Disclaimer: I do not own 'Inuyasha' or any of its characters.

Enjoy the chapter and be sure to read the notes at the end of it.


Chapter Forty-Two: Surprises

"Good Morning, First Commander, " one of the guards at the entrance of the dungeons greeted him as soon as Katsuro reached the last step and came into his view.

"Good Morning, Hikaru," the dog demon replied. "Had you problems tonight with the prisoners? Did you hear strange noises or commotions?" he inquired. Currently, there were just two prisoners inside, the cat and Noboru, but Katsuro had made sure that the latter didn't know about the former's presence. Luckily for them, the prisons were large enough to assure that two people at opposite poles remained unaware of each other. Two sets of guards were placed outside their cells, but other demons were guarding the exits. They couldn't let anyone enter right now.

"No, everything was quiet, Katsuro-sama," the other demon replied.

"Very well, I am heading towards the new prisoner, see you in a bit," he informed them before he entered.

When he approached the cat demon's cell, the two guards gave him the same answer. The prisoner had been quiet all night and hadn't given him any trouble, in fact, he was still sleeping. If he wanted to take him away he would have to wake him up first. Katsuro raised his brow, still sleeping?

The sun had been up for a while, surely the rays coming through the little window should have bothered him by now, and since when did a demon slept until late in the day? He didn't need to and even if he wanted to it was physiologically impossible for him. He leaned over their shoulders and saw the demon slumped, his head lolling forward, facing the ground. Something was quite right, it was almost like...

"Move!" Katsuro immediately ordered; he hastily removed the barrier and opened the cell to check on the prisoners. As soon as he touched him he fell with a loud thud to the ground, unresponsive, his skin frozen to his touch, and checking his pulse Katsuro realized there was none.

"Forget sleeping all night, this one had been dead for hours and no one had noticed. How on earth had this happened? The dungeon was surrounded and the guards said they hadn't heard anything."

Quickly he crouched down began to move the cat's suikan aside to check anything that might look out of place; the body would have to be taken to the healer to figure out the cause of death, but he could in the meantime begin to do some investigating. And there on his neck, the only thing that could give him any clue was a tiny red dot that looked suspiciously like a bite. Getting closer Katsuro sniffed the wound and angrily noted that it contained traces of venom, what kind he didn't know, but maybe the Lady Mother or Sesshomaru would be able to recognize it.

Traces, he needed traces! Katsuro checked the bars of the cells, the window up in the corner, they would have to bring in experienced sniffers later but he wouldn't leave this cell if he didn't find a trace before.

Searching a second time with his eyes over the body and the small cell of the prisoner, Katsuro found what he was looking for, something he had missed the first time due to his haste: a thin, almost invisible silver spider web in the demon's hair.

"That's it," the Commander thought as he followed the possible course of the web. He only found another fine thread near the small window's bars; he held it high in front of his face, even knowing it was there, it was difficult to distinguish it due to its colour.

If a spider demon had been sent to do the dirty job, no one could have seen the web reaching for the unaware victim and it didn't require the killer to personally enter the cell, thus it was easy to penetrate their defences and avoid the watchful eye of the guards scattered all around. Mostly, operating at night, they could have also left a minimal amount of poison that would have allowed the prisoner to die slowly without giving too much away or alerting the guards, it would have looked just as if he had fallen asleep. Dammit!

Another insufferable little friend of that Tsubasa. He could have bet on it.

But whoever had been asked to eliminate the witness had not been up to the task because had left too much behind as well. The webs used to inject the victim's poison still contained traces of youki, it was faint, sure, but it was necessary to track down the owner and it would be enough for them.

"Katsuro-sama? What's going on?" one of the guards asked seeing his strange behaviour and the way the prisoner remained on the ground immobile.

"The key witness was killed in front of your eyes," Katsuro hissed, keeping his voice low not to alert anyone or making Noboru understand they had discovered his latest trick. Because he knew, he just knew, that the demon had been sent by him and his pinkish lover. "You've been out front all night and not once did it occur to you to check on the prisoner? He's dead dammit, and from how cold he is I gather he's been dead for a good while and you thought he was sleeping!"

Had he been wrong about their loyalty? He found himself wondering. Yet he had known them for so long. No, he shook his head at that thought, he wouldn't be confused by uncertainty and doubt; they were only guilty of being too quiet on guard duty when in fact they knew full well the importance of the task.

