Disclaimer: 'kay, you know the drill. Don't own, don't sue, everyone's happy.
Sesshomaru: I can think of one exception.
Chibi Ochita: Poor baby. Wittle Maru-chan is upset very muchly so.
Maru-chan: Die bitch!
Ochita: Want me to put you in a dress?
Maru-chan: -.-; save me.
Woman Scorned
General POV
Sesshomaru's golden eyes flickered open and he stiffened immediately, staring down into the face of the creature now pressed against his side in the crook of his arm, long fingered soft hand lying on his chest. Her eyebrows drew together as she let out a muffled groan, and her lengthy lashes fluttered open revealing her strange light eyes, hand curling into a small fist brushing her fingertips across his skin, an involuntary shiver crawling down the taiyoukai's (A/N:Otakuyoukai, thank you very muchly for the correction of my atrocious spelling.) spine. They weren't in any type of suggestive position…just really really close to each other.
He scowled down at her in revulsion, moving away from her as quickly as he could, while she did the same looking pale. She stood up after he rose to his feet, turning away from him and staring at the wall, embarrassment flowing off her in waves. Sesshomaru glanced at her hair, noting that it was the first time he'd seen in dry and all down at the same time, tilting his head to the side slightly to examine the bizarre way the locks formed long loose swirls.
The taiyoukai coughed and the girl cast a look over her shoulder for only a moment, turning back to the wall as if he hadn't tried to catch her attention, blaming it on a frog in his throat. She muttered a small 'Ohayo'. He did not say anything and, realizing the girl-child couldn't take a hint, he strode over to a large wardrobe, pushing the doors apart and revealing many choices of clothing, pulling out a simple white yukata for her to wear.
Turning around he glided over to her and shoved it into her arms, looking down into her averted face, noticing the red glow showing through her long bangs, one side of them covering her left eye. She held them closely to her, as though she believed they would protect her if he where to attack. He almost shook his head but just scowled and led her over to another shoji door at the far left of the room, opening it to reveal a smaller room with a large full length mirror to the far corner right and a desk to the closer corner right.
"Come." He commanded and she obeyed…something here was wrong.
Although Sesshomaru had a few suspicions at her compliance, when he turned around he just realized that she was too tired not to…and something else. What ever it was he couldn't tell, she wouldn't look at him, she wouldn't hint anything; even her scent couldn't betray her feelings. He glared down at her, wondering if she were planning anything but then decided if she were to try and escape she wouldn't know how to get out of his castle.
After inside the small room, he faced the left and opened another shoji door, this one had a mural of waterfalls on it. Once opened, he made a 'after you' gesture, then he shut the door on her, figuring she knew what to do. Himawari stared at the large hot spring in front of her and gave a lopsided smile at the misty room but crystal clear water. She then stripped down and splashed into the steaming water. She settled down into the warmth and sighed. Then she let them flow, the tears she hadn't wanted the demon lord to know she possessed shimmering in her eyes after he'd looked at her that way…
I gross him out…just like I did everyone else…even mommy. Why am I crying about it though? So he didn't like touching me, I knew it. No one would want to touch me, so that's why I don't touch them. Why should I care?...because I do.
Back with the demon lord.
Sesshomaru sat in the living room, Jaken was blathering on and on about…something; he wasn't paying much attention to the green toad demon. He stared at the demon and almost sighed dejectedly at his servant, yet managed to keep his exasperation to himself. He'd told the toad to go get the girl's bag of…whatever it was. Magic artifacts and explosives or something like that.
"M'Lord, Tayamura-sama of the central land has arrived. All the Lords request a formal meeting with you and your mate." Jaken announced.
"They will have to wait for her presentation."
Jaken shifted and asked, "M'Lord, they specified that you have two days before you perform the ritual if you already haven't."
"Information has been revealed to the open of Himawari." Sesshomaru growled lowly, he'd thought that by coming in through a secret passageway, it would get rid of the chance that anyone would find out about her presence.
Jaken was rather surprised that his master had called the creature by her given name, wondering why he would lower himself to speaking what the disgusting thing pronounced herself as. In his opinion the girl didn't look anything like a 'sunflower'.
"M'Lord?"
"…Jaken, where are my mother's clothes located?"
"I believe they are in a wardrobe within the human's room." Jaken grumbled.
