Inutaisho restlessly paced the Sutakasi clanlord's carpet, pulling at his hair with absent distraction. "Oh stop it," she said crossly, "you're making me tired."
He stopped and flung himself down into a comfortable chair, resting his chin on his fist as his bright gaze met hers. Anuki cradled her newest son in her arms. The baby stretched sleepily, his tiny pink mouth opening in a moist yawn. Her latest had come early, born smaller than the others. She nuzzled him fondly. "Don't you think he looks like Inoki?"
Inu snorted, smiling at them in spite of his glum mood. "All babies look alike," he told her. She raised an eyebrow at and stood, plopping the soft bundle in his lap. "Hey," he protested, holding the child gingerly.
"Deal with it," she grinned. "All babies look alike until you meet one of your own. Which won't be long for you now."
He glanced up at her, a faint smile in his eyes. "You're saying I should get used to the idea." Anuki nodded. He looked back down at the sleeping face with its perfect little features and astonishing cap of thick black hair. Inu sighed. "I am used to the idea. No one in the household has been thinking of anything else. She's been a complete terror, you understand. Making outlandish demands at all hours of the day and night. At least no one has gotten killed over it yet. If I didn't know better, I'd say pregnancy is mellowing her."
"Oh gods, not that," Anuki said wryly. "You're going to be a wonderful father, Inutaisho. I just know it." She smiled fondly at the sight of her Daimyo holding his infant nephew. A shadow passed over his face. "If I could just get Inoki to talk to me."
Anuki looked at her hands. "He's not been himself, not for some weeks. I don't know what the problem is, Inu. He says that everything is fine, but he's been gone so much I can't say for sure if I believe him anymore. I hardly see him long enough to ask."
Inutaisho scowled and the baby stirred fretfully. "Out in the wilds again? I wish I had the luxury of getting lost when I didn't feel like dealing with people. It's been years since I was able to run around like the bandits we used to be." His face turned melancholy thinking of the times when he and Inoki had been so close.
Anuki saw his expression and her heart was heavy with sadness. Her husband had become a silent, withdrawn man she didn't recognize. He was moody when he was home and barely spoke to the children. They were also hurt and confused by the change in their loving father. "Inu," she said quietly. "Please tell me what really happened. I've asked Inoki but he cuts me off and leaves when I mention your name. You must know what's been eating at him."
He tucked the sleeping baby back into her arms. The youkai lord wandered over to the wide window that overlooked the open grounds of the Sutakasi estate. The seasons were changing and there was a definite chill in the air now at night. He hated the thought of Inoki out in the wilderness, alone with his resentment and ghosts. His voice was so quiet that Anuki had to strain to hear his words. "I had an argument with Seshiko, the same night she told me she was pregnant. Inoki walked in on it, I'm afraid he saw me being, well, let's just say it was ugly and cruel, the way I was acting. He told me that I was exactly like our father."
"Oh Inu," she whispered. Anuki's eyes filled with tears. Inu and Inoki's father had been a violent, vicious man, sadistic where his two sons were concerned. Inu had often born the brunt of the abuse to spare his younger brother. Her husband wouldn't have survived childhood otherwise, his hanyou body was unable to withstand the level of punishment the beast could have inflicted. She'd never quite had the nerve to ask either brother if the old lord's death had been natural or not. Looking at Inu now, she guessed she'd always been right and was glad she'd never asked.
Inutaisho stared out the window, one arm propped casually against the frame. "The worst part is that he was right. In that one moment I felt like I'd become everything I'd ever hated about that old bastard. Since that, nothing is the same between us. Every time I see Inoki, I see the shadows in his eyes. I tried to explain, tried to tell him about how awful I felt, but he won't hear me. Just turns and walks away."
Anuki felt very old and tired. "Give him more time, Inu. He'll come around. You can't take back the past. Inoki has a lot of scars on the inside from that wicked old demon. I could say the same about you."
She placed the baby in his cradle and went over to her best friend. Inu stood staring blankly at the sky, every line of his body tense and hard. She hated seeing him like this. Anuki put her arms around him and pressed her face into his back. He might have pulled away from her but she held him firmly. "Hey, it's me, remember? You don't have to be a big tough warlord around me."
He laughed and turned in her embrace. "I know, you'll put me in my place, won't you? She grinned up at him. "Count on it. Don't make me get rough with you, Inu."
He returned her hug gratefully and kissed her on the top of her head. "Anuki, you're always right. You should be Daimyo instead of me, I'm entirely too stupid for my own good. Inoki will get over it and when he does, we'll all sit back and laugh together about how we make things so hard on ourselves."
