Chapter Twelve: A Demons Prisoner
Sesshomaru tapped his clawed finger against the ornate wooden table, blatantly ignoring the other lords as the carried on about their pointless conversation. He wasn't even sure what it was about, and his level of care on the matter showed on his face. It wasn't often he showed disinterest in the affairs of his land, even if he didn't care, he hardly showed it. They were, after all, his father's lands, and he needed to care for them apporpiately. Still, he couldn't stand the boring meetings he had to attend to year after year as they tried painstakingly to marry off whomever it was they wanted to in order to get more land control.
It was stupid really. His father married his mother for obligation, but that didn't stop him from running off and finding a human to mate with and bear a son. He rubbed his forehead in mild irritancy, setting his hand down after a few more minutes before he decided to prematurely end the conversation, when he heard his name tossed around.
"Well, I believe my daughter would serve the lord well." An Inu lord commented. Utada Hikozaemon was the less annoying of the three lords, but frustrating regardless. There was a reason why his father trusted Sesshomaru with his lands, and not the incompetent Lord Utada. He was barely holding onto his own house, and it seems the offer of marriage to Sesshomaru was how he planned on saving it.
"I refuse," Sesshomaru said, stunning the others into a momentary silence. It wasn't often he spoke out against something during their meetings.
"But my lord, surely you understand you must marry soon." Utada insisted gently, causing the inu lord to scoff.
"Tch, I don't see a need for a woman right now when I have enough to deal with on my own." He argued back.
"You can't have Lord Tomosue do everything for you, even sending one of his own court ladies to handle your house while you're gone. That's a job for your wife, my lord." Utada reasoned, and yet Sesshomaru still wanted nothing to do with what he said.
"I've done that out of the generosity of my heart, Utada," Tomosue piped in, regarding the older inu lord with a friendly, though fox like smile on his lips. Sesshomaru didn't doubt that the fox demon did it through sheer kindness, but even a kind demon had their own ambitions. It was as if the fox wanted Sesshomaru to be indebted to him, which he wasn't okay with.
Utada grumbled and crossed his arms, glaring at Tomosue. "Perhaps you want him to marry one of your own daughters then, Lord Tomosue?" He put emphasis on the lord, as if expecting Tomosue to return the favor.
He did not.
"No, of course not. Quite truthfully, I don't believe any of my daughters would meet his standards, even if they did, what kind of marriage would they have, if he spent all of his time away, trying to find and kill this elusive Naraku?" Tomosue said. "I would much rather assist him in his task than hinder him with the prospect of marriage."
"Perhaps, our young lord should give up his quest to find the hanyou." Utada brought up with a grumble.
"I refuse," Sesshomaru said again, sitting up straight and staring at Utada with a cold intensity that could freeze over the pits of hell. "I will not allow him to make a fool of me not once, but twice now." He growled at the memory of Naraku using his distaste for his half-brother as a means to try and off them both, and also putting his ward in harms way. Of course, no one here knew about Rin. He came home smelling of a human girl on occasion, but everyone assumed it just because he traveled outside the estate often. And he'd keep it that way, not like anyone would question him.
"See, it'd be much simpler to aid the young lord." Tomosue brought up, and the other lords grumbled their protest but eventually fell silent on the matter of marriage.
After another hour of their pointless meeting, they were all dismissed, apart from Tomosue upon Sesshomarus request. In silence, the two sat, Sesshomaru openly staring at the fox lord, and Tomosue looking back, curious and probably a little confused too. He could see mild resemblance of the kit-girl and the lord. The hair was a dead giveaway, but more than that was the emerald gleam of their eyes, a light with mischief and curiosity. Sesshomaru laughed once before he stood up.
"I want you to stay here for a few days, Lord Tomosue." Sesshomaru said. "There's something I have to attend to, but I'll send for you when I'm ready."