"Retrieve something formal for the creature…something green." He mused to himself.
"Hai M'Lord." Jaken squawked, scuttling out of the room with speed.
Sesshomaru sighed to himself and walked back into his room…but he heard something strange. It was coming from the hot spring. He carefully and quietly made his way through to the bathroom, then cracked the shoji open to the hot spring, peering in to make sure everything was…well…okay. What he saw shocked him.
The girl had never looked so fragile to him; in fact he didn't think he had ever thought her as small as she appeared now. Her back was to him and she was sitting in the water (so no, he wasn't peeping or anything), ripples forming around her, hair dark and wet, streams of water pouring off her shoulders into the pool below. But what caught his attention were the tears flowing from her eyes as she put her hands to her face.
Wiping them away, he stared as a bitter smile graced her deep pink lips, and a small choked sob resonated from the back of her throat; sinking lower into the water. He could see the pain in her eyes and he felt something within his chest constrict strangely. The Taiyoukai soon realized that the emotion she had been hiding earlier was sorrow, something he would've been able to sense in others…but somehow he hadn't in her, as if she'd tricked her own self into believing she was fine.
She began murmuring in a different language, staring down at her reflection with distain, "How do ya say it again? Wha'twas it in Japanese? Ah, I remember. Kachi no aru (worthless)."
Sesshomaru then saw her slap at the image she saw in the water, an angry expression on her face, muttering something else and dunking her head in the water. He then backed out of the room and thought over what he just saw, a little unable to understand what he had just witnessed.
She thinks herself worthless? Why? How can someone so clever be so stupid? If she were truly worthless then why would this Sesshomaru capture her and bring her to his keep?
He puzzled over why she believed herself to be of no value, wondering what men from her land thought of her. He wasn't stupid; the girl had obviously never been 'involved' with anyone. Perhaps pecked on the lips once or twice but that was as far as it went within that area of her life. Soon the demon lord frowned.
What the hell do I care?
Pondering what she had in mind for the problem he'd commanded her to solve he realized it had to be something sneaky. He'd always preferred to do things in a forthright manner, believing himself strong enough to take on any challenge, but within politics he knew he couldn't. Sesshomaru could usually handle himself in the category but now he found he needed a bit of assistance. It was pretty pride degrading. He glided over to the wardrobe and retrieved his clothing.
"Onna get o-"
The door slid open and the girl strode through the shoji, soaked through the white yukata, plastered to her indecently…not to her knowledge. She advanced upon him once more and got in his face, tilting her head, hands at her sides, glaring up at him in a fashion that suggested she found absolutely nothing special about him, lips parted slightly, her proximity extremely unnerving, and she spoke with an iced and hushed toned, "Don't. Call. Me. That."
"This Sesshomaru will call you as he p-"
"Listen dog-breath," She snarled, stepping even closer, "I am not in the mood so don't even think about going there with me."
"You're eyes are red." He commented almost quietly.
"Tsh." She turned around waving her hand in the air defensively, "Just an allergy, musta' been the soap 'r somethin'."
He caught her arm and spun her around so that she faced him, growling lowly, "Do not lie to me. This Sesshomaru knows you have been crying."
Her face went almost purple with rage as she snapped, "I am not that weak so don't think you can-"
"This Sesshomaru can not have you become emotional while company is in his presence." He commanded.
"I guess you've got the dead pan look down but whatever, just go and do something k? Leave me alone for two g'damn seconds so I can think."
The inu youkai just shook his head and grasping his clothes, he went to bathe. After settling into the water he took the cord from his hair and undid the strange braid, his hair looking crimped for a moment, before he dunked his head bellow the surface of the steaming pool. He resurfaced the water and sighed, the girl was in a pissy mood and that did not improve his. He shut his eyes and tried to block the image that kept making its way up into his head. The great demon swallowed as he remembered with a vivid clarity, the picture of the girl standing there with the practically tranclucent material clinging to her like a second skin.
He couldn't deny that she was beautiful…everywhere, but he hated the way his imagination took the image and began to twist it. His thoughts were moving lower and lower and lower. Snarling he dunked his head again, as if trying to wash the ideas from his brain (heh…brainwashing…sorry that was really stupid but I just had to say it). He found himself wishing she'd walk in just for curiosity.
Even when you gave her an open opportunity she didn't, what makes you think she would now?
