****IMPORTANT NOTICE PLEASE READ BEFORE THE CHAPTER****

AN: Fair warning to all reviewers. To keep the reviews from being filled with arguments or disagreements, I'm going to say this now. DO NOT TELL ME WHO TO IGNORE. Despite my sometimes lacking maturity, I am an adult and can make my own decisions, and I do not need you or anyone else to tell me who I should or should not take seriously. I appreciate you all trying to help, I really do, and don't take me comments about this the wrong way, but I can handle sorting through what I think is valuable and what isn't. So please, I'll stress this, keep the reviews about the story, not about other peoples reviews. If it continues, I will either report the comment for abuse, or I will just post this story else where, where comments and reviews can be removed.

With that said, I will try and make some clarifications now. The story is meant to be a slow paced romance, but fast paced in regards to feelings and emotions. I will not elaborate on this, as I think that will just give away my intentions for this story. If my plot seems confusing to you, then I apologize, but again, it will make more and more sense the more the story progresses (hopefully. What may make sense to me might not mean it will to you but I will try my best). I'd like to leave some confusing mystery going on here (no its not a mystery based story, but I'm not going to tell you whats going on in the story either hence a mystery). Now, onto the story:

Edit: Forgot to add this, but WhoamI2Judge07, this one is for you. I want to thank you very much in the brief amount of help you gave me. In no way have you (or even the guest reviewer) offended me. After the talk through pm, I was very discouraged and planned on going on a hiatus, but I can't seem to do that. As I said before, I've never had an advisor, or mentor before, and have perfected my writing by own merits since I started getting into fan fiction and story telling in middle school (in my final stages of college now). You have me brief instructions on how I can improve, and that's more anyone has ever been able to do for me and that means a lot, I can't even fully express it. While I may have been discouraged, I want to try my best to improve even more. I hope that if and when you see this, you watch me improve and grow more, and if possible, point out any flaws or holes you see in the story so I can fix them. Even if you chose not to do so, to anyone out there willing to help me even if they are short criticisms or long ones, your help is valuable to me, and means more to me than any of you realize. I will not always put an author note at the beginning a chapter, I know my responses are long winded and wordy, but I will try and put a small note at the top of each chapter indicating whether or not I want you all to read it because I believe it's important for it to be read.

"Speaking"

Thoughts/memories/dreams (use context clues)

Asterix ( * ) special term words, (definition at the end of the chapter)

Chapter Sixteen: The Prison of a Lady

"A lady of the house must always be on the alert and keep a strict watch over her own conduct." Kyah's warm voice filled the empty garden, wrapping around the child Kasumi, as she stared up at her expectantly.

"Kyah," Kasumi interrupted, scooting over to the middle aged woman and pointing to a character on her book. "What does that mean?"

"That's conduct." Kyah explained. "It's another word for behavior."

"Then how come it doesn't just say behavior?" She looked back up at her caretaker, and Kyah chuckled at the girl. Nearly ten years old, and she still questioned everything.

"Well, I'm not sure dear. Doesn't it sound more fancy to you?" She asked, and laughed loudly when the young princess's face turned sour. "Look at the way the characters flow together." She explained, moving her finger over the characters of the text. "It's like art, isn't it? But watch, if you write the character for behavior," as she spoke, she retraced the text and replaced conduct with behavior. The sour look on Kasumi's face contorted further.

"It looks funny that way." She said.

"Exactly. So the words flow more nicely together like this, don't you agree? It's prettier this way." Kasumi looked up at Kyah, with a wide grin on her face and moved to sit onto her lap, making herself comfortable.

"Much prettier!" She exclaimed. She felt Kyahs hand on her head, and the tender touch of her kiss on her hair.

"Good, now lets continue, shall we? Your father wants you to memorize this before your birthday next week."

Kasumi's eyelids slowly parted, a heavy set in them as she woke from her sleep. She felt cold liquid running down the corner of her eyes, and she quickly swiped it away with the sleeve of her kimono. She sat up slowly, looking around her dark room. Empty, as it always was, with its very little furniture and decorations, and its plain walls and doors.

"Kyah…" She breathed the woman's name, smiling sweetly at the memory her dream had brought her. It had been a long time since she had a comforting dream about her. There was no denying she still felt the sting of pain at the thought of her death, but the soul crushing grief she felt over her lost was diminishing slowly, enough so she could remember some of the good things without crying herself to sleep.

As if with a new resolution in her heart, she got out of her futon and crawled on hands and knees over to the window. She slid it open, eyes darting across the courtyard where the men trained, and was pleased to see it empty. Sesshomaru's stern talking to the young ones had done the trick.

