One Plus One Equals Three
Part Two
Ryo returned to the castle as the sun was rising. Sesshoumaru was waiting for him. He steeled himself to face his son's wrath.
"Good morning Father," he bowed.
Ryo raised a brow suspiciously, but returned the gesture. "Good morning, son."
"Sleep well?" Sesshoumaru grinned; he knew his Father had barely slept at all.
"Very well, and you?"
"Can't complain." He followed Ryo into his study, where maps littered the giant oak desk, and were pinned to the walls all around them.
"Do you have something you wish to discuss?" Ryo almost feared that Sesshoumaru would launch into a tirade about his public display of punishment last night, but was taken aback when Sesshoumaru stated, "Father, I want you to tell me how you obtained her."
Ryo opened his eyes wide. Was Sesshoumaru asking him to find him a woman?
His mouth dropped open, but no sound came out as Sesshoumaru sat cross-legged on the mat in front of the desk, making himself comfortable, his eyes wide and alert to anything Ryo had to tell him. This must be what it feels like to teach the bastard, he thought fleetingly, feeling disconcerted as his son's intense eyes fixated on his every move, taking it all in like the apt pupil his teachers insisted he was, for all his grades proved he was.
Ryo sighed, and laughed. Sesshoumaru frowned.
"Son, I can't just obtain a woman for you," he began, but Sesshoumaru interrupted him.
"No, Father, you don't understand. I do not want you to find me a woman; I want you to teach me how to find one for myself."
"I see." Ryo folded his hands behind his back and began to pace around his son, taking in his appearance and attitude, and assessing what improvements should be made. He sniffed him, too.
Sesshoumaru eyed him warily, suddenly not so sure he should have asked his Father about anything to do with love or women.
"Well, son," he stared, still pacing, "first things first: you need to bathe, daily."
Sesshoumaru slumped. He didn't have time for that! Although, he guessed he would have to make time.
"Secondly, you need an attitude adjustment. No more acting all high and mighty; you'll find if you act like you give a damn about more than just your own hide, women will flock to you."
Sesshoumaru, albeit a bit miffed about his Father's frank assessment, committed his words to memory.
Lastly, Ryo said, "Stand up."
Doing as his Father asked, Sesshoumaru stood, and managed to keep a straight face under Ryo's intense scrutiny.
He palpated Sesshoumaru's biceps, finding them a tad thin, and his flowered haori, a bit girlish.
Sesshoumaru sighed. He knew what his Father was getting at.
Going to his room, Ryo returned with a new haori and sash for him. The shirt was white, as his old one was, but instead of pink irises decorating the collar, a series of red cherry blossom hexagons were patterned into the fabric. Ryo thought this pattern much more masculine.
"Put these on; it's time for you to be taken seriously as a man, Sesshoumaru. Put this new sash on, too."
Ryo held up Sesshoumaru's breastplate as he took off his old sash and replaced it with the new one, which was navy and gold in colour. He liked it.
Leading him to a mirror, Ryo stood behind Sesshoumaru and asked, "Well? What do you think of your Old Man's handy work?"
Sesshoumaru took in the whole effect; no longer did his haori match his magenta stripes; no more did he look girlish and thin. The sleeves on this haori were not fitted, as his old ones had been, either. They effectively hid the fact that his arms were thin, yet strong. He could lift his Father over his head with one hand, should he ever bother to try. His appearance had once belied his strength, but now, he seemed to radiate it.
He nodded his approval. "I like it very much, Father."
Ryo slapped him on the back. "Good! Now, all you need to do is find yourself a lady and practice on her."
"Any lady? Will the servant girls do?"
"Admirably. Just don't go getting them too attached; they might start fighting over you, and you don't want that."
Sesshoumaru thought that sounded like a good thing. "Why not?"
"Because, if they figure out you're only using them, they will retaliate. Have you ever heard the saying, Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned?"
He nodded.
"Well, it's true. Take my word for it."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I see." He left the room to find the nearest female.