He growled at the thoughts, shaking his head violently. Scrubbing himself as though it would rid himself of the dirty emotions he was feeling.
Stupid! This is just Stupid! I hate her, and now I'm lusting after her! Why are the Kami-sama against me?
After doing so he pulled a towel from a nearby rock, getting out and drying off. After doing so he donned his regular attire and strode into the room, noting that he'd taken a considerably long amount of time washing off. When he opened the shoji he saw something he didn't expect, though not an unwelcome sight. Someone had brought the creature her bag as well as a formal kimono.
He stared in disbelief at the strange picture of the young woman from another land, dressed in a silk, sea-green kimono adorned with embroidered willow trees, a silvery blue-green obi…of which she was shaking at him while holding her clothes together with one long fingered hand.
"Maru-dono, could you help me? I kinda' can't tie this right." She inquired with a frantically flustered expression on her face, shining through her dark reptilian eyes.
Sesshomaru nodded, walking forward and plucking the obi from her hands, turned her around and helped her, tying it, questioning whether or not the girl was as smart as he thought she was. The action was so mundane that he partly went into a daze while doing so, resting his clawed hands on her hips after he did so, gazing at her done-up hair, green ribbons floating down from a beautiful braided design wrapped around the back of her head.
When she turned around he nearly went into cardiac arrest; she didn't look like herself. Apparently the girl owned face paint and, when she got her bag back, decided to use it. Her eyes were shaded with many greens and a bit of blue, a powder that matched her skin tone perfectly had been brushed on, a darkened area on her cheeks where she'd placed a type of cream that made it look as though she were blushing which was highly attractive, and her lips were painted a darker pink and glistening. He watched as she beamed at him and said, "Domo Maru-dono (thanx)."
Snapping out of the strange trance she'd induced upon him he grabbed the thin cord that would tie the obi in place feeling the need to insult her for her transgression, "Can you really not dress yourself onna?"
She froze and the strained smile finally cracked off her face, just as he finished tying the silver cord. (The screen cracks as well)
"I can't do this." Himawari shook her head and moved away.
The taiyoukai watched as she went and knelt down in a corner facing the wall, beginning to mutter to herself, holding her hair with her hands.
"Uno, uno, dos, tres, cinco, ocho, trese, veinte uno, treinta cuatro, cinquenta cinco, ochenta nueve, cientos cuarenta y cuatro, dos cientos treinte y tres, tres cientos setenta siete… » (Fibenaci(sp?) numbers in Spanish)
"Onna…onna…what…Himawari what are you doing?" Sesshomaru demanded to know wondering what was wrong with her.
She snapped from her daze and turned to look at him, staring as though he weren't there, speaking in a soft tone, "I can't pretend to be your mate. I can't pretend to be anyone's mate. They'll know when they see me. Kami-sama they'll know and-"
The western lord had had enough and, gripping her by the shoulders he shook her slightly, "Pull yourself together woman!"
She just went back to mumbling incoherently. The Taiyoukai thought about hitting her but decided against it, searching for a different approach. He dragged her over to her bag and pulled out the brush he had seen her retrieve earlier. After this Sesshomaru then proceeded in leading her over to the corner, and set her down in it. He then gave her the brush and sat in front of her. As if a telepathic message had been sent the girl began brushing his hair, putting it into the strange braid she had done the day before.
Note to self: braiding calms her down just as she spoke of when referring to her mother.
"O-" He started and her hands stopped braiding; switching his choice of words, "Himawari, why do you believe you can not do this?"
"I-I'm…I don't think they'll believe me if I claim to be yer m-mate." She jittered out.
"Act as though you are." He advised uncomfortable with her mental breakdown and lack of self-confidence.
"How would someone's mate act?" She questioned, apprehensive tone gone and replaced by a curious one.
"Do not think of it that way. Just remember what you are here to do and do such with as much grace as possible." Sesshomaru coughed, trying to be supportive but failing miserably, his tone sounding more mocking than encouraging.
"Righ', righ'. I got it." She mumbled to herself, totally missing the distaste in his voice.
He waited a while before he asked, trying desperately to keep the concern out of his voice, "Do you know how to act as a Japanese woman?"
"Kinda' sorta'." She murmured.
She then began to hum, trying to block out her problems, her hands becoming more relaxed as she braided, the tense feeling in her arms falling away so that she didn't jump ten feet if she brushed his back with her fingers.
