Chapter 25

Dinner was an awkward affair. Kagome sat stiffly though the whole thing, delicately picking at her food with her chopsticks. Maeko seemed to speak to everyone and to no one at the same time, while Kosuke sat silently, for the most part, unless giving his mate one-worded warnings to behave. Sesshoumaru ate with a little more heart than he had been, but it was still less than what he normally ate. Kagome, not lifting her eyes from her plate, was oblivious to the looks of longing he shot her covertly; but his mother and her mate weren't.

"After supper, we'll adjourn to the family room," Maeko said in a polite, but commanding tone that brooked no room for disobedience.

Sesshoumaru frowned at the order, but did not object; while Kagome merely stiffened further at the thought of spending more time in the presence of strangers and him. While Sesshoumaru and Kosuke behaved as proper Japanese men should, with reserved good manners, Maeko truly was like a force of nature. It was obvious she was, by no means, a proper lady from the way she behaved. She was quite talkative, often raising delicate subjects no normal, self-respecting Japanese woman would have broached with a stranger, let alone in mixed company. She somehow managed, despite the sensitive subjects and her verbosity, to maintain a neutral face as propriety demanded. It was an odd combination and she left Kagome feeling like she was caught in a maelstrom.

"Of course, Maeko-sama," replied Kagome automatically, having been taught to be a polite, co-operative guest.

"Good, and Sesshoumaru you're coming as well."

"Mother, Kagome is not required to obey your whims and neither am I." Sesshoumaru informed her, annoyed with the way the dinner conversation was proceeding and his mother's assumption that Kagome should meekly fall in line. Frustration bubbled in him when Kagome had done just that. She did not have to obey his mother!

"Sesshoumaru," Kosuke said, looking at the young man sternly.

"Stepfather, she goes too far!" He exclaimed. "Kagome is not hers to command." His eyes were flashing red.

"No," his mother interrupted, "she is to be commanded only by you. Isn't that what you think, my son?" He met her blazing eyes and suddenly felt he'd been doused in ice water.

"She is my Marked Breeder, Mother…" he reminded her, unintended arrogance dripping from every syllable. He couldn't help but be pleased that she was his.

"It is my duty to obey him." Kagome finished for him. She looked up at him at last. "I've been reading about the tradition of the Marked. It is my obedience that you require, isn't it, my lord?"

For the first time since his childhood, Sesshoumaru had a bitter desire to weep. He steeled himself to answer her question. "Your obedience is expected, my Marked. It is expected and desired." He wanted to say so much more, but the words wouldn't come. He felt ice building in his belly, certain his words would only thicken the wall between them. He looked into her eyes, feeling sick at their opacity.

"By the customs and traditions of your culture," he wondered what she was trying to tell him. Her eyes remained unreadable, her face expressionless as she continued, "By the customs and traditions of my culture, it is considered polite to accede to the wishes of one's hostess. It is not a matter of obedience, my lord, but good manners."

He took a deep breath, feeling chastised, and, while still studying her eyes, spoke, "I am corrected, my Marked. It is so, a matter of good manners."

"Our cultures are very different, my lord." She returned her attention to her dinner, moving the food about the plate without managing to move anything to her mouth.

"They are indeed." He answered, praying to find an opening somewhere in her words. "But the differences are not insurmountable, do you think?"

Kagome looked startled for a moment, before nodding absently in confusion. He wanted to surmount them? She had assumed that he'd continue doing what he had all along and simply expect her to follow along with his wishes.

Maeko put an abrupt end to the tortured meal. She and her mate were finished and the children seemed interested in only playing with the delicious food on their plates. It was past time for talk. She rose from her place, "Come, both of you. Dinner is over." Like an imperious queen, she swept from the room, followed by the two nervous children and her smirking mate.

Sesshoumaru was so tense he felt as if he'd snap at any moment. His spine was rigid and he struggled to carry himself as he normally did. Sitting in the family room was a new form of torment for him. The cozy chair was suddenly constricting and he found himself wishing to shift in it, like a cat looking for the best spot. They were up to something, he just knew it.