He covered his eyes with a hand and sighed, trying to regain his composure and not give in to panic. How was he going to give the news to the silver brothers? Inuyasha was likely going to skin him alive, he was just waiting for Noboru's condemn and now their only witness was dead.

He raised his other hand to stop their reply, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath before starting to give them orders, "I want you to remain here and check everything, no one is to go near him, not even a gust of wind is to be there, and most of all I don't want to see any damn bugs crawling through these hallways. The scene must remain as I leave it, no one is to take anything away or touch anything and that includes the prisoner. We need to try to get as much as we can out of what the killer left behind without realizing it." He pinned them with a pair of beady eyes and then went on, "I'm going to send down here a sniffer and a healer and contemporary give the bad news to the two Lords, they will likely want to come here to check and I can already tell you it won't be nice."

The guards nodded stiffly, they knew well how enraged and unstable both brothers had been, though obviously in different ways, and the last thing they wanted was to find themselves at the mercy of their rage. But apparently, they didn't have much of a chance, since they were the only two present at the time of death; they were in for a pretty complicated few hours. They gulped and assured the First Commander that they would follow orders to the letter.

"Make sure you do it for sure now, don't make me angry more than I am already, because you won't need another enraged dog-demon as soon as Sesshomaru comes down here. But if I were you I'll watch for Inuyasha, he's the one who will likely skin us alive as soon he finds out you let his prisoner die," Katsuro muttered before going to send someone up to the council room.


"Rin, why don't you lay down so that one of us can check on you?" Kagome asked the young girl that morning when she went to Kaede's. She had left her sons with Miroku for their usual training and one of the guards, while the other, Kichiro, went along with her as she went to check on some of the ill. When her route had been complete they headed towards the old priestess' hut because she wanted to check on Rin too.

Inuyasha had been gone less than a day and she already missed him too much, Kagome needed his comfort right now, the weight of everything that was happening plus knowing certain things that were gonna happen soon left her mentally drained and the worst thing was that she couldn't talk with anyone but her husband that was currently away.

The previous night she had tried to muffle her cries while she laid in bed with her sons snuggled up against her, but evidently, nothing went past dog-demons, even if just a quarter, and both had demanded to know why mommy was crying. It had been incredibly hard to lie and assure them that everything was fine, especially because even if the shock of the attack had passed, they were still worried about their father being away. Rin's pregnancy was the last thing she needed right now, she was far too emotional to pretend everything was fine and she had never been good at lying anyway.

Rin complied and laid down on the futon Kaede had prepared for the examination. "You can already check on the pup, Kagome-chan?"

"Not really, Rin, I just want to make sure again you're fine, you know. Where I came from girls tend to be always examined after their first sexual intercourse. But since we know you are also pregnant a few more checks never hurt, besides I know first hand how taxing a demonic pregnancy can be." Kagome explained and noticed Kaede looking at her like a hawk as if she was expecting her to make a mistake.

"We are really lucky we have Kagome-sama living in the village, aren't we, Kaede-sama? She knows so many things that I'm sure everything will be good with this pup as long as she'll help me," Rin commented with a toothy smile; Kagome felt the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, but she strove not to drop a single one of them.

Pity I can't predict or prevent miscarriages Rin-chan, Kagome thought grimacing.

"I'll teach you everything you want to know, Rin-chan, you know that I don't like women being in the dark about the way their bodies works; it's natural for me to know these things. Besides, I'd do everything for you, even more now that you're officially part of the family." She offered her a genuine smile.

Fortunately, at that moment Kaede stepped in, beginning to explain some of the things Rin should expect in the coming months, rushing to Kagome's aid who would surely have collapsed before long if the conversation had continued down that path. When they finished they sent Rin collecting some herbs with the guards Sesshomaru had sent for her and Kagome was about to leave the hut to continue her duty when a wrinkled hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Kaede-obaa-chan?"

"Sit still, child, ye and I are going to have a little chat," Kaede murmured while stirring the firepit and putting a kettle on to boil the water. "How about a cup of tea before ye go back to your busy life?"

Kagome nodded sheepishly, not really knowing what to expect from the next minutes with her mentor. Kaede had always been stern and direct when the situation needed it and she had learnt she could read someone quite easily, not that Kagome was so difficult to read and unfortunately, she knew Kaede had noticed something was going on, besides the situation at the palace.