But it was starting to make him jump.
She sends chills down my spine. It did not bother this Sesshomaru until recently…perhaps it is just a reaction to her antics. She is creepy, my responses are normal.
He awaited the girl patiently, her soft tune coming to a finish, her hands retreating after tying a silver ribbon in his hair after having weaved it through the braid. After which they both got up and exited the room. He lead her down the hallway, the sunlight filtering through the rice paper doors to the sides, the soft tap-tap of Sesshomaru's boots resonated down the corridor as he made his way to his study room.
The girl walked as gracefully as she could, the taiyoukai scowling at the fact that she was wearing no Tabi (socks), nor her horrible beat up looking waragi (sandals) that he had seen her slip her small feet in and out of. The creature barely made a sound as she glided gracefully down the passageway, every motion her body made was controlled and swift, the demon lord noting the small upward turn of her lips into a gentle smile, successfully hiding all of her thoughts. She seemed so different now, so much more confident, though he knew her not to be; it was merely an act. The ribbons in the American's hair were floating in the air behind her, along with a few well placed loose strands of hair, curling in small swirls as they trailed down her back.
The inu youkai knew better than to hope that the study was unoccupied, even though he had commanded Jaken to set up the conference as soon as possible. Thankfully the cedar flooring did not creak beneath either of them, both capable of an almost weightless gait. He stopped in front of the large shoji, waiting for her to step beside him, noting that she seemed to keep a reasonable distance away and behind.
She does know the symbols of respect…thank the Kami-sama.
Sliding open the door he wasn't shocked to see all the lords sitting in their respective seats, all trying not to immediately snap their heads in his direction, all remaining calm as they faced the lord. He strode in with an air of arrogance all who knew him came to realize it as his customary trade-mark, the host of this meeting all greeting them with a slight nod of the head as he sat down.
Sesshomaru would have been comfortable…had half of them not been gawking at his 'mate-to-be', some searching her neck for a mark, others just searching her. Kouga's jaw was…well, it had almost hit the table until Torudo-maru shut it for him. He knew what they were thinking. They were wondering what the hell she was, where she came from, if she were royalty, and if he had lost all semblance of sanity. It was rude to acknowledge one's mate in front of company so he did not speak to her, merely sat down by the table, noting that she went to sit down beside him, yet still a little behind him in respect.
She is very good at this.
He felt a wave of relief and watched as she grasped hold of the tea pot in front of her, lifting it slowly so all could see the quality of the china, and tipping it forward into one cup, handing it to Sesshomaru elegantly. Her eyes flashed at him momentarily as if to say-'don't expect this type of treatment from me later on, asshole'. Ahh, how he loved her entertaining tactics; but ohh, how he hated the girl. His lips twitched upwards in the ghost of a smile, seeing Ayame almost faint, never believing she'd live to witness that.
The creature then began to pour tea for everyone else, handing it to Daitsu-haru so he could pass the cups around until everyone, save herself had a drink. Everyone sat in silence, all trying to keep their minds on the refreshment and not the strange thing that had given it to them, most failing miserably. Taka-ro seemed to be the only one who could tear his eyes away from her…and only because he was half blind. The dragon demon Tayamura sat there patiently, his act of not observing the girl and treating her as he should; with apathy and ignorance to her presence, being the best, though Sesshomaru knew not to under-estimate the central aristocrat.
Yakato-Taisho finally spoke up with the matter at hand, "Have you found your mate?"
Sesshomaru was about to answer when he felt a small shut fan touch his hip, writing on him as though he were paper, right below the table so no one could see, trying to keep the smile of his face at the sarcastic comment.
Nooohooo, I'm his fuckin' grandmother.
His eyes flickered at her with amusement before clearing his throat to speak, "Hai, but this Sesshomaru has but one request."
"And that would be?" Hakata asked, drawling out his words.
"To see the document my father issued." The Taiyoukai of the West replied.
Glances were shot every which way, all darting from him to Taka-ro of who currently held the document in his hands, the elder coughing out, "Very well."
The document was passed across the table slowly, Sesshomaru experiencing a twisting feeling in his gut, not liking the cautiousness the elder had used. He plucked it from the table and held it up in front of him, finding it hard to understand, the inu youkai cursing his father's use of flowery language…especially when the man had been illiterate. He saw the girl scan the page out of the corner of his eye, and watched as a burning fire flashed within the reptilian-green orbs, rage building inside her as though some fierce offence had been done to her.
