still, Azami-nee-san, you have the best handwriting." Akiko insisted, dressed properly for once after Azami pulled the rolled and folded sleeves and skirt down. Since Azami was running around with normal women's clothes and well groomed hair, all of them followed her example. Akiko had stay still long enough for Azami to comb out her eternally mussed auburn hair and fluffy tail. Takamaru had allowed Azami to groom his wings and convinced to file his claws. Umeko had sat in Azami's lap and smiled when she sprinkled water on her flower. Ichiru had combed his hair. All of them were well dressed, there was no real purpose behind it, and they just wanted to look nice.

Unfortunately for Azami, her pack didn't let humans touch them. Ichiru and Azami, while not fond of human touch from servants, allowed it. This was because they had lived in the estate the longest. Akiko and Takamaru ran wherever servants tried to touch them and Umeko cried. It was almost funny how much more the pack were afraid of humans than they were of him. The first time they had tried to brush Akiko's tail she came running to Azami, hiding behind her sibling. For the entire day, Akiko had clung to her tail, it was quite irritating. Takamaru hadn't let go of Azami's hand for several days, following her like a shadow. Umeko was still following Azami whenever she could.

"Well, writing is the one thing Azami-nee-san is any good at." Takamaru stated flippantly.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, you never wrestle with us! I'm the grand champion." Akiko boasted, her fur fluffing out.

"Oh really, I'm just a stick in the mud then?" Azami asked; an eyebrow cocking.

"Oh yeah." Akiko giggled.

Without warning Azami pounced on Akiko. The pack was stunned; Azami was affectionate in her own way, but never playful like this. She was in a frighteningly good mood. Akiko struggled against her alpha's grip for a bit, fighting like a wolverine. Eventually, Azami pinned her, biting her fox ear and tugging it. Akiko whined and wiggled underneath Azami's strong hold.

"Yield?"

"I yield! I yield!" Azami released her ear and the kitsune squirmed away, her green eyes, wide with shock. Azami straightened up, her tail swaying triumphantly.

"Let that be a lesson, Akiko-san. You must always be prepared." Once they gathered once she meant, Ichiru broke out into hysterical giggles. Akiko and Umeko were rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Takamaru was doubled over. Azami knelt down, ignoring or ignorant, her hair mused from her play wrestle.

In the doorway, Ryuumaru stood watching. He watched her child of a brother giggle like a babe. He watched the two females rolling on their back laughing. He watched the hawk attempting to sound like an adult as he laughed. But he did not care for the actions of the hatchlings. They were young, children to him. Their actions had little impact. What he was watching was the moon in the sky, the waxing crescent. He watched Azami's hair turn half a shade darker, her dog ears move lower down her head. He noticed her smell of dog become fainter and her eyes darker. Her human time was coming, tomorrow. Then, he would strike.

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Princess: College has started, updates will be even more irregular… Sorry….. Sesshomaru and Aza-chan have more fun interactions and Azami's still freaking oblivious. Suspicious Ryoko is suspicious. Okumoto flirts with his ward/samurai. Fighting apparently puts Azami in such a good mood that she actually played with Akiko! LOLwut? Oh yeah and Ryuu-kun is being a creeper as usual.

Reviews~ *magical music*

ImmolationPiggieofDoom: Huh, immolation's actually a word, who knew. Anywho, Sango has been a bit more thorough with the nasty bugger this time around. Yeah, I want Azami's blade, it totally suits her and well, that theory of yours is a definite possibility. So I hope you're having fun with marching band! Love!