Ryo smiled. Sesshoumaru was growing up. He'd taken his punishment last night in stride, and had come to him for advice. If he didn't already know that schemes were beneath Sesshoumaru, he'd think that he was about to be a victim of some horrible prank, but he'd heard the sincerity in his son's voice; he really wanted to learn, so Ryo thought it far from him to hinder his son's progress.
Little did he know that Sesshoumaru was an apter pupil than even Ryo had thought, than even Sesshoumaru himself had thought.
oOo
The first woman Sesshoumaru winked at fainted; he walked with a spring in his step that he'd never before experienced. He grinned at the next girl he passed, and she stopped dead, her jaw dropping open. He flicked it closed as he passed, winking, and she, too, fainted on the spot.
He chuckled, smirking. Casanova leaves many damsels in his wake, he was thinking as he rounded a corner and walked outside through a pair of double maple doors, their hinges as long as he was tall.
He took to the sky, and without really paying attention to where he was going, wound up at the estate of his father's new lover, the young lady Izayoi.
He saw her in the garden, watching the sky for Ryo, he presumed, and set down silently several yards behind her.
He was about to greet her and apologise for his horrendous behaviour the night before, but a dark-haired man beat him to her.
"Izayoi," the man said, sitting next to her in a rush. Sesshoumaru stayed behind the nearest tree, watching, listening. A small part of him was on alert for anything she might say that would indicate to him that she was playing his Father for a soft-hearted fool, anything that could implicate her in any schemes against his Old Man.
"Oh, it's you, Takemaru." He picked up the disappointment in her voice, and gave the young man a scathing look. He had short hair, bound up in a topknot, and he was dressed in army regalia, nothing special. What a chump, he thought.
"Izayoi, I want to ask you something; I think you will like what it is."
He heard her breath hitch in her throat. This guy doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle, he thought nastily, gagging as he continued to listen to the man's proposal. Proposal!?
"I'm sorry, Takemaru, I really am," Izayoi responded apologetically, though Sesshoumaru got the feeling she would rather be anywhere else but here.
"But why, Izayoi? Your Father agreed on our match, why do you oppose it? I love you!"
She sighed heavily, and extracted her hands from his.
"Because, Takemaru, I don't love you. I thought you would get the hint when I ignored you yesterday, but I guess you're denser than I thought. I'm sorry, but my answer is no."
She hated to be so harsh, but if that was what it would take to get him off her back, she would do it.
Sesshoumaru sniffed in disdain. His opinion of this man sank lower than it had been initially.
Takemaru frowned at her; he just wasn't getting through. Then, a thought hit him like a bolt of lightening: Was she seeing someone else?
"There's someone else, isn't there?" he asked, point blank, and sure enough, her cheeks began to flame.
"Why would you ask something like that?"
"Because I'm right, aren't I?"
Izayoi was starting to get very irritated. What right did he have to her anyway? They weren't married; he had no authority over her at all! The only authority she obeyed was her Father's and…Ryo's. She thought of him, tall, strong, and…hers. She supposed she couldn't begrudge Takemaru his possessiveness, but she certainly didn't have to like it.
"Look, I'm sorry, but you aren't the one!"
He hung his head. "I'm sorry too, Izayoi," he whispered. Because I'm still going to try to win your affection, whether you change your mind or not.
Standing, he bowed to her respectfully and made his exit. She sighed, finally alone, finally rid of his exhausting presence.
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and her own hand flew to her heart when Sesshoumaru turned her to look up at him.
"Good Evening, my Lady," he said smoothly, and her brow shot up. Was this the same kid from yesterday?
He sat beside her, and she smiled, unbelieving. "Sesshoumaru?"
He smiled pleasantly, then winked. She snorted, then laughed outright, holding her sides.
He laughed, too. "What? What'd I do wrong?" he asked.
She took a few breathes, and said, "You're quite the Casanova. Who taught you your moves?"
"I did. Why? Do you have a suggestion?"
She nodded. "I think you shouldn't be so…overconfident."