1000, tenth month, third day
Throughout the coming years the present Lord of the West should be notified by demonic law a week in advance of this edict. The contract between all Lords and their followers as well as vassals and servants must know of the agreement shared within the Compass. As is such a delicate procedure of the political mating tradition guidelines have now been set, so as not to deter any moral choices to be made. Thus it is with all due respect to this ancient ritual that I set the law before my descendants. At the coming age of 727, after passing the year of 666 that of which is to be the year of demonic rites, the Lord of the West must mate with that of royal lineage within the Compass(and their lineage) by the latter time. If the act is not brought out with a human or other being that would age at the same pace, at the eldest age before the new moon of the eighth cycle then the being holding said position will be forced to surrender it. Though there are obvious setbacks and scenarios that should be taken into consideration, that of infidelity and betrayal, this law stands firm in its proclamation, and as such guidelines have been set they will be enforced by any means possible.
Inu-Taisho, Lord of the West
Kouga, Prince of the South
Taka-ro, Elder of the Southwest
Ookami, Elder of the North
Hakata, Lord of the Northeast
Yuka-haru, Lord of the East
Tayamura, Immortal of the Center
Torudo-maru, Lord of the Northwest
Yakato-Taisho, Lord of the Southeast
Sesshomaru let his eyes run over the page again and again, trying to dissect the sentences and find a loophole in the system but failed to do so, setting it back down on the table.
And that's when it happened.
The stupid creature tried to move forward and fell, knocking her fist into his cup, the tea splashing against the document. There were a few gasps and all eyes were once again put on the girl, of who was blushing, or seemed to be, desperately trying to mop up the mess.
"Sumimasen (excuse me)." She whispered quietly, trying to clean the paper with a strangely checkered cloth (her hanky).
He nearly growled at the girl, shooting her a look that promised pain, waving her arms from the paper, noting that she was only making a mess of the running ink. Kami-sama she could be so klutzy.
Taka-ro decided not to notice the offence and spoke out, "You are put under law to mate with a human."
Torudo-maru eyed the creature suspiciously, trying to decipher what she was.
"This Sesshomaru has chosen who he wishes to mate." He announced clearly.
"Of what nature does the female hail from?" Torudo-maru almost demanded to know, trying to keep his voice down.
Crap.
"…"
"I'm an American."
Everyone's attention was back on the creature as she seemed to fiddle with the edge of her kimono nervously, smiling at them all quite congenially, offering the small explanation, assuming the Taiyoukai would not remember such an insignificant detail.
"What is an A-me-ri-ka-n?" Daitsu-haru inquired with interest, his ice colored eyes gazing attentively at the girl.
"She hails from the land across the eastern water." Sesshomaru provided.
That earned the both of them a few odd stares.
"Sumimasen, I meant to clarify that. To what…her…anou…" The Elder trailed off, not able to come up with the right words.
"What is she?" Hakata asked lazily, his dark brown eyes now fixed on the creature.
"…" Sesshomaru turned down to her, assuring her it was time for her to speak up with a small nod.
"…To my knowledge I'm human but people very often tell me that is incorrect. As of the moment, my ancestral origin is unknown."
A small buzz of conversation broke out across the room, everyone wondering how this could fit into the contract and to what rule the demon lord of the west was breaking. The inu youkai waited patiently for the study to calm down but it didn't, so he commanded them all, "Silence."
The room fell quiet and all turned to look at him as he moved to stand up straight, giving everyone an aloof glance and informing, " This meeting is adjourned; further discussion on this topic will be disclosed another day."
The demon then strode to the shoji murmuring, "Come Himawari."
The point of the demand being to reveal her name to them as he made his way out of the study, the girl following him hurriedly, almost scuttling behind him in a very shy way, keeping her face down respectively. The other lords exited as well but none followed the two as the western lord lead the female down the hallway to the left of the study, striding through many doors and corridors until he was out in open daylight.
The garden was well trimmed and kept, sections of flowers dividing the yard into small gravel or white sand paths. They followed along one, separated by violets and gardenias; the gritty sand sifting through the seventeen-year-old's toes as she scurried off behind him. He soon led her into an orchard of sakura trees, getting them almost lost within the grounds of pink petal-ed trees, the silken flowers floating to the ground in small spinning motions, adding to the strange other-worldly effect the garden possessed.