They remained in silence until the water was ready and then when two cups of hot steamy tea were ready, the old priestess finally spoke up. "What's going on that pretty mind of yours, Kagome, child? I've never seen so worried since the time ye had to come back to West after someone there tried to kill your youngest."

"You know, Kaede-obaa-chan. I worry about Inuyasha and the pups are being extremely tense after the attack, they miss their father too."

Kaede looked at her dead in the eyes."Do not try to fool me, young girl, I know ye," she took a sip of her tea, patted her hand then spoke again. "I know ye are worried about your husband, but something is going on with Rin that both of ye are hiding. I saw the way Inuyasha tensed yesterday when he found out the girl was pregnant."

"You misunderstand, Kaede-obaa-chan, we're really happy about Rin and her-" she tried to say but Kaede interrupted her with a hard glare.

"Why ye are lying to me, child? Why ye even think ye could lie to me? I am the person who knows ye better than everyone in this village except for your husband. I know that there's something ye are hiding. I would have thought Inuyasha would have been happy about another half-demon in the family so that he could tease his brother, karma or things like that. He is definitely the type of man who would do it."

Kagome lowered her head, unable to look into her eyes and started sobbing silently; Kaede noticed that and came closer, pulling her in a warm embrace. They stay like that until Kagome's tears subsided. At that moment it was like finding herself again in the arms of her mother after a long time.

"I c-can't, obaa-chan," Kagome whispered, her voice broken by the few tears that still fell down her cheeks.

"Mmm, I understand," Kaede replied after a couple of minutes.

Kagome looked up at her, "Y-you... you do?"

The priestess nodded. "I think I do, it all has to do with the future, hasn't it? Ye and Inuyasha know something ye can't say and considering how both of ye have been tense, I dare to say it's nothing good."

Kagome made to open her mouth, but Kaede stopped her once again, "I'm not gonna ask ye to tell me what, child, I understand. I just wish I could ease your burden, yours is a strange destiny: destined for great things, but at the same time to endure great pain, from the moment ye fell into that well and brought us back the Shikon jewel."

"I'll be ok, Kaede-obaa-chan," Kagome replied as she wiped her tears. "I've been preparing for some events since the day I decided to remain here in the past with Inuyasha."

Kaede nodded. "Luckily ye are not alone, that boy of yours may be stubborn and rough, but we know he has a good heart and loves ye. Sometimes I have a hard time recognizing him," she chuckled, "to see how he's changed and grown since you've been next to him, or when I think of the Inuyasha I knew when I was a little child. But," she added, "I want ye to know that I'll be here for ye every time ye need me."

Kagome smiled. "I know Kaede-obaa-chan, you have been the closest thing to a mother figure since I had to say goodbye to mine and my sons consider you a grandmother too. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have had you at my side from the moment I arrived in this era."


"What could have happened that was so serious as to interrupt a private council meeting in this way?" Sesshomaru inquired with a hard glare. This was no good omen, Katsuro's task was rather simple.

The two guards seemed to hesitate and avoided their stares, exuding anxiety and fear. Inuyasha, already angry and annoyed, was in no mood for that, "Hurry up and talk before I make you."

"Y-yes, sir..." one of them muttered.

The other hastily continued, going straight to the point. "He's dead my lord, the prisoner has been found dead." He then waited for the rage to be unleashed as one sentenced to death.

A couple of seconds later everyone in the castle snapped to attention at the loud and rather terrifying snarl that reverberated through the morning air.

The half-demon was a sight at that moment, unable to contain his fury and almost unleashing it on the two innocent messengers; Sesshomaru immediately grabbed him, blocking his arms to keep him as much still as he could. Inuyasha continued to squirm, trying to weasel out of his grip, but the dai-youkai only tightened it, his claws embedded in the skin. He too was enraged at the moment, but he wouldn't let Inuyasha give in to his bloodlust or do something he would most certainly regret later.

"Inuyasha, if you do not calm down now, we cannot ascertain what has happened. I need you lucid and in control," he murmured for his ears only. His eyes were quickly switching from golden to red and jagged purple marks had already settled on his cheeks showing how much the demon inside him had already taken control.

No one in the castle in all these years had ever seen Inuyasha lose control completely by witnessing his transformation and Sesshomaru would have preferred to keep it that way. But his scent had already changed, and the dismayed faces of everyone in the room let him know that no one had missed neither of the signs that usually preceded the transformation. They didn't know what that meant but they could surely tell something was happening with Inuyasha.