"So tell me, Maru, what on earth possessed you to mark a foreigner?" asked his mother out of the blue, her expression bland. It was the opening shot across his bow.

Frowning, he looked at the conniving woman sitting in the chair next to him, "I have already discussed that with you, Mother."

"Yes, but I wasn't paying attention at the time," she said waving a perfectly manicured hand in the air. "You were whining and I hate whining." He heard a feminine snort and cast a glance at Kagome's down turned face to see if she was paying attention. By all appearances she seemed to be paying attention to Kosuke as he regaled her about the small palace's history. Sesshoumaru had no doubt his step father was purposefully keeping the conversation light to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

"I was not whining," he snapped, beyond irritated that his mother would accuse him of such in Kagome's presence. The woman drove him nuts; for all that he loved her. No one would support him like his mother, and no one could drive him to insanity like her either, he reflected wryly.

"Yes, yes, of course you weren't, Maru, but tell me again, without the whining. I promise, if you don't whine I'll actually pay attention this time!"

Grinding his teeth, he bit out, "I marked her because I could see her potential. I've already explained this! She could go anywhere; do anything; if she just had the resources. Resources I am providing."

"But really, Maru, why not just try a different method? Like offering her a job, or…" again she waved a graceful hand in the air, as if to catch the word she was searching for, "something."

"I panicked," he mumbled, eyes on his hands, face reddening. His every sense was centered on Kagome and he heard her breath catch. He feared what she was thinking. He now knew she was listening and decided to pretend she wasn't. He couldn't bare thinking about what his mother was up to or worse yet what Kagome was thinking.

"What was that, dear heart? You need to speak up, I'm old and my hearing isn't what it used to be."

"I said I panicked," he snapped. "And you are not so old that your hearing is going, mother! You're only just getting to be middle-aged. Try to make up excuses that are at least believable." His mouth was twisted in a snarl. Would it be beyond acceptable to change to his beast's form and tear his mother's throat out? Would he still be able to maintain a good relationship with his stepfather afterwards? What would Kagome think?

"Oh, how sweet of you, dearest!" Much to his growing horror his mother appeared to be in one of her moods and she patted his cheek affectionately. "It's so nice of you to say I'm not old. But I swear I saw the beginnings of wrinkles just the other day!" His mother had eccentricity down to an art form and outrageous beyond. He couldn't help but sigh at her behavior. He shook his head, how did Kosuke deal with her? At least Kagome was sane, when she wasn't wailing about being made a whore. Her insistence on that matter bewildered him no end.

"Now, Maru, explain to your dear old mother just why you panicked. You know, you really should stop doing that; it leads to poor decision making. Just look at what happened when you panicked over that letter your father sent requiring that you produce an heir! You need to learn self-control, to master your emotions." Her accusation of no control combined with her jumping from topic to topic was destroying his ability to think rationally. He was on the edge, of his seat and his sanity, unsure of what she would say next, what secrets she would expose to Kagome, and how to best defeat this opponent, his mother…

"I do not regret my decisions, any of them, so stop trying to force it on me!" Before his mother could erupt in a faux fit over how she was doing no such thing, he spoke over her. "I panicked and marked her because she was leaving," he said in a low voice. "She was only within my grasp because of Inuyasha's stupidity and his need of a tutor. He had finally managed to drive her off and I could not let her go, I needed a way to bind her to me. Things happened so fast afterwards that I never found the chance to explain what was going on. First, father treating her like a slave and ordering that I share her with Inuyasha and him, then his attack on her and, finally, Inuyasha's request," he couldn't help the sneer that twisted his beautiful mouth.

"Yes, of course; well, it's no wonder you fled to Kyoto," his mother hummed. "What was Inuyasha's request, by the way? I know you told me, but, like I was saying, I wasn't paying attention. No matter, I'll just ask Kagome later," she blessed the frozen girl with a radiant smile.