Sesshomaru made an about face and growled, "Your behavior was unacceptable."
"K'yeah," She snorted before continuing, "And your observation skills are astoundingly detecting."
He glided forward until he could look down upon her, though it wasn't much of a distance, snapping, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, you didn't notice? Guess I should'a expected that." She laughed.
"I noticed your ridiculous clumsy display!" He snarled, eyes momentarily flashing red.
"Since that must've taken up all your perceptive power I guess I gotta spoon feed you the answer! That paper was forged you moron!" She glowered.
"Of course it wasn't you fool! My father was illiterate, he obviously commanded a servant to write it." He hissed.
"Didn't know you had many lady servants that were erudite." She snapped.
Everything went very quiet as Sesshomaru processed that.
His inquiry seemed to resonate throughout the orchard like a hollow cavern, "Nani?"
"I said-"
"I know what you said onna, what does it mean?" The demon lord now looked down at her.
"Look, first clue was the spelling of the words. Lords and ladies use a slightly different dialect almost…at least back in this time they do. Second was the hand writing, a woman's hand is different than a man's and there is a small difference in the way of the text…I started to look up that sort of stuff because Sherlock Holmes is my hero(A/N: He did a lot of that type of stuff when looking at letters- like death threats and such)." She beamed brightly.
The taiyoukai had half a mind to ask who the hell Sherlock Holmes was but decided that he needed to take care of this business first, demanding to know, "Why did you spill my tea on the document?"
She exasperatedly rolled her large green eyes and he saw something he wished he didn't.
She actually took the edict out of her sleeve and showed him the paper…she'd stolen it while everyone's attention had been focused on the girl.
"What. Are. You. Doing. With. That?" He bit out angrily.
"Look Maru-dono, trust me for just a second ok?" She asked, staring up at him pleadingly.
"This Sesshomaru hopes for your own good that you have an explanation." He seethed.
"Oh, you care for my well being? That's cute." The girl grinned mockingly.
"…"
Giving a nervous laugh at the intense glare she received from the angry demon, fidgeting under his golden stare, "Ah, well yes, but I digress. As you can see the paper is still intact and the ink is running a lot."
"Just what is your point?" Sesshomaru questioned.
"That; had the paper been written in the year 1000; it would have disintegrated once doused with scalding hot tea. The paper isn't that old, but it's old enough to look the part, and it seems that the document was written recently or the ink wouldn't have run." She explained before continuing with a sigh, "Someone's conspiring against you Maru-dono."
The western lord stared down at the creature expressionlessly, trying to absorb the information. Himawari looked up into his amber gaze, wondering if he were waiting for her to speak up again, not quite sure if his reaction to this knowledge would be explosive or another quiet fury she had seen him display on a number of unpleasant occasions. Her eyes searched his face for any hint of what he felt but did not find anything. The demon plucked the paper from the girl's hand and held it to his nose, sifting through the spiced scent of the tea and the metallic fragrance of the ink, inhaling largely to pinpoint the perfume of the owner.
Himawari stared at him in confusion as he shut his eyes, a bitter smile gracing his lips.
Of course…
"Something wrong Maru-dono?" she asked cautiously.
"The artist of this sloppily counterfeit contract would be none other than my…mother." He grinned scathingly before adding, "And she wanted me to know this."
"Why?" The girl asked as she followed the lord while he strolled away, hand ducking inside his hoari to pocket the paper.
I supposed she will need to know at some point.
He closed his eyelids for a moment, remembering a time when he would walk in this exact same grove of cherry-blossom trees with his mother, trailing behind her as he struggled to keep up with her fast pace and long stride, always overjoyed when she turned around and acknowledged him, allowing him to get close to her. He tried to forget the memory but could not shake it from his mind, opening his eyes, half expecting to see her beautiful face, deep golden eyes and long snow-white hair, porcelain face expressing a soothing serenity.
My beautiful mother…my conniving mother.
He grimaced at the last thought slightly, knowing the once lady of the west had dedicated her life to destroying her own bloodline. The betrayal still hurt though.