"Of course, Lord Sesshomaru." Tomosue watched him depart, now more confused than anything. Usually Sesshomaru couldn't wait to get rid of the others so he can return to his travels. What on earth did he have to do that required them both to stay?
"Quickly, m'lady!" Usui insisted, hurrying to finish dressing Kasumi. The kit struggled to obey, not wanting to move from her spot on the futon. Why couldn't she sleep more? The negativities of the world couldn't reach her. Even in her dreams, she was happily surrounded by her memories. Usui yanked Kasumi up, slipping her arm into a solid colored kimono, then a second, a third, eventually a fourth, and then slipped over her four layers with an elegantly designed red kimono, similar to her fathers house robes but instead with the finishing's of cherry trees instead of peach ones.
Kasumi pushed her hair from her face, only for Usui to swat her hands away and attempt to brush her blonde curtain. She huffed, wondering exasperatedly, why on earth she was being forced to get dressed, or why Usui was so frantically trying to get her ready.
"Usui…" Kasumi looked up at the girl, and the court lady's fearful expression caused her to pause momentarily. "Is something the matter?"
"Yes," she hissed lowly. "Lord Sesshomaru has returned, and he is on his way to see you. You must get ready right away, you wouldn't want the lord to see you lazing around, would you?"
Kasumi was going to correct her that she wasn't lazing around, but over the past few days, she couldn't even bring herself to get out of her futon anymore. She supposed to anyone else outside her own mind would see that as lazing around. Eventually she decided to help Usui instead of hindering her, going far enough to stand and adjust her clothing more appropriately.
The minute the two were done, they heard the sliding door to the shōin room open. They paused, and then Usui frantically added finishing touches to her ratty hair and then escorted her to the assembly room. The door slid open slowly, and Kasumi's eyes rose slightly, going up tied hakama's and sliding all the way up an armor torso till she settled on amber eyes.
She felt her cheeks grow warm as she stared at him, openly.
"Lady Kasumi, I present to you, Lord Sesshomaru, of the western lands." Usui's voice barely register in Kasumi's brain, as she began to process why this man looked so familiar to her, and then, all at once, in a single flash of an instant, it clicked.
"You…! I told you not to interfere!" She yelled, surprising Usui and Sesshomaru both as she glared at the inulord.
He glared right back at her and sat down at the center of the room. "As I recall, I didn't actually interfere." He pointed out.
Kasumi growled, surprised by the sound but didn't stop it from coming out. "Saving my life is an interference. I didn't ask to be saved."
"And yet, here you are, alive and quite well as far as I can see." He was looking at her with cold eyes, but he was amused by her reaction. "Or would you prefer if I just killed you now?" He asked.
The girl Usui called Kasumi looked taken aback for a moment, and eventually sat across from him. He sat there, patiently waiting for her to do something. After staring at him, long and hard she lowered her head to the floor, palms flat against the tatami, and she bowed lowly, forehead practically touching the ground.
"Thank you, for your generosity, my lord, in saving my life." She said softly, slowly coming up and resting her hands back onto her lap. He stared at her, expression unreadable, and eventually looked away from her.
"I didn't do it for you," he explained. Kasumi felt her annoyance growing. What an arrogant little man he was.
"Then why, may I ask, is a demon lord such as yourself concerning himself with me?" She asked, attempting to keep her tone calm and collected.
"Your father," he began, waiting for her reaction. She didn't give one, not right away.
She looked down at her lap, and spoke softly. "He's dead, my lord."
"Dead?" He looked at her, narrowing his eyes. Now he would finally get some answers. "Who Exactly is your father?"
Kasumi looked at him quizzically. He sounded before as if he knew her father, but now she wasn't sure she heard him right. "Lord Kazuhiro Ishikawa of the Eastern Lands." She explained, and watched as Sesshomaru shook his head, an almost amused look in his amber eyes.
"What do you know of the man who kidnapped you?" He asked, her scoff not going unnoticed.