"It wasn't really a stern talking to though, was it?" She laughed softly at the memory of their walk the other day. There was no real talking done. He showed up, with her in tow. All he had to do to announce his annoyance at their loudness was reveal his presence. She could see the intimidated looks in the eyes of the young men, not used to seeing their lord, but knowing of his fury and anger, and how exactly he intended to deal with those who made him angry. "They conceded before he uttered a word… It's like they knew they were doing something wrong." She laughed again, and her eyes went skywards. "It's not even dawn yet…"

The sky above the manor was a cool black, stars glittering and gleaming overhead. It was calming to her to see such a clear sky. There was still a soft glow of the moon fading into the distance, signaling the end to a peaceful night, and dragging forth a warm day. She couldn't see it with her position, but she suspected, just based off of how far down the moon was that sunlight had to be seeping into the black sky. The sun was a brush, and the sky was its canvas, painting it into an array of colors. She closed her eyes, picturing the mixtures of orange and yellow, swiping away the stars to make way for the sun.

"'In the morning she must rise early and at night go late to rest'," Kasumi quoted the text Kyah had read to her as a child. With that, she pushed herself away from the window, and turned to face her room.

She was still wearing the robes from a few days ago, finding it much easier than having to redress herself every day, wasting precious time she could use to do something else. "I can't clean in this…" She muttered, and started shredding the layers, dropping each one onto the floor starting with Sesshomarus robe. When she wore only the red hakama and white haori, she was satisfied enough.

"Usui is going to get mad at me for this, I'm sure." She mused, but smiled. She could picture the disapproving look on her face, and it made her happily think of Kyah. She gathered up the robes and properly hung them up in her wardrobe, displaying each one nicely before snatching up Sesshomaru's robe and slipping it on. "At least, with this, people will know who I am…" She hesitated a moment, unsure of herself. "She must be intent on the duties of her household." As she spoke the words, her uncertainty was shoved down and she quickly left the room in search of something she can use to clean this wing of the house.

As she cleaned around the wing, she approached a room she had never seen before. She didn't spend much time exploring the area till today, and the doors to the room were intriguing and unusual. The doors were a deep shade of blue, heavily stitched, clearly not made out of paper. It depicted an evening sky over a lake, with a large full moon at its center, split down the middle where the doors opened. It reflected over the painted lake, the yellow and blue colors flowing together like water, stars sprinkled around the large moon. The door itself was an art piece, and she placed her hand on the wood frame, clawed fingers skimming the smooth texture. Something sparked, and she felt something rumble within her and she quickly withdrew her hand, holding it to her chest as if the door had offended her somehow. Standing near it made her nervous, touching it seemed to ignite something in her beast she couldn't place.

"I thought… I had the whole wing to myself…" She trailed off, looking at the door. She shuddered, withdrawing from the door and taking a step back. "Whose… room is this…?" She asked the air. She stayed staring at it for a few minutes longer before her stomach interrupted her contemplation. Her cheeks warmed, and she placed her hand on her belly as it growled at her. "Is it breakfast time already…?" She sighed and turned away from the door, still curious as to what lay behind the doors, but almost too fearful to enter.

Morning sun poured into the kitchens, lighting up the overcrowded space with its warm glow. Kasumi was stirring an iron pot, looking down into it with a happy gleam in her eyes. She stood back, grabbing a wooden spoon, and sipping on the miso soup.

"Perfect…" her eyes gleamed at her creation and she was prepared to turn around and handle the fish, just as someone entered the kitchen.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing in here?!" She squeaked loudly as a large, blue skinned oni came into the kitchen, an angry look on his face. "In here stealing food, you little half breed?!" He exclaimed, and came at her full swing, raising his arm to hit her.

Kasumi screamed, grabbing the mans arm to stop him from hitting her. "I-I'm not stealing food! I'm Lord Sesshomaru's guest!" She exclaimed.

"And what the hell would a noblewoman like you have to do in the kitchen, you lying little thief."

"I-I'm not lying, really! Lord Sesshomaru said I could use the kitchens to feed myself! Please I promise you, I'm not a thief." She pleaded, and the angry ogre growled his distaste at her.

"Papa!" Usui's voice came through the growling and pleas, and both Kasumi and the oni looked over at her. "What are you doing on top of Lady Kasumi?!" She demanded, prying the man she called father off of Kasumi.

The kit breathed a sigh of relief, sitting up and resting her hand on her chest.

"Usu, you know this thief?" The oni said, pointing to Kasumi.

"I'm not a thief!" Kasumi yelled, her fox fire burning around her a he insulted her once more.

"Papa!" Usui smack her father in the head, earning a groan of disapproval from him and he rubbed his head with his hand. "Lady Kasumi is not a thief, she's m'lord's intended."

"This little half whelp?" He threw a thumb back at Kasumi, and the fox growled.

"I'm not a whelp!" She yelled at him, but she was currently being ignored by both Oni.

"Yes! You caused a great offense to m'lord, pinning down his intended like that. Papa, you know better. Now apologize to her at once." She scolded, and the old man grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry…" He huffed, and then felt his daughter's tiny hand on his head, forcing him to bow down while she bowed as well.