"My mother is the previous Lady of the Western lands. Her marriage with my father was political, as are most, and he held no real affection for her…but she did him. As the fact remains, my father fell 'in love' with a mortal woman; a princess, taking her as his mistress and later mating with her formally after my mother attempted suicide. She was brought back to life with this sword, the Tenseiga," He held up the sword before continuing, "She believed he did so to make her suffer, and vowed to destroy the western bloodline, promising to either dethrone or end his line all together. This was, of course, after she had divorced him. She became, once again, the Lady of Tsuto, a province in the lower half of the central lands. Currently she is a guest at Tayamura's fief and has been unable to follow through with her threats."
"In other words she's been held hostage for a long time and the only way for her to get out, would be for you to 'visit' Tayamura's fief and stay as his 'guest'. If this happens you could possibly lose your position as she tears down your reign while you are otherwise preoccupied." She then sighed, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"Nani?" Sesshomaru was puzzled at her last statement.
"It's a Shakespearian quote." She shook her head, turning to look up at him.
He stared down into her eyes, wondering what she thought of the predicament, speaking up clearly, "This Sesshomaru is under the impression that the other lords are conspiring against him as well."
"Do ya have somethin' they want?" She yawned, the exhaustion she felt showing through her expressive eyes.
"Many of them have eligible relations." He stated passively.
"And I thought all matchmakers were women." She muttered beneath her breath.
A small amused smile graced his lips as his eyes darted in her direction, her averted face looking somewhat agitated and bored at the same time. It was safe to say she knew how to deal with almost any political situation, including conspiracy, but she obviously didn't enjoy it. Her attention was diverted as she stared up into the trees, jogging forward and catching a falling petal, a childish grin that reminded him of Rin, for the moment, spilling across her tan features.
"This Sesshomaru is open to suggestion onna." He announced a bit irritated with her lack of attention span.
"Righ', well, lessee, I have been brewing one up but it's risky."
"And this would be?"
"First, I'm gonna ask ya if ya got any other family members that wouldn't mind dropping by." She yawned.
"Why?"
"Answer first." She commanded, giving him a death glare out of the corner of her eye.
"An annoyance of a hanyo ototo (halfbreed little brother)." He muttered.
"Does he like kids?"
"What doe-"
The girl cut him off by clearing her throat.
"He travels with a small Kitsune, as well as a few human companions and a miko."
Her eyes widened at that and she smirked, "A miko huh? Well you're a lucky one aren't you?"
"Nani?"
"The point was if you could find a way to get your little bro to come here and protect Rin."
"What-Why?" Sesshomaru tried to keep the puzzled expression off his face but couldn't help to think he wasn't when she grinned at him.
"Because Rin is your ward and by law she gains custody to oversee your lands if you are MIA so to speak. After that you could make up something stupid like, 'I have ta go see my oba-chan (mommy) to get her blessing' or 'My mate-to-be is…sick so I can't do anything with her right now', 'r something I dunno. You get yer bro to come down and take care of Hime-chan so that she doesn't get assassinated, visit your mother, and try to get'er to stop scheming against you."
"Did you actually just come up with that?" The tiayoukai asked, attempting to keep the amazement from his voice.
"Yup. Oh, but you're gonna have to come up with something to take care of your buddies. Which one is Tayamura again?"
"Dragon demon, dark green hair, yellow eyes, fire marks by his eyes."
"Oh, the actor."
Sesshomaru smiled, so she had noticed that too.
"Dragons are good with deception." He commented.
"Almost like snakes." Himawari grinned.
"What do you mean?"
"In the bible, an ancient religious book, an asp tricks the first two humans into disobeying their chief deity." She murmured.
"Ironic; you look like one." Sesshomaru smirked as the girl stopped in her tracks, jaw dropping in utter outrage with the insulting demon.
"YOUUUUUU JACKASS!" She yelled at him as he sauntered away from her, ignoring the girl's offensive outburst, secretly happy he had gotten a raise out of her.
He had to admit, he slightly enjoyed her brilliant stupidity, and it made him feel far more intelligent than her. But at the moment he didn't have time to think about these trivial matters, he needed to address the issue of the ball.
"Onna,-"
"Look, I am not named 'woman' my name is Himawari! HI-MA-WA-RI!" She snapped at him.
"You say that as though this Sesshomaru cares." He mused aloud before continuing, "There will be a ball to decide who my mate will be."