She was wary of his reaction; last night he'd seemed to hate her, and now, here he was, sitting next to her and chatting her up like an old friend. She decided to play her cards close to her chest, for now.
"Well, it's worked so far. I've made two maids faint, and a third winked back at me before I left Father's castle."
She nodded. "I see. What made you decide to brush up on your womanizing skills?"
Before he could control himself, he'd blurted, "You."
Her eyes widened a fraction.
"Me?"
Figuring he'd already gone this far, he plunged ahead. He nodded in the affirmative.
"Oh." The word was drawn out over several seconds, as if she couldn't believe what'd she'd just heard. She looked up at him, and instantly regretted it. His eyes…so much like Ryo's, but altogether different, and all his own; gold, but a shade so light that his irises almost appeared iridescent in the fading sunlight.
Suddenly Izayoi had a bad feeling. Was Sesshoumaru in love with her? She crossed her fingers, hoping her suspicions were unfounded.
"Lady," he whispered, leaning in close to her, and she leaned back, putting a hand to his chest.
"Please, call me Izayoi," she said in a rushed tone. He was almost scaring her with his boldness.
He seemed to back off then, realising what he was doing, and shaking his shoulders, regained his composure.
He was about to ask her advice about his bad come-ons when someone came striding down the path behind them, and Sesshoumaru ducked just as a sword was thrust through the air, nearly taking his head off, and catching a strand of his silver hair, severing it from his head.
"Demon, you have drawn your last breath!" Takemaru shouted, and continued to pursue Sesshoumaru around the fountain, swinging crazily at his person, and nicking his forearm.
Sesshoumaru growled a warning, but Takemaru kept advancing, and soon Sesshoumaru had to do something or he would end up losing an arm.
As Takemaru swung the sword, the momentum carried it far behind him, and, using his demonic speed inherited from his Father, Sesshoumaru rushed in and grabbed the man in a choke hold so hard that he almost crushed his throat.
"No, Sesshoumaru, don't kill him!" Izayoi shouted, and her Father came running from across the garden, shouting her name.
When he saw what was going on, her Father yelled, "Takemaru, what is the meaning of this? Why do you challenge this demon?"
Sesshoumaru eased his hold on Takemaru's throat just enough to allow him to speak.
"I was defending your daughter, my Lord."
"My daughter?" He turned to face Izayoi. "What were you doing with this demon, Izayoi?"
She panicked; her Father hated demons, and had always forbade her to go anywhere near them.
She dreaded what he would do to her when he found out that she'd taken a demon as her lover.
She had to think fast. What could she tell her Father that would get everyone out of this mess with their heads still intact?
He shook her. "Well?" he demanded.
She blurted the first lie that came to mind.
"I-"
"She looked tasty, so I decided to stop for a bite," Sesshoumaru interrupted her, and threw Takemaru to the ground, gasping for air.
"Fortunately for her, this man intervened. I am forced to find my dinner elsewhere." And with those last words, he took to the sky, disappearing over the wall from whence he came.
"Is that true, Izayoi?" her Father bore into her eyes, and for the first time in her life, she lied to his face, without a second thought.
"Yes."
Takemaru frowned. Why did she lie? Who was she protecting? He was about to contradict her when an evil idea popped into his head: he could use this information against her as leverage. If that demon returned, he could get her to do anything he wanted - even marry him - as long as he could hold her secret over her head. He wondered if that demon had been the one she'd been seeing.
When he had happened upon them, the demon hadn't been trying to eat her; no, he'd been trying to kiss her, and she had been laughing!
What was she up to?
He'd have to find out.
Izayoi's Father was hugging her. "Oh, my baby," he was saying over and over, stroking her hair, "I'm so glad Takemaru was here to save you."
She glared in Takemaru's direction, and said, "Yes, Father, so am I."
He smiled at her, a smile that could only mean one thing: he'd figured it out, and now had leverage that could be used against her, should her Father get wind of it. Her glare slowly turned into a smile, a smile comprised of hate. Damn you, Takemaru…
oOo
Sesshoumaru waited until Izayoi's Father left, leaving her and Takemaru alone. She sat down, and he stood before her, a smug smile on his face. Sesshoumaru crept closer, in order to hear his words better.
