Disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own aarrgghh! You get the drift.
'Tis revised. Now it should correspond with my other story.
Dark Memories: Chapter 3
A resounding metallic clash echoed throughout the training yard of the castle. It was followed by the quiet but reverberating sound of metal grating against metal (you know, the kind that makes your teeth hurt). Two combatants stood in the center of the grounds, straining against one another, their feet digging grooves into the packed earth. Almost twin sets of amber eyes watched each other, a young set of pure, unblemished gold and a set of older and wiser eyes with flecks of a darker gold strewn about haphazardly, both trying to guess the others next move as their swords ground against each other. The younger one's looks obviously belittled his strength as one of his build would have undeniably been unable to hold his own against his more muscular elder. His thick, knee length white hair was tied loosely at the base of his neck, exposing the gently pointed ears that marked him as a demon. The alabaster skin of his cheeks were marred by two red stripes on either side and a mauve crescent moon adorned his forehead. The elder figure bared a striking resemblance to the younger, confirming a relation between the two. His own white hair was tied back is a high ponytail, the ends would barely brush against his squared shoulders if let down, he had cut it not long after his wife's death. He bore a single scarlet stripe on each cheek on either side of his face. Suddenly the elder of the two smiled.
"Oh come now Sesshoumaru. You know this will end like it always does." He growled out, his voice thick with strain.
"You're ever persistent jabbering is only second to your overconfidence." Sesshoumaru eyed his opponent warily, but with a voice just as labored. "I could beat you with only one arm, Father."
"Is that so?" Inu-Taisho grinned at his son. Using the force that Sesshoumaru was exerting against him, Inu-Taisho used it to push off of and flipped back several feet from his son.
As he landed InuTaisho watched his son closely. He had no delusions about the extent of Sesshoumaru's powers. Even as a boy, Sesshoumaru had always been surprising everyone with his quick ability to learn both in the training yard and in the study. Even at a young age, Sesshoumaru had pushed him self to become stronger, faster and better than anyone else. Had InuTaisho known better, he would have sworn that his son was attempting to become a taiyoukai, even as a boy. A small, barely perceptible smirk crossed Sesshoumaru's lips as his father's feet hit the earth with a muffled thud and his knees bent to lesson the impact.
'Now.'
Sesshoumaru dashed forward with the blurring speed he was known for and made to kick the legs out from under his father. But, despite his surprise, InuTaisho dodged the leg that slung toward his own. 'Perfect.' The prince smiled. As the Demon Lord attempted to back away he felt as vise-like grip encircle his legs, throwing off his balance. InuTaisho fell to the ground with a curse and the white fluff ensnared his wrist and hand that held his katana, immobilizing it. He looked up to see his son smiling down at him. InuTaisho couldn't help but smile back at him. The few times Sesshoumaru actually smiled they were very infectious, just as his mother's had been.
"Well, I suppose it is easy to beat me one handed when you have a prehensile tail."
"You're the one that told me to use everything to my advantage." He chuckled as he unwound his tail and offered his father a hand.
"I didn't mean against me." He threw back as he grasped his son's wrist.
"You'd best watch your back Milord!" came a call from a doorway to their side as InuTaisho climbed to his feet.
Father and son watched as their mutual friend and teacher approached the center of the field where they stood. His long hair fell heavily against his back in a thick, ebony braid. His silver eyes were a light with amusement as he had watched the whole confrontation between father and son. Both of them had a stubborn streak a mile wide.
"If you don't keep an eye on him," he continued, winking at Sesshoumaru as he reached them with a broad smile, "you may find his sword at your throat before you can blink."
"Great, thanks a lot Chinchaku." Sesshoumaru said in a disappointed huff as he sheathed his katana and turned his back on them. "Just give away all my plans"
"But of course!" Chinchaku replied with a mock bow. InuTaisho chuckled and Sesshoumaru simply shock his head and began to walk away. InuTaisho winked at his friend behind his son's back.
"You need to get some sleep tonight, Sesshoumaru." He called after his son's retreating form. Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks and looked back over his shoulder at his father.