The half-demon tried again to free his right arm, but this time Sesshomaru realized that he was simply trying to reach Tessaiga. So he loosened his grip and slowly Inuyasha grabbed the hilt of the sword, so hard that it seemed as if he was seeking its comfort and maybe it was just like that. It had been years since the last time Inuyasha had almost lost control; since he had mated with Kagome it had been incredibly easy to keep his blood in check and the only times he had been close to transforming, his mate was next to him. Now, it seems he had reversed back to the first times he had lost control.

The moment he had heard those words it was as if a switch had gone off and everything he could think about was to eliminate the danger. With the cat dead, their key to finally nail Noboru was gone and Inuyasha was sure some of his associates had been sent to finish the job. He just wanted to give in to his thirst for vengeance and kill the demon who had been threatening his family since he had set foot in the damn castle.

Again. He had done it again. How was it possible that the damn demon kept getting away with it?

But coming out of the haze that clouded his mind he realized that making a spectacle of himself at the moment was not the best of the ideas; it would give more to talk to those who considered him an obstacle to the well-being of the lands. With the last shred of rationality he had left, he shook his arm to let Sesshomaru know that he had to free him and clung firmly to Tessaiga's hilt, the only real support he had at that moment.

"What's the meaning of this? Why the half-demon smelled different for a moment? What witchcraft is this?" Goro demanded as soon as Inuyasha relaxed again and Sesshomaru let him go.

"Fuck off, you and your witchcraft, you old fool," Inuyasha rudely replied, not even glancing at him. "I don't have time to listen to your pointless babbling." He pinned down the two guards that were still waiting for a command with a death glare. "How the fuck is it possible that the prisoner was killed if Katsuro and I personally took care of his protection? There were guards at every entrance, how did someone penetrate the defences? If I find out that someone among you double-crossed me, I assure you I'm gonna peel off layer after layer of your skin and make sure yours is a miserable death," he told them, his tone cold, menacingly and curt. His eyes held such a raging fire that the last thing they wanted to do was to look into them, but Inuyasha didn't let them go.

"Let's go," Sesshomaru interjected, "Katsuro is probably still down there trying to find the cause of the death and the reason why they managed to kill him." He addressed the elders before they left the room, "We'll be back as soon as we're done checking out the crime scene in the dungeon, I'd rather you all remain in this room, we'll resume our meeting right after. Now we have even more to discuss since someone intentionally took out the key witness."


When the two brothers reached the dungeons, the entire castle had been warned that something had happened; Inuyasha's scream had not gone unnoticed, nor had the sudden burst of a raging and more powerful aura that was familiar but not quite the one everyone had learnt to associate with the half-demon. That had certainly scared the guards who still were waiting for judgement down the dungeons or the last traitors who had already been sentenced to death.

They met Katsuro in front of the cell, speaking with a couple of demons who clearly weren't guards and another one, the healer, inside examining the body; next to them were the guards the First Commander had appointed the day before as protection and he fixed them with beady eyes. The two immediately stiffened and then bowed humbly, mostly to avoid his gaze. Had they betrayed their trust? Katsuro had chosen them carefully, making sure they were trustworthy people and that there wasn't even an ounce of doubt about their reliability, and in all these years Inuyasha had known him, he had learnt that Katsuro knew very well the people that entered the army. Be they guards, soldiers or Commanders, the dog demon seemed to be informed of everything regarding the army he had been placed in charge of.

Sesshomaru wanted to roll his eyes, since when in this castle were they more afraid of his brother than of him?

Without wasting too much time on preambles, Inuyasha addressed them and everyone currently in the dark tunnels stilled. "How is that possible that the fucker is dead if he was under your surveillance? The Commander deemed you worthy of our trust and I had told you very well why it was important he remained alive for just a fucking day! I didn't ask you to guard him for all your life, a couple of fucking hours and when I send Katsuro down here to retrieve him he finds him dead? How the fuck is it possible that you didn't notice him dying?"

"Inuyasha," Katsuro interjected before the half-demon could beat the guards or scare them to death, "the healer is currently examining the body but I think we can already answer some of your questions. Unfortunately, it would have been very difficult for the two of them to realize before the time, although I too am very upset that they didn't notice the death sooner. The cat died in the night and this morning they were still convinced he was sleeping; the plan of attack was cleverly thought out and the goal was to appear as quiet as possible and make it look like the prisoner was just sleeping."