"He's the one, isn't he?" She didn't answer, she only glared up at him.
He rubbed his hands together happily. "You know what this means, don't you, my Lady," he said condescendingly, and she flinched, yet maintained her glare.
"I don't care what you tell him," she gritted, referring to her Father, "I'll never consent to marrying you!"
He put a hand to his heart, and made a face, mock-wounded, and said, "Now, Izayoi, what are you accusing me of? You're a whore now, and I could never marry a whore; it would be disgraceful. However, I'll keep your secret, for a price. You know as well as I that he will kill you, only child or not, if he finds out about your little secret. Would you rather die than be with me?"
She spat at his feet, anger making her rash. "I'd rather die a thousand deaths than lay with you for one night!"
Amen, Sesshoumaru thought.
He slapped her; the sound echoed off the garden walls. Sesshoumaru flinched; Izayoi's face was an angry red.
"You listen to me, you little slut. I know you've been whoring around with that dirty demon, don't bother to deny it. All I'm asking for is a little of what he's getting, that's all. Think you can handle that?"
She trembled. What could she do? Tears began to leak from her eyes.
Bringing her knees up to her chest, she began to rock back and forth, unbelieving that this was happening to her.
Sesshoumaru had had enough of this idiot's blackmail. He rushed forward again, once again face to face with the asshole called Takemaru, then darting away again, to confuse him.
Takemaru drew his sword once again and grabbed Izayoi's hand, yanking her up. Vainly she tried to get away, but he brought the sword to her throat and pressed it dangerously close to her jugular vein. She ceased struggling.
Sesshoumaru came to a halt three feet before the pair, Izayoi's tears making his heart clench. He realised with sudden clarity that he understood why his Father loved her; he himself was beginning to feel the same emotions for the crying , helpless girl before him. Something deep within him demanded that he protect her, and all other thoughts fled as his eyes bled crimson.
"Release her," he growled, his voice grating like sandpaper.
"Or what? You'll kill me? Not without taking her down with me, you won't." She cried out as the sharp edge of the blade bit into her skin, nicking the tendon in her throat.
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru returned to normal. He smiled, and chuckled; quietly at first, then louder and louder, until he was laughing.
Takemaru frowned. "What's so funny, filthy demon?" he demanded.
Izayoi, too, frowned. What was going on?
Sesshoumaru crossed his arms smugly, and leaning forward, said, "Goodnight, human."
Takemaru snorted, but got no further than that, for a large rock came down on his head, rendering him unconscious. Izayoi jumped away, and backed right into a pair of strong, familiar arms, and turning to bury her face in his chest, cried, "Oh, Ryo! Thank the Gods for you!"
Sesshoumaru looked away as his Father kissed her fears away; one day it would be him she was kissing, not his Father. One day soon, when he was ready, he planned to challenge his Old Man, and it was a fight he was not prepared to lose. One day, he promised himself, Izayoi will be mine.
For now, he kept his thoughts to himself, and pretended indifference to their gross display of affection for one another.
Releasing her, Ryo kept one arm about her shoulders as he looked at Sesshoumaru.
"Thank you, son." He wondered what Sesshoumaru had been doing there, but decided to avoid another public confrontation and not ask; he was sure that if it was important Izayoi would tell him about it.
Sesshoumaru nodded. He could almost read his Father's thoughts, and they were very suspicious in nature. He knew Izayoi would not lie to Ryo if he asked her what Sesshoumaru had been doing there, but he decided that that time would be as good as any to set Ryo on edge; it would prepare him for the challenge he knew wouldn't be long in coming. Sesshoumaru thought there was no harm in getting a head start in a relationship with the woman that would one day soon be his own. That is, if Ryo claimed her. If he went ahead and mated her, well…he didn't like the thought of his Father getting her pregnant, as he had yesterday, but if he could issue his challenge before that happened, he would snatch her up in a second.