"Any particular reason?" he asked skeptically. His father generally didn't care wither or not Sesshoumaru slept at all as long at it didn't affect his abilities.
"You're hosting a vaschela tomorrow"
"What did you say?!?!?!" Sesshoumaru shouted as he spun to face his father angrily. His golden eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Calm down." InuTaisho waved a hand at his son, dismissing his anger. "Its only a façade to make it seem as if you're interested."
"Pardon me but," Chinchaku interrupted. "What is a vaschela?" Sesshoumaru answered him.
"It's a term in the ancient tongue that refers to a very elaborate ceremony that is hosted by a single male who invites all the women in the area that are of marriageable age and looks at the prospects." Sesshoumaru grimaced. "It's like a horse auction."
"What a horrid way to put it." InuTaisho growled.
"That's all it is."
"Everyone is entitled to there own opinion."
Sesshoumaru just shrugged and continued into the castle. He was outwardly calm but inside he was ragging. 'How dare he!! Planning that without even consulting me!' Sesshoumaru growled unwittingly as he rounded a corner in the hall. Kami that man made his blood boil. 'If I didn't know better, I'd swear that he was trying to distract me from something.' He shuddered involuntarily. 'If it's something that needs me to be distracted the entire day, I don't think I want to know.' His father could mean well, but sometimes he just tried too hard. He stopped briefly in his chambers to pick up a thick robe and a brush on his way to the bathhouse.
The steamy moisture of the enclosed hot spring was almost unbearable when he first entered, but dismissing the momentary discomfort, Sesshoumaru pealed off his dirty yukata and haori and discarded them haphazardly on the damp floor. Pulling the tie that had previously held his hair back, Sesshoumaru ran the brush through quickly, just enough to get the tangles out. Throwing the brush onto his clean robe, Sesshoumaru walked to the edge of the pool. The pool itself was approximately ten feet long and was a large oval in shape. Large smooth stones had been placed strategically in the spring to provide a place to sit and still be partially submerged. Majority of the pool only came up to Sesshoumaru's waist, but toward the far end the floor dips suddenly dropping to where even his father couldn't stay flat-footed and keep his head above water.
Sesshoumaru eased himself into the steaming waters; a sigh of relief escaped his lips as his tired muscles relaxed in the heat. Sinking into its depths, Sesshoumaru stopped when the water lapped against his collarbone, swirling his hair about him. Taking a breath, he plunged under the water and scrubbed his scalp and hair with a soap he had had imported to him from India, working out the stubborn dirt that clung there. His tail was surprisingly clean but he still scrubbed it over thoroughly. He rose from the waters suddenly, throwing his hair over his shoulder. 'Someone's here.' His eyes scanned the perimeter of the bathhouse but saw nothing. Despite the lack of anything visible, Sesshoumaru's senses were still screaming at him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, he could almost sense a power but it was as if something was standing in front of it. A twinge of the power felt eerily familiar to him. Suddenly it dawned on him.
"Atomu! Come out of where ever you're hiding." He called out, his voice dripping with irritation.
"Spoiled sport." A man murmured as he stepped out of the shadows, swishing a cloak that had previously been draped completely around his frame behind his shoulders. His clothes were of a rich silk, similar to Sesshoumaru's, but a deep red hue. His waist length hair hung freely down his back. The dark blue wavy locks were frazzled and limp from his trip to the castle from his father's estates along InuTaisho's eastern borders. Atomu and Sesshoumaru had grown up together as children and became friends in what free time they had had as heirs.
"Steal your father's cloak of invisibility?"
"No. I just borrowed it, thank you very much."
"Oh, paid a visit to Jigen have you?" Sesshoumaru asked non-shalantly as he moved to the deep end of the spring. He turned around to see his friend blushing heavily and removing his cloak entirely. Over the years Atomu had developed a distinct taste for other men instead of women, causing Sesshoumaru to watch him out of the corner of his eyes warily. Then there was Atomu's uncanny knack for showing up when he was in the bath, which didn't help Sesshoumaru's unease. Jigen was Atomu's new lover and it was a secret from both their families, hence the use of the invisibility cloak. It would break Atomu's father's heart if he were to find out that his son and heir was gay.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked, ignoring the earlier question. Sesshoumaru didn't need him to respond to know the answer.
