Thanks for the reviews, minna. I'll have more things to say later, but for now, enjoy the story and please review.
Onegaishimasu.
Ladymage Samiko ; )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of Moonlight and Honor
Part 4
Tsukiyo gazed out of her bedroom window at the falling leaves. Confined there after her condition had become apparent, she had little to do but watch the season change and care for her bruises.
Her father had been disappointed in her-- and she understood that-- but he had also been strangely. . . sympathetic, perhaps? It was difficult to say; he was a taciturn man at the best of times. But he had accepted the news brought to him from the women's quarters and ordered the messenger to be sent to Sesshoumaru-sama with little more than a sigh. It had been Goro-sama's wife who had not taken the news well, and she had taken her rage out on Tsukiyo. With all of the authority her stepmother possessed, there was nothing Tsukiyo could do except curl up in a small ball to protect the child she carried as she endured the blows. And now she merely waited as forces stronger than she was decided her destiny.
There was a respectful cough outside her door. With nervous self-consciousness, Tsukiyo straightened her hair and twitched her uchikake into place. She stood as the door slid open, revealing her father on the other side. "Otou-sama," she murmured respectfully as she bowed, then knelt. Tsukiyo glanced at his face--no hints there.
"I have little to tell you," he began. "Eiji-san has returned, but with no more than a verbal message. The youkai lord says little more than to wait for his arrival. He bids you to do nothing until that time. Daughter, I fear this does not bode well. Eiji-san tells me Sesshoumaru-sama went into a rage at the news."
"But is it not a good sign that he chooses to come himself, otou-sama?"
"It is difficult to say," the lord sighed. "It could mean any number of things, including that he may wish to kill you himself for your deception. Or he may wish to take the child after it is born. But I do not like the stories I hear, daughter. He has no love for humans and until recently, hunted his hanyou half-brother as one would an animal."
"I know, otou-sama," she answered, her voice low. "I knew when I chose to. . . see him. But I think that now-- now I must trust in his honor."
Goro looked down at his daughter with sad eyes. "Neither men nor youkai are required to have such honor, my daughter. Still, for your sake, I hope your dreams are fulfilled."
"Thank you, otou-sama." Tsukiyo bowed again. "After all," she whispered once he had gone, "what other dreams have you left me?"
Segregated as she was from the general household, Tsukiyo missed the noise and confusion a few days later, unaware of both the uproar and its significance until it came to her door.
"I have no interest in such useless items, human." She froze at the sound of the rich baritone, familiar even after the passing of months. "My only purpose in coming here is to claim what is mine." Her door slammed open and she stuffed the book she held underneath the futon beside her. "You, girl!" His eyes were so cold; they almost looked through her. "Gather your things. We leave once you are ready." His lip curled slightly. "I will await you outside of this place." He turned on his heel, followed by her father.
Ruri, her father's wife, remained behind. She stood at the door, disdaining to enter the room, preferring instead to tower over her stepdaughter and gloat. "You have received your wish, daughter," she sneered. "The youkai lord is taking you to live with him, and I say good riddance to you, you ungrateful slut. And mind, he's not taking you into his house as a bride. The thought of marriage to you disgusts him; I can't imagine why. There will be no ceremony and your father is to keep your dowry; the youkai wants none of it. It's my guess you'll be lucky to even gain the rank of concubine in his household. Honored Wife' is certainly beyond your comprehension. But then," she smirked, flashing her blackened teeth, "perhaps you'll be lucky to survive beyond the birth of that mongrel you're carrying. I hear that birthing a youkai's spawn is difficult beyond ordinary childbirth and once the child's born, I doubt he'll have any further use for you. Any nursing woman or youkai can do for the brat just as well as you. Probably better. I don't think that youkai will want any more of your influence in the child's life. If it lives, of course. Ah, well, you'd best hurry. I doubt his lordship will take kindly to being made to wait for his little whore." She turned and drifted down the walkway, her silvery laugh drifting back behind her.
Tsukiyo closed her eyes and clenched her fists, taking deep breaths to steady herself. Perhaps Ruri was right. Perhaps she would be kept as a drudge. Perhaps she would be killed once her child was born. But, she thought, placing her hand on her still-flat stomach, her child would be born. And it would live. No matter what happens, she told her child. No matter what happens, I will be strong enough for you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was. . . disconcerting to see the human as she was now. He recognized her basic features: the rose-violet of her eyes, the heart-shaped, slightly angular face. But there were subtle changes-- in the expression of her eyes, the way she moved, her reactions-- that made her almost an entirely different person. It would have been fine in a human, but the tiny flashes of the youkai he had consorted with. . . They were familiar, but entirely wrong in the context he was now seeing them in. The human aspects and the youkai alternated in his perception as right and wrong, first one seeming the true' Tsukiyo, then the false' one. Sesshoumaru shook his head in irritation. It wasn't his concern in any case.
She emerged from the gate, two manservants following her, lugging two large boxes. Tsukiyo herself carried a long, well-wrapped bundle strapped to her back. Sesshoumaru regarded them with a raised eyebrow. "That is all you would bring?" he commented mildly. "You would not, perhaps, wish to bring along your favorite horse, or the tenshu, as well?"
She gave him a sharp look before her gaze settled downward once more. "No, my lord," she murmured.
"Very well." He took the two boxes from the servants-- who were looking around uncertainly, looking for his entourage-- carrying them easily by the knots of the fabric tied around them. "You will have to ride on my back and hold on yourself. I cannot hold on to both you and your belongings."
"Yes, my lord." She approached him slowly and hands appeared from the mass of fabric that seemed to nearly overwhelm her. He took in the flash of uncertainty in her eyes and the determined clench of her jaw. She circled behind him, brushed the long locks of his hair aside, then carefully settled herself against his back, her arms around his neck. It was well that she did so, he thought, for aside from the pressure and slight warmth of her hands, it seemed more like he was carrying a bundle of cloth on his back rather than a living, breathing creature. He sighed inwardly; she was a living, breathing creature that would be with him for quite some time due to his idiotic decision.
With little ceremony and fewer words, Sesshoumaru leapt into the air, leaving the Northern Lands and the castle of the Akita clan far behind them.
--tsuzuku
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cultural Notes
An uchikake is the outermost kimono a warrior class woman would wear. It was of heavy silk and brightly patterned. In colder weather, it would be tied half-open over three more layers of kimono. Just a note: I may be a little off in time periods with this type of clothing, but this is the best information I can find so far.
Otou-sama translates roughly to "my lord father." Formal and deferential, I use the japanese term since the english doesn't have the same usage or shades of meaning.
Again, I may be a little off my dates, but when I woman(girl) was married, her teeth would be blackened as a sign of her status.
Tenshu is the equivalent of a castle keep. It's the most heavily fortified, central building in a Japanese castle.