"What was the cause of death? I don't smell any blood or even another presence besides ours," Sesshomaru inquired, gesturing towards the demons currently present.

"Venom," Katsuro replied, "we have been waiting for you to try and understand what kind if even the healer fails. The culprit must have been a spider demon, the sniffers have examined the trail and it was possible to find a signature youki. It is a very faint trace, but still, a trace, something impossible to notice if not inside the cell, in the proximity of the victim."

Not even Sesshomaru could have sensed it, not that Katsuro would ever say it to him, not at all. The Commander must give it to her, Tsubasa, of all demons of her kind he had met through all his life, was the most tricking and conniving; her little friends or companions were always too silent. And an enemy who couldn't be sensed, let alone seen, was the most dangerous of all – they had to get rid of her as soon as possible. If anything, she was even more dangerous than Noboru, who was only a coward that loved to bend the other to his whim.

Sesshomaru slightly smirked, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "He will be dead before he even thinks about leaving these lands."

"Uh, I hate those fuckings bugs, spiders, moths, butterflies, all of them, they are always creating havoc!" Inuyasha bellowed. "Why the fuck every time something happens in this castle there is a fucking bug involved? Oh, yeah, that's it, because of that damn butterfly who consorted with fucking Noboru!"

"Very well, I want the body brought in the infirmary under custody and the sniffers must be at our complete disposal. Katsuro you will come back with us to the council room once I have ascertained what kind of venom we are talking about and who the culprit is. If we can't get any interesting information from him, he or she will be dead within a couple of hours."


"Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, you must realize that now is even more difficult to declare Noboru guilty and without that, we cannot sentence him to death. A revolt would break out among those who support him, and although his numbers have dwindled because many of the traitors killed or convicted were part of his circle, there are still enough to defend him and demand his freedom. Sesshomaru, you know how things work, without hard evidence there is only so much we can do." Ryota was the first to spoke up once they had returned to the council hall and explain the situation.

"Hn." Sesshomaru tilted his head in acknowledgement, trying to remember everything his father had taught him and find a loophole.

"What does that mean? The cat may be dead but he confessed in front of three different persons besides my brother and me! Aren't they enough as witnesses? You tell me you are going to free a fucking traitor who set on fire the whole valley, sent to death innocent demons and tried to overthrow Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha at that point was shouting again and gesticulating animatedly. "Not to mention that is not the first time he got away with it. Nor is new the method used to kill the prisoner! There are too many coincidences, too many times you had let him escape because there was no proof. It seems to me that we have enough, what other proof do you need?!"

They couldn't let him get away with it again. It was no fucking possible!

"Two of the witnesses are human, Inuyasha," the other wolf demon interjected, "unfortunately their words will hold no worth here. As for Ayame's tribe, I am afraid it would be pointless right now. Without the messenger alive they could claim that he could have been sent from anyone, we have no concrete proof of his connection with Noboru. I understand where are you coming from and we are certainly not happy about this development. We are aware of everything you are saying but as Ryota says that's how it works here. No concrete proof no guilt."

"No, you don't! You don't understand! It's a fucked-up rule!" he burst out more enraged than ever. "What about Katsuro? He is fucking First Commander, has his word no worth?" Inuyasha inquired again.

"Of course, but the situation is peculiar, Inuyasha," Toru continued, "everyone in this castle knows how strained your relationship with Noboru is and since you spend a lot of time with the Commander every time you are here they could deny his confession, saying that somehow you convinced him to lie for you. Trust me when I say that without a direct confession they'll find anything to cling to in order not to accept the death sentence. It's obvious that this is the main reason why the prisoner was killed, about this none of us has any doubt, well at least almost all of us," he added looking sideways at Goro, who still insisted on decrying the innocence of the demon dog currently in the dungeons.

"Of fucking course! It seems obvious to me that our relationship is strained," he spat back through gritted teeth making quotation marks with his fingers. "He has been openly threatening my family for seven years and making veiled comments about what he would like to do to my mate, does that sound like nothing?"

"Actually," Kosuke started, "we could do something about that, Inuyasha." The dog demon had started not trusting Sesshomaru in his decision years ago, but during those years he had learnt to see the late Inu-no-Taisho in his youngest son and, moreover, he had never appreciated lewd demons who leered at other's mates, may they be humans or not. "I understand that the threats have increased considerably in a while and this combined with the suspicions for the attack might be enough material to keep him under surveillance. Granted, we no longer have the hard evidence to convict him, but that doesn't mean the suspicions don't remain. It would be better than nothing and you could at least be safer whenever your family is requested at the palace."