Taking Takemaru by the foot, Ryo slung him into the pond, effectively waking him. All three walked away as the human regained himself, and Ryo and Sesshoumaru bid Izayoi farewell when they had seen her safely to her apartment, where she would be guarded.
Taking to the sky, Father and Son flew home, while Takemaru watched with burning hatred. He would kill those two, if it was the last thing he did.
oOo
Ryo returned that night, followed by Sesshoumaru, though he was unaware of his son tagging along behind him.
He went straight to Izayoi's window and, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, slipped inside.
Two hours later, when he left, Sesshoumaru crept up to her window. Taking a risk, he too slipped inside, landing right next to Izayoi's bed.
In the inky darkness, he heard her whisper, "Miss me already?" and throw back the blanket. He knew she thought he was Ryo; unable to bring himself to set her straight and ruin this perfect opportunity she was offering, he chuckled like he thought his Father would and removed his armour, and his clothing.
Crawling into bed beside her, he revelled in the feel of her hands all over his body, as if he belonged to her. She licked his neck and, feeling his loose hair, commented, "Let it all down, huh? I guess I yanked too hard last time. I like it down."
His heart had stopped when she'd said that; did she know? He decided that she didn't when she continued to murmur his Father's name in his ear, and run her nails down his back. She opened her legs for him, and brought his face to her own as she devoured his lips in a passionate kiss.
She thought that Ryo was a bit passive this time; a while ago he had been all business, taking control of their speed and leading her in their love making, but now he appeared to want her to take the reins, so she did. She thought it odd, for he'd never done that before, but she was so worn out, that she didn't think another thought about it.
Izayoi grabbed him, and he gasped in her mouth as she squeezed, and ran her fingers over him, then nestled him at the entrance to her body, between her spread legs.
He worried the entire time that she would find him out, but he made love to her for the rest of the night without another word from her. Oh, she moaned her fare share, as did he, for he had never spent such a great night, but when she fell asleep, and dawn came, he hightailed it out of there.
He sped home, hoping to get there and be in bed before his Father noticed his absence, and if he had, Sesshoumaru ran through excuses he could use frantically in his mind. He wanted to take Ryo on, true; but he wasn't ready yet, and a premature fight would surely end in his death, something to be avoided at all costs.
When he arrived at the castle, his Father was in his study, or so a servant told him. He had to pass the study to get to his room, but he couldn't risk his Father smelling Izayoi on him; he went outside, and flew to his room, coming in through his balcony doors, and headed straight for the baths.
When he came out, Ryo was going in; he wore nothing, but he carried a towel.
Normally, this wouldn't bother Sesshoumaru, but now he found himself mentally comparing his body to his Father's, whose large biceps and prominent abs put his own to shame.
"Morning, Sesshoumaru," Ryo greeted on his way past, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.
"Morning, Father," Sesshoumaru mumbled, and picked up his pace. He hadn't anticipated the awkwardness he would feel when he spoke to Ryo; he supposed though, that screwing his Father's lover behind his back would cause those feelings to arise.
Suddenly, he felt bad, and an overwhelming urge to confess swept over him. He squelched it immediately, and returning to his room, fell back against the door, and slid to the floor, his hand covering his mouth.
Could he do this? Could he pull off these clandestine meetings? On one hand he felt cheated, for she would never know it was he who made love to her, for her senses were shot in the darkness of night, and she kept whispering Ryo's name. On the other, he enjoyed her company very much; was he willing to put his own feelings aside and continue to share her bed, just because he'd gotten away with it once, and likely would again? Could he continue to fool her into thinking he was Ryo? He didn't know, but if his Father didn't go to her tonight, he knew that he would, and this time, he would fix his hair in a topknot.
He would not be caught unprepared again.
oOo
Two months passed. Sesshoumaru continued to visit Izayoi's bed, and occasionally visited her in the light of day. Ryo knew about these meetings, of course, but assumed that Izayoi and his son had developed a close friendship, for neither had indicated that it would go any further than that.