Inoki was trembling with anger and knew he had to get out of there immediately. He'd followed his brother that morning more out of curiosity than any real intent. Since it was his home that Inutaisho was visiting, he'd decided to stick around and keep watch over his wife. What he'd just seen filled him with indescribable rage and pain. His brother holding his wife, kissing her on the top of her head like she belonged to him. Inoki ground his teeth in anger, oblivious to the taste of fresh blood in his mouth.
He stormed away from the house, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he fought to control the hatred seething inside of him. Instinct tried to force him to turn around, go back to that house and challenge his bastard brother. He wanted to use his claws in a way that he'd never felt before. And that bitch, she'd probably been carrying on like this the whole time they'd been married. Maybe she thought she'd made a mistake that day, settling for a half-breed like him. He snarled to himself, sure they'd been having a good laugh at his expense, falling in love with someone like Anuki. He wanted to charge back to that house, rip out his dear brother's throat with his own fangs and throw his wife on the floor and rape her until she remembered who she belonged to.
With an effort, he held himself back from such a suicidal act of rage. Inutaisho would certainly kill him once he realized the deception was over. And then there were the children to consider, they might never recover from witnessing such a violent act and just because their mother was a heartless cunt, he had no desire to scar them for life. He wondered suddenly if any of them were even his. The oldest girl, Abiko, had snow white hair like her uncle. "I am such a fool," he raged, raking his claws against the trunk of a tree. It felt amazingly good to vent his frustration.
His head started to clear a bit as he continued deeper into the woods. Unconsciously, his hand reached up to feel for the pendant. The cool smoothness of the crystal comforted him. At least Inu didn't seem to know everything yet. Inoki was more glad than ever that he'd never told his wife where he'd been going for the past few months. It had started innocently enough, Seshiko had pleaded with him to carry a message to her father. He'd cautiously agreed only to put her mind at ease. As long as the message wasn't anything treasonous, he warned. It hadn't been, just a simple letter advising Kashikoto that she was well and missed her home. "Make sure you wear that pendant," she said, handing him a small scroll. "If my father sees that, he'll know that I trust you."
Inoki had prepared himself for a chilly reception at the hands of the Azaryu. He knew next to nothing about the isolated clan of hill demons, other than the pure hell they inflicted in battle along the western border. Their customs were decidedly strange, far different than the rest of the western dog-youkai. He knew they chose to make their homes and dens in the cold mountains rather than settle in more hospitable climates. Seshiko had explained that it was custom, that and a desire to keep their own identity. Other civilized youkai might think of them as rude barbarians, living in caves and keeping to their own peculiar traditions. Savages, some of the court called them, living together in tight knit bands and foraging in the wilderness like the animals they preyed upon.
Seshiko had openly laughed when he'd questioned her about some of the more bizarre practices he'd heard rumors of like ritual scarring and body modification. It was true, she told him, turning her back and dropping the clothing that covered her shoulder so he could see the complex patterns burned into her otherwise smooth skin. You could tell an Azaryu warrior from other dog-youkai clans by his facial markings, a delicate and complicated series of small slices and hash marks that crisscrossed their cheekbones.
Another rumor he'd shyly asked her about was that Azaryu shared their females. It was unorthodox, he thought, considering how possessive most males were about their mates and families. Seshiko had given him a pitying look and explained.
"Life can be harsh and brutal in the mountains. We don't have the luxury of caring only for the immediate members of a household when our very survival depends on each member of the clan absolutely trusting in each other. It's common for females to have children by more than one mate. It's also common for us to share our bodies with each other regardless of mates, even if no offspring are intended. Sexual contact eases tensions, builds bonds. Females are not traded like currency between males. In fact, we are the initiators of such couplings. Azaryu respect each other that way. I'm sorry you are such a prude."
"I'm not a prude," he said, flushing beet red at her assumption. "I'm not making any judgments, I was just curious."
"Good," she laughed. "My father will enjoy meeting someone of your openmindedness, Inoki. He's convinced that your brother's court is full of worthless fops and lazy lapdogs. He will find it very refreshing to meet someone of your candor who can think for himself."
It was Kashikoto he was most worried about meeting, despite Seshiko's assurances. He knew the sly old clanlord would recognize him as Inutaisho's own brother. Even with the treaty, he expected the old dog to at best treat him as a messenger boy, at worst, the Daimyo's own spy who had cleverly duped the Azaryu heir into trusting him. As it happened, he couldn't have been more wrong. Once he'd been delivered to Kashikoto by a scouting party of suspicious Azaryu warriors the clan lord had welcomed him like a returning son rather than a dubious messenger. Kashikoto had beamed with pleasure at receiving his daughter's letter, making Inoki feel guilty at the amount of time it had taken Seshiko to wheedle him into carrying it for her.