Inuyasha snorted loudly; as if he could ever feel safe enough to bring Kagome here if the bastard wasn't dead.

"Indeed," Katsuro pondered. "It has been two days since Noboru-san has done anything but threaten the little lords and Kagome-sama. A lot of guards had witnessed it, some might say it had been said in the heat of the moment, but since it's not the first time..." he trailed off.

"We could keep him under surveillance for enough time, even confine him in his rooms for an indefinite period of time, at least until Inuyasha – who in this case is the injured party – deems it necessary. This also means guards placed outside and controlling those who visit," Sesshomaru concluded for him. "His associates can complain all they want, but they can't fight that. It's already enough that he can save his hide."

"What about the method used to kill the cat? There is no way to make the damn spider confess?" Maybe they could at least stop that bitchy butterfly.

Hayato shook his head. He felt for Inuyasha, really, and he wanted to convict Noboru as much as him, but at the time they had their hands tied again and had no evidence on the master of those insects. It had always been like that with Kimi's brother, even when it had been Toga the one trying to catch him red-handed. He was always one step further to eliminate every proof. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but about that, we cannot do anything. If he doesn't talk, all we can do is sentence him to death like everyone else who took part in the attack on the valley. There is no clear evidence linking this murder to Noboru."

"The cat was the only way to prove Noboru's guilty and has been killed! To me is proof enough! Why this fucker should have killed the cat without a motive?" he tried to make them see reason.

"I understand, Inuyasha, but it doesn't work like this here. No concrete proof no sentence," Ryota repeated.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and tugged at his hair. That was not the way he expected the day to end, had he made a mistake bringing the cat to West? How else could he have gotten him to confess in front of the full council?

"I still think that you are all exaggerating, we cannot keep someone like Noboru-sama confined just because the half-demon thinks he is not enough to defend his family. Who would care about a human anyway? You are all insane!" Goro exclaimed.

Inuyasha turned blazing eyes at him, but it was Sesshomaru who once again addressed him. "Your position here on the council is been threatening and you keep dismissing my advice, Goro-sama. Everyone in the council deems Noboru a threat given the latest developments, it seems pretty clear to me that there is no point in continuing to oppose the idea; you're outnumbered. The decision has already been made and the conditions are all there to make it possible."

"Well said, Sesshomaru. Goro, you should keep quiet for a while if you know what's good for you," Hayato agreed.

"What are the instructions am I going to give my underlings then?" Katsuro asked Sesshomaru.

"Keep the bastard in that cell until people start complaining, and only then we are going to give you some orders. The more he remains there, the better," Inuyasha grunted. Sesshomaru shook his head, sometimes it was true that his brother still seemed the same immature pup who he had battled with within his father's tomb.


Just as they had predicted, that night demons in Noboru's circle started complaining about his accommodation and demanded him to be freed, since there was no real reason to accuse him. Inuyasha enjoyed himself keeping him there as long as he could, explaining why he had to be put under surveillance. He also added that if someone wanted to complain so much, he could find a new arrangement for them too. They didn't say very much after it had been revealed that the elders had all approved the motion: Noboru was going to be confined in his quarters as long as the Inu-no-Taisho deemed necessary for everyone's safety.

Among them, obviously, Tsubasa stood out with her bright pink hair, but this time she didn't intervene a lot in the discussions and that only increased Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's suspicions. She would have likely thought that it was better if she kept a low profile after the cat's assassination. She was the smarter among them, smarter than Noboru, and wouldn't have done something foolish when they were on such thin ice.

A couple of nights later, Inuyasha had finally given the order to free Noboru and bring him in his rooms – the guard number he had been given was absurdly high, but Inuyasha didn't want to take any chances, considering that soon Kagome and their children would have to arrive at the palace anyway.

While the two brothers were discussing the better way to introduce Rin's matter to the council, Kimi's older brother was allowed a late visit from the butterfly demon's itself. The guards had found no reason to refuse her, although Inuyasha had specified that they had to be especially careful with her: they had imposed a limit on the length of the meeting and the two would still have to be careful while speaking if they didn't want someone to eavesdrop.

Tsubasa entered the room with her usual grace, a sly smile and eyes gleaming with amusement; she reached Noboru from behind and encircled his waist with her slender arms.