"Be my guest." He replied easily, unconsciously wrapping his tail around his waist and lower areas.
"What's this I hear from your father about a vaschela?" he inquired as he undressed.
Sesshoumaru snorted.
"That excited are you?" He asked as he sank into the water. "Oh, this feels good."
"Yes I imagine you're quite sore." Sesshoumaru sneered at him. Atomu stuck his tongue out at him.
"But anyway," he continued, "Father has decided that I need to 'look' as if I'm interested in taking a mate."
"Are you?"
"Not really. I'm in no rush to have an heir."
"I couldn't agree with you more." Atomu said vehemently as he swam out to the deeper end with toward Sesshoumaru. He just rolled his eyes.
"IF men could become with child, you would have at least twenty bastards the way you sleep around."
"Nehehehehe." Atomu chuckled evilly. He gradually clamed down enough to look serious again. "But you hate social occasions anyway."
"They're completely boring. Unless you're looking for someone the sleep with for the night or to drink so much sake you pass out, or both, there is nothing to do." Atomu nodded his head sagely, as if Sesshoumaru had come to him like some wandering monk seeking enlightenment and Atomu was the only one he could get it from.
"But this time you are hosting it and get to look at women all day long, and mingle and all that other fun stuff."
"Oh what fun." Sesshoumaru sighed.
A heavy silence fell over them as each contemplated what the other had said. Atomu glanced at his childhood friend out of the corner of his eye. Sesshoumaru defiantly wasn't acting like his normal self. 'He looks like something is bothering him.' A small window in the rear of the room reveled that the sun had long ago set, and night had enveloped the western lands. Sesshoumaru sighed heavily as he looked at his hands. 'Tomorrow is coming too quickly.' Sesshoumaru felt exhaustion flood his senses abruptly. He paddled at little ways until he could place his feet firmly on the floor. Feeling eyes on him, Sesshoumaru turned to his friend.
"I'm getting out and then going to bed."
"Really?"
"Yeah, by myself." He said stepping out of the spring. He stepped out of the spring, his tail and hair dripping with the warm water, and immediately headed for the pile of towels near the entrance. Sesshoumaru deftly wrapped the uppermost portion of a towel about his waist and then unwound is tail. Hearing the movement of water and his friend's snort, Sesshoumaru turned to face him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely curious. Atomu simply looked at his coldly.
"One day, when you're asleep, I'm going to cut off your tail." Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I don't want to know why do I?"
"Probably not." Atomu smiled at him, his pale vermilion eyes flashing with amusement. "By the way, what am I going to wear out of here?" Seeshoumaru thought for a moment.
"There should be an extra robe somewhere."
After several minutes of toweling and searching for Atomu a robe, which was found tucked away in a cupboard in the corner of the room along with some extra towels, Sesshoumaru and Atomu went their separate ways in the halls, Sesshoumaru going to his chambers and Atomu going to see if he could sneak some food from the kitchens. Sesshoumaru's trip back to his rooms was quiet and uneventful, most of the servants having already retired for the evening save the few on night shift. A fire that had been built a few hours ago had burnt low in the hearth, casting a hazy glow about his main chamber. Kneeling down, Sesshoumaru threw some of the extra logs onto the smoldering embers to get it started again. As the fire snapped and popped back to roaring life, he flopped unceremoniously upon a fur that was spread on the floor. Sesshoumaru stared into the flames as his hair dried, lost in his thoughts. On the cool spring nights his thoughts often drifted to his mother. She had died days before his fifth birthday. Sesshoumaru had left her momentarily in her garden and come back to find her lying in a pool of her own blood, among other things, and had watched her die as he screamed her name. His screaming had gotten the attention of the whole household, bringing them to the garden to find him clutching her lifeless form. The several of the servants tired to move him away from her body but he would let her go. When his father arrived he had promptly knocked Sesshoumaru out and handed him over to one of the servants, who quickly carried him to his rooms. Sesshoumaru sighed and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and rested his chin on his knees. He clearly remembered being sealed in his room for days; a servant would come every so often to bring trays of food that would remain untouched until the next tray was brought in. During those days, Sesshoumaru remembered staying curled up in a corner of his room, feeling nothing but the raw pain in his chest. It felt like a serrated blade had been plunged deep into his heart and was being turned with quick jerks each time he thought about his mother. The pain it caused had been all encompassing, he hadn't felt hunger or thirst the entire time, they seemed insignificant. After about a week of his isolation, InuTaisho came to see him and found him in a corner, in every much the same position he was in now. InuTaisho told his young son that his mother was dead and that the funeral was that night and he was expected to be there. Without a word Sesshoumaru left the room, bathed and dressed in for the evening.
