They bowed with respect and reverence as he walked by; just like they should, considering he was the one that was working day and night to keep them and their families, not just his own – though they were his motivation – safe.

It had been quite some time since he had set foot in his camp and though it felt familiar; being amongst his loyal soldier, the sights and the sounds that had become a part of his everyday life, the smells, everything about it, the camp did not feel like home. The building he had just come from, where he left his worried mate and young children was his home. That was where he wanted to be. That was where he should be. That was his place in the world, where he belonged.

This camp and what it represent (ongoing civil unrest that seemed endless) were an inconvenience and a possible threat to the life he wanted to lead and the sooner he got rid of them both the sooner he could truly do what it was that he wanted to, what it was that made him happy.

There was no joy in this place, where every day he received reports of heinous crime after heinous crime committed against the foolish little humans that decided to take up residence on his lands. There were instances of joy however; when they captured a dangerous criminal they had spent months hunting, saving a life, the closure of a case, delivering good news to worried families, the union of one of his soldiers and his mate. But they were few and fleeting.

Sesshomaru wanted his life back. Needed his life back and he would make it happen. Right now however, he had to focus on the task at hand and that was dealing with Hisano.

Given the time of day, she was probably lying on her back beneath one of his high ranking officers – despite being a whore, she only slept with "the best of the best" – Sesshomaru assumed it gave her an elevated sense of self to be able to brag that she slept with men in high places…just like she had with him.

Sesshomaru scoffed. Disappointed in himself for having been so weak as to…to have done what he did; to have slept with Hisano. She had always tried to seduce him, had always tried to convince him to bed her, she had always tried so very hard to get him touch her the way she wanted him to, to ravish her and show her just what he could do and he had always been able to resist – albeit being pulled in by her a few times, but he had not given into her seduction before that one time.

He didn't know what was different that time, what had made him so weak as to give into his baser instincts but he had made a mistake. A mistake for which he felt great guilt and remorse and now had to face the consequences of. He would make it up to Mayuri in every way he could, even though she had no clue as to what was going on with him and how he had betrayed her, he would make it up to her. He promised himself. He did not want her to worry or be unhappy anymore.

He knew where she was, he had asked when he had arrived and at the moment she was sleeping with his lieutenant general; a favourite of hers maybe because he was Sesshomaru's second-in-command. The man who was, at one time and would henceforth be, the closest she could ever get to Sesshomaru.

His lieutenant general knew very well of the type of woman Hisano was, knew full well the sort of thoughts that filled her conniving little head, but it did not hurt his pride at all. If anything he felt sorry for the girl…but not so much so that he wouldn't take full advantage of what it was she offered up so eagerly.

And now Sesshomaru stood outside of his tent. Anyone, youkai or human, standing within three feet of this tenet would be able to hear exactly what was going on inside. Yes, Hisano was quite the loud one when she wanted to be. Those weren't the only sounds that came from the tent however…

Sesshomaru motioned for Shobatsusuru to disturb the two and extract the woman who would now be facing her punishment. There were no squeals of embarrassment or shame when his man entered the tent, no doubt Hisano made no attempts to hide her body from him when he entered. His lieutenant general came out first, fastening his hakama as he did so and stood before his lord as he bowed.

"Greetings my lord." He said.

"Greetings Hiroto." Sesshomaru said as he nodded to his lieutenant.

Hiroto was a tall well built man, with a large back, wide shoulders and lean yet somewhat muscular body that at present glistened with the sweat of his interrupted activity. He was the teeniest bit taller than Sesshomaru and had waist length very light brown hair that was almost lighter than air and parted down the middle as it fell and framed his face and dark brown eyes. If you asked any woman in the camp, she would say his beauty matched that of their fair lord; though his nose was longer and thinner, his lips were fuller and his skin was darker.

"I see you have brought your henchmen; your punisher." Hiroto said.

By this time a small crowd had gathered, though everyone kept their distance, and watched the events that were unfolding before them.

Just then, said punisher came out of the tent pulling Hisano behind him with chains around her wrists, wearing nothing but Hiroto's haori thrown over her shoulders. She looked up at Sesshomaru with fear and knowing her eyes, as well as confusion.

"Sesshomaru-sama….my lord…what…" She stammered.

Sesshomaru said nothing; he merely motioned for Shobatsusuru to follow him.

Hiroto did not follow. He looked around in the crowd that had gathered and spotted another one of the "service girls" in the camp.

"You, come!" He ordered and returned to his tent.

Sesshomaru made his way to the centre of the camp, near his camp and not very far from where he had just come. There lay a sort of "stage" where criminals and the like were punished and, if called for, executed. This was where he was to deliver his message to those people who incessantly wagged their tongues and threatened to expose his infidelity to his mate, this was where he would make an example of Hisano. They needed to watch, they needed to see what would happen to them if they continued to speak of his mistake.

He climbed the steps, Shobatsusuru behind him dragging Hisano along, and proceeded towards the centre of the "stage", thereby instructing Shobatsusuru to leave Hisano there. He turned to the crowd that had gathered, many of which had followed them from whence they had previously came and even from when he had first entered the camp. They knew the face of Sesshomaru's punisher well, after all he was the one who was sent for whenever they had captured a criminal they had been looking for, so they knew that when he came to camp someone was about to suffer. The surprise on their faces did not escape him however; it was a very rare occasion when one of their own was the one being punished.

His eyes now focused on the scared, naked and chained woman that shook at his feet.

"I should not have to tell you why you are being punished." Sesshomaru said loud enough for the gathered crowd to hear.

"I…I don't…I don't understand-"

"Oh? Were you not the one who bragged about having slept with me?" He asked.

Her eyes grew wide with horror and realisation.

"My lord! Please!" She begged. It was futile.

Sesshomaru turned on his heel, towards the crowd and nodded to Shobatsusuru. The man immediately pulled out his whip, which only made Hisano beg and plead harder and louder. His eyes narrowed; in the distance, there seemed to be a small disturbance in the crowd. They tended to get quite rowdy when the "stage" was being used but it was never anything that required him to intervene. It seemed to be little more than someone trying to leave.

Hisano screamed as the whip came down on her back.