"Tsubasa," he said, his tone neutral not showing the rage he was currently feeling. He knew she would only make fun of him at this moment, he could feel how much she was laughing at him on the inside. The dog demon traced a bare arm with his claws, goosebumps forming on it, "Are you here to laugh at me?"

"Oh, of course not, Noboru, can't a woman greet her favourite lover?" she smirked moving his hair to the side and kissing his neck, while her hands started caressing his chest up and down, every time stopping dangerously close to his manhood, teasing him.

"It seems this time you will have to settle for someone else, since they aren't granting us much time, especially not for that," he grunted annoyed.

"Are you angry about your new arrangement, my love?" Tsubasa inquired turning him so that she could see him in the face, her tone overly sweet. "Should I remind you that things could have been much worse?" she whispered.

"Hn, they found a way to set me up anyway and that damned half-breed could keep me here for who knows how long," he murmured, his lips now ghosting hers. Tsubasa broke the distance a placed a chaste kiss on them; he pressed firmly back pushing her flush against him, grinding his hard-on on her core and then nipping her bottom lip to seek entrance. She eagerly complied and let him explore her mouth sensually. Her hands went down and hastily grabbed his cock, making him moan in her mouth. "Pity for that friend of yours. Killed without even a second thought. He must have really loved you if he was willing to let himself killed that way."

"It doesn't matter, he was amateur enough to leave his youki behind; it's not my fault. Right now we have to keep a low profile, let everyone see you're innocent. This situation will come to our aid and we couldn't do much anyway now that a lot of your friends are dead. We'll use this time to plan," she replied as soon as he broke off the kiss and moved his lips to her collarbone, pushing harder in her hand. Her tone was low but harsh and Noboru could smell her arousal.

"It seems that you'll definitely need one of your playtoys tonight, butterfly," he smirked, "but I think I could find you some good use even with little time," he added. He quickly untied the sash of his pants and pressed her head down to let her understand what he wanted her to do. "Let them know who owns you when they will kiss you, my dear, let me fuck this hot mouth of yours." He didn't let her time to fight, but Tsubasa eagerly obeyed and went on her knees taking him in her mouth.

"It's a pity you're not a dog demon, my dear, you are already a fine bitch; no one is so good at sucking me out like you. Let me take out on you all the frustration I feel about that family of ningen lovers," he growled, thrusting harder into her mouth making her gag; he tightened his grip on her head and didn't let her escape.

He liked to be the one in control of everything, that's what he had always wanted: power and control. But that bitch of his sister had been good for nothing and in the end, the only thing he could force himself into was the little experienced mouth he was so brutally fucking. He groaned and felt his balls tighten more every time she bobbed her head. He heard her moans and slurping noises that covered what he was whispering, "let them feel safe for now, my dear, I'll have my revenge one day. I'll have the satisfaction of killing that damned dog's descendence," he concluded a moment before he emptied himself down her throat and made her swallow every drop of his seed.

Anger was the predominant feeling now, but it would serve him well later, fuel his thirst for revenge even more and push him to develop even better plans.

Noboru was no fool, he hadn't survived many – and especially him – for nothing; a defeat didn't immediately declare the end of the game. Sure, he was starting to get annoyed at having to hide behind yet another facade or see his plans go up in smoke, especially now that those damn dogs had come so close to catch him, but he wasn't giving up. He was going to make them think they had the upper hand and then... He would hit them where it hurt the most.


A/N: I have some things to say this time.

I'm sorry if you were expecting me to kill Noboru. He and his pink friend haven't finished causing troubles and I couldn't eliminate them just before Rin is introduced to court because it'll be another big step in this story. I've already everything plotted out so don't worry!

As for the modus operandi, I have to confess that this chapter had been written far before chapter 28. There we see Muteki attacked by a nasty bug so, If you think there are similarities, we can say that chapter 28 resembles this one and not the way around. But actually, we see in the last scene who the culprit is again and since we are talking about a lady who masters insects I can't have her killing people with claws or whatever, can I? However, I tried to differentiate between the two attacks as much as I could - I hope it didn't seem too much like a repetition aside from Noboru getting away with it (and in this case, we are also talking about a character who has been doing it for his whole life. Give him some credit, he has a lot of tricks to pull).

Now, that I stopped my blabbering and tried to explain to you my point of view, I'll be enjoying my Sunday evening hoping my nonsense has actually some sense. If not please let me know.

More is to come, thanks to everyone who has been reading this story so far and has left some love behind!