A loud crack broke into his reverie as an ember from the fire rolled onto the floor in front of him. With a startled yelp and several frantic movements, the ember was back in its proper place and Sesshoumaru was standing before the fire. After briefly worrying about the possibility of another ember falling out, Sesshoumaru dismissed it with a tired wave of his hand and picked up his brush again, and ran it through his now dry hair and tail. Once tangle free, he blew out the few candles that lit the room and collapsed upon the soft futon that had been theretofore calling his name, and snuggled in the blankets. For some reason he was so tired...
"Oh, well," he murmured to himself aloud. "I need some rest anyway..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Arigato Atomu!" InuTaisho thundered as he clapped the younger man on the back, causing him to fall forward slightly.
"Eh, yes, any time, My Lord." Atomu laughed nervously. "But if he ever finds out I cast a sleeping spell on him, he'll..."
"He won't find out." The demon lord replied smugly. "Believe me, were doing him a favor."
AN: Mou, I'm finally done. I've been working on this one chapter for at least a month. I didn't like the other chapter three, Sesshoumaru seemed way to whiney and I didn't like the whole parent situation thing. If you read the other ch. 3 you know what I mean. But see, I am working on my stories, it just takes forever!
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'Tis revised. Now it should correspond with my other story.
Dark Memories: Chapter 3
A resounding metallic clash echoed throughout the training yard of the castle. It was followed by the quiet but reverberating sound of metal grating against metal (you know, the kind that makes your teeth hurt). Two combatants stood in the center of the grounds, straining against one another, their feet digging grooves into the packed earth. Almost twin sets of amber eyes watched each other, a young set of pure, unblemished gold and a set of older and wiser eyes with flecks of a darker gold strewn about haphazardly, both trying to guess the others next move as their swords ground against each other. The younger one's looks obviously belittled his strength as one of his build would have undeniably been unable to hold his own against his more muscular elder. His thick, knee length white hair was tied loosely at the base of his neck, exposing the gently pointed ears that marked him as a demon. The alabaster skin of his cheeks were marred by two red stripes on either side and a mauve crescent moon adorned his forehead. The elder figure bared a striking resemblance to the younger, confirming a relation between the two. His own white hair was tied back is a high ponytail, the ends would barely brush against his squared shoulders if let down, he had cut it not long after his wife's death. He bore a single scarlet stripe on each cheek on either side of his face. Suddenly the elder of the two smiled.
"Oh come now Sesshoumaru. You know this will end like it always does." He growled out, his voice thick with strain.
"You're ever persistent jabbering is only second to your overconfidence." Sesshoumaru eyed his opponent warily, but with a voice just as labored. "I could beat you with only one arm, Father."
"Is that so?" Inu-Taisho grinned at his son. Using the force that Sesshoumaru was exerting against him, Inu-Taisho used it to push off of and flipped back several feet from his son.
As he landed InuTaisho watched his son closely. He had no delusions about the extent of Sesshoumaru's powers. Even as a boy, Sesshoumaru had always been surprising everyone with his quick ability to learn both in the training yard and in the study. Even at a young age, Sesshoumaru had pushed him self to become stronger, faster and better than anyone else. Had InuTaisho known better, he would have sworn that his son was attempting to become a taiyoukai, even as a boy. A small, barely perceptible smirk crossed Sesshoumaru's lips as his father's feet hit the earth with a muffled thud and his knees bent to lesson the impact.