"Which one?" She asked. "From what I remember, there were at least four. Two of them were killed, though the second one didn't die until after he had taken me long from my home. The third one… Well I'm not so sure about him. He could have been killed, perhaps, I don't know, I don't really kill. And the last one…" She trailed off. To be honest, she barely remembered the last one. It was a blur to her, and made more unreal by the fact that she had actually fought him… and won too. "I don't… really know about that one. It's the one I fought."
"You have no idea who he is?" Sesshomaru questioned, and she shook her head.
"No, my lord." She said. "I had never met him before."
"Does the name Tomosue sound familiar to you at all?"
"No, my lord." She watched Sesshomaru for a few moments, wondering what he planned on doing her, especially with this line of questioning.
"You grow up in a human home." He said, and when she nodded he went back into silence.
Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and spoke up. "What do you plan on doing with me now, my lord? Surely you don't want a half breed roaming around your house."
"I don't care about that," he said instinctively, and then caught himself. "Or rather, it doesn't make a difference to me what you are. You're half human, but the other half of you is demon. I doubt you know much about the other half of your blood."
She shook her head. "No, my lord. All I know is that my real father is a fox demon from the east. I want to say I have met him once before, but it may have been someone else." A thoughtful smile crossed her lips as she remembered her savior.
"Did he give you those blue robes I found you in?"
"Yes, my lord. He saved me from a terrible man who was trying to…" She stopped herself, not really wanting to say what Takami tried to do to her that night. "He saved me, is all that matters. I wish I could thank him properly, however, I don't think I will be able to."
"And why is that?" He asked her, leaning forward a little. Usui was standing at the back of the room, and was amazed to see her lord engage in conversation the way he was with Lady Kasumi. He rarely spoke to anyone.
"Well, my lord… I'm… I'm not quite sure. I've never been allowed outside the estate walls. Had never been outside them till my kidnapping. With my father dead and my family estate destroyed, I have no place to return to, and no idea on how to start searching for him. I don't even think I can properly fend for myself out in the open. I don't… really know how to do anything, apart from running a household."
As she said it, he had his interest piqued. Of course, even by human standards, tradition was still the same. It shouldn't have surprised him that she would understand the basics of household affairs. The only thing she wouldn't really know about is the demon side of things, rules applied with them, traditions and what not. Things that could be learned. Things that could be taught.
"While you've been here thus far… How exactly would you tell me your stay was?" He asked.
She frowned, unsure how to answer his question at first. "Its loud in the mornings," she muttered. "I can hear the men out front, shouting at one another during their trainings. My room is clean, for the most part, but it's also bare. I haven't seen it get scrubbed down once while here. The food is also a bit… bland, I'm afraid. The only thing I enjoyed was the tea, and even that could be greatly improved."
"Hm," Sesshomaru watched her thoughtfully, considering her words carefully. So Tomosue's little court lady was either slacking, or was trying her best. Either way, it wasn't the best it could be. "Alright, I've made up my mind." He stood up. "You'll be staying here, and I will leave the running's of the house to you." He informed her.
Kasumi stared up at him, amazed at his boldness, but refusing to back down. "Excuse me? Don't I get a say in this, at all?" She asked.
"No, you don't. While I saved you as a payment to an acquaintance, it doesn't change the fact that now you owe me. One thing you should learn while you're here, kit, is that a demon always pays their debts in full. I saved your life, and now it is mine to do with as I see fit. You will remain here, in the safety of these walls, and will run my household while I am away on travels. Clearly they are lacking in something here, for you to have as many complaints as you do." She was about to protest but he stopped her with a hand raised. "When my travels are done, after I have killed the wretched Naraku, I will return you to your Lord Father Tomosue."
"Naraku…?" The name sounded familiar on her tongue, but she quickly latched onto what he said about Tomosue. "You mean you know him?"
"Yes, not that that will make much of a difference here to you. You're in the west, you wont see him anytime soon." Sesshomaru warned, and the kit looked down at her hands, almost awestricken at the words he spoke.