"I thought you already decided it was going to be me." She answered dully, almost as though she dreaded the thought.
He nearly frowned at her, why did she have to act so unimpressed with him; there were thousands of women, human and demon, which would have loved to be in this predicament. He then answered, "You are merely in my favor wench."
"You are unbelievable!" She shouted at him angrily, storming in his direction.
"You really find me that amazing? I'm flattered." Sesshomaru replied mockingly, a smirk gracing his handsome face.
She stopped advancing on him and stood still, gawking.
Finally, perhaps now she will listen.
"I need not lie about you to them. To mate with you, you would need to be in heat, and you won't be for another week or so. This Sesshomaru would perform a blood rite to insure you as his mate, and then travel to Tayamura's fief as is customary."
"What's a blood rite?" She asked, jogging up beside him with her long stride step.
The taiyoukai turned in front of her and caught her around the waist, pulling her close to him an bending his head to brush her exposed neck with his fangs softly, feeling her stiffen and a small gasp escape her. He moved his mouth over the now quickened pulse of her jugular vain, moving his tongue along the flesh of the bronze column. Her scent began to tease him, begging him to sink his teeth into her. He began to nibble softly, as if testing where would be the best spot he could do this.
"M-ma-r-ru-d-d-dono?" The demon lord heard her whimper.
Fear was radiating off of her in waves, making him smile against her skin. He felt her start to shake; his proximity was trying her nerves. He turned his eyes to the side and watched her wide eyes, darting around as if looking for an escape. Waiting for her to say something he heard her quavering voice, "P-point taken d-dude."
He smirked and pulled away, grinning at her wide eyed expression before…
WACK!
"You-you-you-you!" She sputtered, bright red in the face after cuffing the western lord in the cheek.
He grabbed her by the jaw and growled, "Hit this Sesshomaru again and he will kill you and bring you back to life one hundred times."
"I don't care if you bleed me to death ever time! You keep your sickly pale claws off of me pal-y, or, in the words of my friend, I might just go all ape-shit on your candy ass!" She snapped, batting his hands away with a disgusted sneer, as though he had something contagious.
Sesshomaru stood there, slightly baffled be her odd choice in words…
Are all American's like this?
He pondered the idea before shaking his head back and forth, there was no such thing as a race of idiots; at least he hoped not…but then again, what were humans if not that? His mind wandered over to the girl, as did his eyes, slightly widening when he saw her climbing a tree with the grace of a monkey. How on earth did she manage to pull that off in a kimono? He didn't even want to know. He strode over to her in a gliding manner, leaping upward into the tree, grabbing her waist along the way and lifting her up into the dark brown branches on his way. The taiyoukai held onto her as they both poked their heads out of the tree top, looking out at the beautiful garden from the height.
The demon lord turned his view to the girl's face as she stared with her mouth slightly open and smiling widely, as though this vision had made her day. He was amused by how easily pleased she was, a little surprised when she whispered a small thank you and gave him a small squeeze around the waist in gratitude. Strange, one moment she was angry with him, the next she was happy with him. She began to hum, and then sing a small song, rocking back and forth, Sesshomaru keeping a good hold of her so that she didn't slip off the branch.
He had to admit, her voice was the most heavenly sound he'd ever heard. He stared at her happy face and couldn't help but think she looked utterly at peace with everything, secretly wishing he could be as carefree. After she finished he was struck with an idea.
"You will sing tonight for everyone to hear."
The girl was so taken aback and squawked, "HUH?"
Then there was a snap and both went flying at the ground, the lord of the west landing lightly, the girl landing on her backside, falling down and letting out a warbled groan as she clutched her throbbing head and whimpered pathetically.
"This Sesshomaru will have you sing, so that everyone will know why he has chosen you." He spoke as though it were the most obvious explanation for his decision.
"Are you out of your g'damn mind! I can't sing! I've been told to shut up since I was four!" She snapped.
"A wonder why you don't." Sesshomaru nearly sighed.
"Maru-dono…I don't feel so goo'…" And with that the girl flopped back down on the ground and blacked out.
This wasn't good.
He already had to deal with a conspiracy, now he also had a twenty-first century, wise ass American punk on his hands. What to do, what to do?
Domo Arigatou gosaimasu to all my wonderful reviewers! Review onegai shimasu (plleeeeeaaaaassssseeee).