'Now.'
Sesshoumaru dashed forward with the blurring speed he was known for and made to kick the legs out from under his father. But, despite his surprise, InuTaisho dodged the leg that slung toward his own. 'Perfect.' The prince smiled. As the Demon Lord attempted to back away he felt as vise-like grip encircle his legs, throwing off his balance. InuTaisho fell to the ground with a curse and the white fluff ensnared his wrist and hand that held his katana, immobilizing it. He looked up to see his son smiling down at him. InuTaisho couldn't help but smile back at him. The few times Sesshoumaru actually smiled they were very infectious, just as his mother's had been.
"Well, I suppose it is easy to beat me one handed when you have a prehensile tail."
"You're the one that told me to use everything to my advantage." He chuckled as he unwound his tail and offered his father a hand.
"I didn't mean against me." He threw back as he grasped his son's wrist.
"You'd best watch your back Milord!" came a call from a doorway to their side as InuTaisho climbed to his feet.
Father and son watched as their mutual friend and teacher approached the center of the field where they stood. His long hair fell heavily against his back in a thick, ebony braid. His silver eyes were a light with amusement as he had watched the whole confrontation between father and son. Both of them had a stubborn streak a mile wide.
"If you don't keep an eye on him," he continued, winking at Sesshoumaru as he reached them with a broad smile, "you may find his sword at your throat before you can blink."
"Great, thanks a lot Chinchaku." Sesshoumaru said in a disappointed huff as he sheathed his katana and turned his back on them. "Just give away all my plans"
"But of course!" Chinchaku replied with a mock bow. InuTaisho chuckled and Sesshoumaru simply shock his head and began to walk away. InuTaisho winked at his friend behind his son's back.
"You need to get some sleep tonight, Sesshoumaru." He called after his son's retreating form. Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks and looked back over his shoulder at his father.
"Any particular reason?" he asked skeptically. His father generally didn't care wither or not Sesshoumaru slept at all as long at it didn't affect his abilities.
"You're hosting a vaschela tomorrow"
"What did you say?!?!?!" Sesshoumaru shouted as he spun to face his father angrily. His golden eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Calm down." InuTaisho waved a hand at his son, dismissing his anger. "Its only a façade to make it seem as if you're interested."
"Pardon me but," Chinchaku interrupted. "What is a vaschela?" Sesshoumaru answered him.
"It's a term in the ancient tongue that refers to a very elaborate ceremony that is hosted by a single male who invites all the women in the area that are of marriageable age and looks at the prospects." Sesshoumaru grimaced. "It's like a horse auction."
"What a horrid way to put it." InuTaisho growled.
"That's all it is."
"Everyone is entitled to there own opinion."
Sesshoumaru just shrugged and continued into the castle. He was outwardly calm but inside he was ragging. 'How dare he!! Planning that without even consulting me!' Sesshoumaru growled unwittingly as he rounded a corner in the hall. Kami that man made his blood boil. 'If I didn't know better, I'd swear that he was trying to distract me from something.' He shuddered involuntarily. 'If it's something that needs me to be distracted the entire day, I don't think I want to know.' His father could mean well, but sometimes he just tried too hard. He stopped briefly in his chambers to pick up a thick robe and a brush on his way to the bathhouse.
The steamy moisture of the enclosed hot spring was almost unbearable when he first entered, but dismissing the momentary discomfort, Sesshoumaru pealed off his dirty yukata and haori and discarded them haphazardly on the damp floor. Pulling the tie that had previously held his hair back, Sesshoumaru ran the brush through quickly, just enough to get the tangles out. Throwing the brush onto his clean robe, Sesshoumaru walked to the edge of the pool. The pool itself was approximately ten feet long and was a large oval in shape. Large smooth stones had been placed strategically in the spring to provide a place to sit and still be partially submerged. Majority of the pool only came up to Sesshoumaru's waist, but toward the far end the floor dips suddenly dropping to where even his father couldn't stay flat-footed and keep his head above water.