Sesshoumaru, however, was finding it harder and harder to keep his clandestine affairs with her spread out; if it were up to him, he'd go to her every night, but knew this was not possible, not if he wanted to continue sleeping with her at all.
Izayoi, herself, had nothing to complain about, though she often wondered if Ryo was moody when he came to her; sometimes he was no nonsense, a perfect lover, while others he seemed to her to be unsure, urging her to assume the dominant role, but after a while, he was always dominant. She didn't mind, she just thought it odd, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She didn't want to embarrass him by hinting that he was having problems in bed, so she kept her mouth shut.
At the end of the two months, she had wonderful news for Ryo; she was pregnant! She decided to surprise him when he came next, which happened to be the night she found out, only it wasn't Ryo who came - it was Sesshoumaru.
When she felt him crawl under the sheets beside her, Izayoi took his face in her hands and ran a thumb over his nose, whispering, "You'll never guess what I have to tell you, darling."
Effecting a deeper baritone, to match his Father's, Sesshoumaru replied, "And what is that?"
She giggled, then placed his hand on her slightly rounded tummy, which not long before had been perfectly flat. "I'm pregnant!"
He almost choked out loud. Pregnant? Fuck!! This wasn't supposed to happen!!
He forced himself to smile. "That's wonderful," he said, and ravished her more than usual; he thought that she probably expected it; he was supposed to be ecstatic, remember. Izayoi was having his baby - or his Father's. That was the problem. Whose would it be?
The rest of the night, as he made love to her, his mind was elsewhere, worrying about the possibility that the child could be his. He knew that hanyou children usually took on some trait of their demon parent, and any child he produced would have obvious markings that Ryo's hanyou child would not. However, he realised that this game he was playing would not last much longer; if he'd heard correctly, a woman carrying a hanyou would be full term in five months. He asked her then, "How far along do you think you are, sweetheart?"
She laughed, and stroked his hip. "Oh, about a month and a half, maybe two. I'm so excited! I hope it has your eyes."
"I hope it has your smile," he responded automatically, for his mind was in a turmoil. For a moment, he thought he might be saved; if she was about two months along, for sure the child was not his. But, since she wasn't sure, his stomach flipped over in his gut. The chances that the child was his and not his Father's was even; it could be either of theirs. They wouldn't know until the child was born. Fuck!!
Sesshoumaru didn't know if he could take the strain.
oOo
On his way home, Sesshoumaru's mind was working overtime. She had told him her news first, that meant that he could not tell anyone, yet. He thought fast. If he went to visit her tomorrow morning, before Ryo could…yes, that would work! She would surely tell him then, and when he saw his Father next, he would tell him the news, hoping to whatever Gods were watching that Izayoi wouldn't bring up the fact that she'd told him in bed, when in fact it had been Sesshoumaru she'd told.
He began to worry. A lot. His Father couldn't find out yet, he mustn't! Sesshoumaru would have to do some really fancy footwork here if he was going to save his own ass.
He planned meticulously all the way into his bath, which he couldn't even enjoy, he was so worried. In the back of his mind, a resentful little voice was telling him to go ahead and tell his Father, show him up! It urged him to come clean with Izayoi, too, confident that when she knew she had slept with him, and enjoyed it, she would grow to love him, as soon as he could push his Father out of the picture, for he knew she found him attractive; she had told him so, once. His rational mind kept squashing this tiny voice, but as the weeks had passed, it had become more difficult to silence; before long, it had taken over his rational mind, and all he could think about in his spare time was challenging Ryo and taking over the Lands, and everything that came with it, which included Izayoi.
He would shake his head in these moments of weakness and concentrate on something else, but even now, as he sat soaking, and worrying, that little voice was screaming in his head. Fed up, he squashed it hard, vowing that he would not let it take over his mind again. His efforts paid off, and the little voice faded away.
oOo
End Part Two! Whew! Hope you like! Prepare for the Triangle of Love to hit some bumps ahead! Don't forget to review!