He wasn't sure whether she was talking to herself or not, but he answered her, "Don't bother, I never told her," he said gruffly. "She was trying to get over father's attack; she didn't need to know about it." He could feel Kagome's eyes trying to pierce him, so sharp was her glance. It seemed Kosuke had abandoned all attempt at pretending to distract her. This was what they were up to. "It was a matter of Inuyasha and his girlfriend having had another fight and she wasn't putting out so he requested Kagome's services. As if I'd let anyone use her in such a matter." He could feel his anger at his brother's idiocy boiling under his skin even after nearly a year.

"And yet you did." His mother's words were softly spoken, but hit with all the power of an artillery shell.

Whipping his head around, he looked hard at his mother. All thought but defending himself against her outrageous words flew from his mind. "You know damned well that is not the case! She is my breeder! I gave her a position of honor and am not using her. You know what my father would have done to her if I had chosen another to give me an heir. He fabricated the whole scam in an effort to get his hands on her after I sent her away during his visit. There is no way I'd let her be used like that! By him! This way she still has her freedom and still has choices."

Maeko sighed. "I understand, you panicked again; but I don't see why you didn't just make her your mate. She'd fill the role admirably and it's obvious you care for the girl more than you admit."

"Because she didn't deserve that!" he snapped, angry at his mother for suggesting such a thing. She was making his choices appear juvenile and ill-considered; though he had to admit that, perhaps, his choices concerning Kagome might be just that. He simply couldn't help it. Both times, the thought of her slipping through his fingers and out of his life sent shivers of dread down his spine, twisted his stomach and made his muscles twitch with the need for action.

A soft gasp brought his attention around to Kagome who was sitting quietly next to Kosuke. His stepfather was patting her hand in a gentle, soothing manner. Sesshoumaru, jealous for a second, felt the horror mount as she took a shuddering sob and ran out of the room. Sick dread clenched his stomach as he realized that he had become so engrossed in his argument with his mother that he'd forgotten they were there.

"Well," his mother said lightly. "I do hope you intend to explain your last statement to the poor girl, because it certainly didn't sound good."

His breathing stopped and his lungs burned as he realized what she had reacted to. Scrambling from his comfortable chair, he knocked it over in his effort to chase down the weeping woman. He couldn't afford a misunderstanding at this point. He was already so close to losing her that he was afraid the last thread of their relationship would snap before he could strengthening it. With a sharp snap of fangs at his mother, he raced from the room, following Kagome's salty scent.

"So, Maeko, do you think you've opened their eyes?" Her mate sent her an ironic grin as he arose from his chair to pick up Sesshoumaru's chair.

"My beloved Kosuke, the sun going supernova would have the devil's chance of opening their eyes." Maeko arose in turn and slipped into his warm embrace. "If she actually heard what he was saying, then there is hope. If she is as intelligent as he thinks she is, then there is hope. If she has more wit than he, then there is hope." She laid her head on his shoulder, exhausted by the passions of the two youngsters. "The girl is what? Eighteen? Nineteen? Are humans adults at that age? Are they mature enough to make decisions that will affect their whole lives?"

Kosuke laughed softly, "They have done so for eons, my love. Whether ready or not, they have made those decisions and lived by them. We can only have faith…" A soft sound at the doorway interrupted him. They turned to see Tomiko, Kagome's maid, standing there. She bowed.

"Please forgive me, my lady, my lord…" Maeko interrupted her, "You are Kagome's maid."

"Hai, my lady." She bowed again, respectfully.

"And you have been listening to all that went on this evening, haven't you." Kosuke's grin was more pronounced.

"Hai, my lord, I have," Tomiko showed absolutely no shame at the admission. "I thought, if you would permit such, I could give you insight into my Lady Kagome." Maeko's eyes began to shine wickedly. She held out her hand to Tomiko.

"Come, Tomiko-san, come and join us." Tomiko accepted the invitation and the three conspirators began to converse.