Sesshoumaru eased himself into the steaming waters; a sigh of relief escaped his lips as his tired muscles relaxed in the heat. Sinking into its depths, Sesshoumaru stopped when the water lapped against his collarbone, swirling his hair about him. Taking a breath, he plunged under the water and scrubbed his scalp and hair with a soap he had had imported to him from India, working out the stubborn dirt that clung there. His tail was surprisingly clean but he still scrubbed it over thoroughly. He rose from the waters suddenly, throwing his hair over his shoulder. 'Someone's here.' His eyes scanned the perimeter of the bathhouse but saw nothing. Despite the lack of anything visible, Sesshoumaru's senses were still screaming at him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, he could almost sense a power but it was as if something was standing in front of it. A twinge of the power felt eerily familiar to him. Suddenly it dawned on him.
"Atomu! Come out of where ever you're hiding." He called out, his voice dripping with irritation.
"Spoiled sport." A man murmured as he stepped out of the shadows, swishing a cloak that had previously been draped completely around his frame behind his shoulders. His clothes were of a rich silk, similar to Sesshoumaru's, but a deep red hue. His waist length hair hung freely down his back. The dark blue wavy locks were frazzled and limp from his trip to the castle from his father's estates along InuTaisho's eastern borders. Atomu and Sesshoumaru had grown up together as children and became friends in what free time they had had as heirs.
"Steal your father's cloak of invisibility?"
"No. I just borrowed it, thank you very much."
"Oh, paid a visit to Jigen have you?" Sesshoumaru asked non-shalantly as he moved to the deep end of the spring. He turned around to see his friend blushing heavily and removing his cloak entirely. Over the years Atomu had developed a distinct taste for other men instead of women, causing Sesshoumaru to watch him out of the corner of his eyes warily. Then there was Atomu's uncanny knack for showing up when he was in the bath, which didn't help Sesshoumaru's unease. Jigen was Atomu's new lover and it was a secret from both their families, hence the use of the invisibility cloak. It would break Atomu's father's heart if he were to find out that his son and heir was gay.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked, ignoring the earlier question. Sesshoumaru didn't need him to respond to know the answer.
"Be my guest." He replied easily, unconsciously wrapping his tail around his waist and lower areas.
"What's this I hear from your father about a vaschela?" he inquired as he undressed.
Sesshoumaru snorted.
"That excited are you?" He asked as he sank into the water. "Oh, this feels good."
"Yes I imagine you're quite sore." Sesshoumaru sneered at him. Atomu stuck his tongue out at him.
"But anyway," he continued, "Father has decided that I need to 'look' as if I'm interested in taking a mate."
"Are you?"
"Not really. I'm in no rush to have an heir."
"I couldn't agree with you more." Atomu said vehemently as he swam out to the deeper end with toward Sesshoumaru. He just rolled his eyes.
"IF men could become with child, you would have at least twenty bastards the way you sleep around."
"Nehehehehe." Atomu chuckled evilly. He gradually clamed down enough to look serious again. "But you hate social occasions anyway."
"They're completely boring. Unless you're looking for someone the sleep with for the night or to drink so much sake you pass out, or both, there is nothing to do." Atomu nodded his head sagely, as if Sesshoumaru had come to him like some wandering monk seeking enlightenment and Atomu was the only one he could get it from.
"But this time you are hosting it and get to look at women all day long, and mingle and all that other fun stuff."
"Oh what fun." Sesshoumaru sighed.
A heavy silence fell over them as each contemplated what the other had said. Atomu glanced at his childhood friend out of the corner of his eye. Sesshoumaru defiantly wasn't acting like his normal self. 'He looks like something is bothering him.' A small window in the rear of the room reveled that the sun had long ago set, and night had enveloped the western lands. Sesshoumaru sighed heavily as he looked at his hands. 'Tomorrow is coming too quickly.' Sesshoumaru felt exhaustion flood his senses abruptly. He paddled at little ways until he could place his feet firmly on the floor. Feeling eyes on him, Sesshoumaru turned to his friend.