"You have daughters, lord Inoki?" Kashikoto said, after stuffing him with a simple but sumptuous meal. Inoki felt he might not move for a week, but the old lord had called for liquor next and Inoki felt his eyes cross at the potent but quite tasty brew.
"I have three daughters," he confessed, his cheeks warmed by Azaryu liquor and his feet warm beside an Azaryu fire. "Also three sons. And one more on the way."
Kashikoto grinned wolfishly. "Your wife must be a remarkable woman. My compliments, lord Inoki." The old lord sighed contentedly. "If I might offer a word of advice, when your daughters marry, see to it that their husbands come to live within your household. Sons may go where they please, and do anyway, but a man misses his daughters' smiles more than he will know until he is deprived of them."
Inoki smiled, feeling at ease with Seshiko's father. "I will remember, my lord. If my daughters are anything like their mother I'm sure that I won't have a say at all in who they marry or where they live. Most of the time, I can't even get a word in edgewise, let alone make suggestions."
Kashikoto howled at that, the old dog shaking his head with undisguised mirth. "Too right, lord Inoki. And well said. Please do me the honor now, and be blunt as I value honesty above all else. How fares my daughter in your brother's household?"
Inoki tried not to let his discomfort show. "She is well. Her pregnancy advances normally and she's looking forward to a visit home as soon as the child is born."
The old youkai snorted. "Looking forward to returning home to stay, you mean. No need to sweeten the words for me, I know how Seshiko feels about her situation. My daughter is not a woman to hide her feelings. You must think me a beast for pressuring her into an alliance like this."
Inoki swirled the alcohol around in his cup. "It's hardly my place to say, my lord. Your treaty is with my brother and its terms are none of my business."
Kashikoto laughed sourly. "Come now, Inoki. I thought we were honest men. I am a beast to have asked my beloved child to allow her body to be used for my negotiations. I have faith in her strength and her commitment. Seshiko might be, er, temperamental, but I have never doubted her courage or her resourcefulness."
He grinned at the lord's choice of words. Temperamental had to be the mildest he'd heard Seshiko described so far. "She's been a bit difficult with the household staff. I think most of them are quite afraid of her."
"But not your brother," Kashikoto put in.
Inoki let his face betray nothing. "Inutaisho is afraid of no one, my lord," he said flatly.
"I don't suppose he is," the Azaryu murmured thoughtfully. "A pity as fear can be a great teacher and a great humbler among men. And admitting to that fear is a sign of a man's strength. However, with a sire such as yours, I don't believe your lord brother or yourself should be capable of fearing anything. Such a man could leave no room for fear in the hearts of his sons. Having faced him in battle myself and lived to tell the tale, I find it heartening to be in the same room with his son."
Inoki frowned. He did not want to discuss his father. "My lord, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am nothing like my father. Or my brother."
He was surprised when the older youkai reached across the table to grip him arm firmly. "I know that, son," Kashikoto's voice was soft and his eyes compassionate. "If you were, you wouldn't have my daughter's friendship. I can see by that pendant you wear that she thinks highly of you."
The hanyou smiled faintly and Kashikoto was satisfied. True, he expected great things from his daughter but he'd never believed she'd be so audacious as to subvert the Daimyo's own brother. He'd been expecting Inoki for some days now, warned of his arrival by coded messages from Seshiko. He and his daughter needed no messenger boy to communicate effectively.
Still, Kashikoto had been wary when he'd seen the pendant. A dangerous toy, he'd warned the girl. The original intention had been for Inutaisho to wear the vile bauble. It would have pleased him to see the proud Daimyo overcome by the madness and paranoia the jewel inspired. For it was no jewel at all, but pure crystallized malice, a poison formed by his daughter's own expert hands. The wearer would slowly succumb to its effects of fear and rage until he completely lost all sense of himself. He would then be a useful tool in Seshiko's deft control.
They'd had to abandon their plans to use the pendant against Inutaisho almost immediately. He was far too powerful and far too much in control of his own youki. He'd smell her magic before she ever got close enough to put the stone around his neck. No matter, he'd comforted his daughter. All we will need is someone above suspicion who can be bent our way. Surely even Inutaisho must have malcontented people in his household. Now he regarded his new hanyou friend and felt a passing regret when he gazed upon Seshiko's gift. Inoki would turn to them. He would abandon everyone and everything he'd known and become Azaryu if Kashikoto had anything to say in the matter. He smiled into the young man's placid dark eyes and thought how he'd make a fine addition to his clan.