"I'm getting out and then going to bed."
"Really?"
"Yeah, by myself." He said stepping out of the spring. He stepped out of the spring, his tail and hair dripping with the warm water, and immediately headed for the pile of towels near the entrance. Sesshoumaru deftly wrapped the uppermost portion of a towel about his waist and then unwound is tail. Hearing the movement of water and his friend's snort, Sesshoumaru turned to face him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely curious. Atomu simply looked at his coldly.
"One day, when you're asleep, I'm going to cut off your tail." Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I don't want to know why do I?"
"Probably not." Atomu smiled at him, his pale vermilion eyes flashing with amusement. "By the way, what am I going to wear out of here?" Seeshoumaru thought for a moment.
"There should be an extra robe somewhere."
After several minutes of toweling and searching for Atomu a robe, which was found tucked away in a cupboard in the corner of the room along with some extra towels, Sesshoumaru and Atomu went their separate ways in the halls, Sesshoumaru going to his chambers and Atomu going to see if he could sneak some food from the kitchens. Sesshoumaru's trip back to his rooms was quiet and uneventful, most of the servants having already retired for the evening save the few on night shift. A fire that had been built a few hours ago had burnt low in the hearth, casting a hazy glow about his main chamber. Kneeling down, Sesshoumaru threw some of the extra logs onto the smoldering embers to get it started again. As the fire snapped and popped back to roaring life, he flopped unceremoniously upon a fur that was spread on the floor. Sesshoumaru stared into the flames as his hair dried, lost in his thoughts. On the cool spring nights his thoughts often drifted to his mother. She had died days before his fifth birthday. Sesshoumaru had left her momentarily in her garden and come back to find her lying in a pool of her own blood, among other things, and had watched her die as he screamed her name. His screaming had gotten the attention of the whole household, bringing them to the garden to find him clutching her lifeless form. The several of the servants tired to move him away from her body but he would let her go. When his father arrived he had promptly knocked Sesshoumaru out and handed him over to one of the servants, who quickly carried him to his rooms. Sesshoumaru sighed and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and rested his chin on his knees. He clearly remembered being sealed in his room for days; a servant would come every so often to bring trays of food that would remain untouched until the next tray was brought in. During those days, Sesshoumaru remembered staying curled up in a corner of his room, feeling nothing but the raw pain in his chest. It felt like a serrated blade had been plunged deep into his heart and was being turned with quick jerks each time he thought about his mother. The pain it caused had been all encompassing, he hadn't felt hunger or thirst the entire time, they seemed insignificant. After about a week of his isolation, InuTaisho came to see him and found him in a corner, in every much the same position he was in now. InuTaisho told his young son that his mother was dead and that the funeral was that night and he was expected to be there. Without a word Sesshoumaru left the room, bathed and dressed in for the evening.
A loud crack broke into his reverie as an ember from the fire rolled onto the floor in front of him. With a startled yelp and several frantic movements, the ember was back in its proper place and Sesshoumaru was standing before the fire. After briefly worrying about the possibility of another ember falling out, Sesshoumaru dismissed it with a tired wave of his hand and picked up his brush again, and ran it through his now dry hair and tail. Once tangle free, he blew out the few candles that lit the room and collapsed upon the soft futon that had been theretofore calling his name, and snuggled in the blankets. For some reason he was so tired...
"Oh, well," he murmured to himself aloud. "I need some rest anyway..."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Arigato Atomu!" InuTaisho thundered as he clapped the younger man on the back, causing him to fall forward slightly.
"Eh, yes, any time, My Lord." Atomu laughed nervously. "But if he ever finds out I cast a sleeping spell on him, he'll..."
"He won't find out." The demon lord replied smugly. "Believe me, were doing him a favor."
AN: Mou, I'm finally done. I've been working on this one chapter for at least a month. I didn't like the other chapter three, Sesshoumaru seemed way to whiney and I didn't like the whole parent situation thing. If you read the other ch. 3 you know what I mean. But see, I am working on my stories, it just takes forever!
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!