"Please pardon my father's rudeness, m'lady." Usui said.

Kasumi huffed, and then smiled at the two of them. "It's okay, Usui. It was an honest mistake."

"Honest mistake?" She laughed as she stood straight. "Even though you're wearing m'lords robes?" She turned her brow up, and Kasumi flushed.

"I-It had to have been hard for him to see with my hair in the way…" She scratched her neck, even though she had her hair pulled back with a silk string while she cooked.

Usui giggled at her lady. "This is my father, Onaga. He's the cook."

"It's an honor to meet you, Onaga." She bowed to him, smiling sweetly enough it caused the large ogre to flush himself, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's an honor meeting you, Lady Kasumi." Onaga bowed his head low. "I feel bad for what I did, please, allow me to make your food for you."

"Oh, no, please, allow me. I've already started making breakfast, I would like to continue, if you wouldn't mind. I have enough I could make something for you and Usui."

"I can't allow that, it would be rude of us to do that, m'lady." Usui cut in but Kasumi looked at her with the same sweet smile.

"It would be even more rude to refuse me, Usui, please allow me to make you breakfast." Kasumi countered. The two oni stared at one another before sighing their defeat.

The glow of the sun peeked through Sesshomaru's bedroom window, beaming straight down onto the inulord who slumbered on his bed. With a low groan he sat up, pushing his hand through his hair before he stood up. He still needed to talk to the cook about Kasumi being allowed inside the kitchens to make her own meals, he needed to talk to him before she woke up. He had put it off for the last few days, making preparations for her studies, in addition to spending his free time with her. He dressed himself, opened the door to his bedroom and was immediately pummeled by the scent of her fear. He sniffed a couple times, following the trail she left behind till he came across the kitchen.

"No!" He could hear Kasumi scream. He slammed the door open, only to see Kasumi leaning over her food tray, her chopsticks on Onaga's plate, a piece of trout trapped between the utensil. Onaga had a mouth full of food, his eyes wide when he saw Sesshomaru entered, and the sense of merriment that had filled the room was gone, replaced by a tense silence. He closed his eyes, breathing out slowly before he opened them again to look at the kit.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" She spoke excitedly, sitting up straight. She picked something up with her chopsticks and then hurried over to him, her hand under the morsel in case it fell. "Try this!" She exclaimed. "I made it the way the cook back home showed me. It's really good."

He stared down at her, wondering how she could be so excited this early in the morning. It was barely even six am. He looked at the other two, who were trying their best to not look at them, but it was clear they were watching from the corner of their eyes. His golden gaze settled back onto the kit, her tail wagging excitedly, her ears perked up happily, and her eyes wide and round and full of her cheer. He didn't want to be rude, so he leaned forward and opened his mouth, taking the morsel. She squeaked as he chewed, and he tried focusing on the flavors of the trout. A tartness enveloped his tongue, but it wasn't unpleasant as it mixed with the fishy taste and texture. When he swallowed the piece, he didn't miss anyones expectance for his response to the tart fish.

"It's tart," he pointed out, and Kasumi nodded, still smiling.

"It's cymbopogon*, I rubbed it onto the trout before I cooked it and let it soak in it too." She explained. "Did you like it?" She asked.

He didn't respond to her, not out of distaste, but he didn't really want to tell her he didn't typically care if his food had flavor or not. But as he looked down at her, watching her expectant looking face, he had no idea how to respond to her. Eventually, he smiled slightly - or at least what Kasumi called a smile on him - and placed his hand on her head, rubbing the space between her ears. He smelled her embarrassment and pride before he saw it on her cheeks, turning her a rosy shade of red.

"I made you something to eat too, my lord, will you sit with us and eat?" She asked, moving to prepare his tray without waiting for his response. She set it down right next to hers and looked up at him.

He stood there, watching her. The other two seemed fearful, and he could clearly tell they didn't want him to sit with them. His gaze slid over to the kit, who was pausing in her pursuit of food to look at him.

"My lord?" She asked, and he moved finally, sitting beside her and quietly eating. Once he had taken the first bite, the other two felt it was okay to continue eating. Kasumi seemed to be the only one unaware of the tense atmosphere as she ate, and though lately he's enjoyed watching her eat his food, he tried to show some enjoyment in hers. It was surprisingly easy for him. Each bite he took was an assortment of flavors he never bothered experiencing before. It was easy for him to say now that he enjoyed her cooking, but he kept his expression placid, perfectly aware of their audience. It was bad enough he forgot about the guards in the hallway the other day, he didn't exactly want everyone else to see him act differently just because she was around. As he thought more on it, he couldn't explain or understand why he was different around her, even he noticed changes. He enjoyed her company - which he unfortunately made obvious subconsciously - her little quirks, even the smell she gave off. As he considered more, he came to the realization that he was specifically drawn to her scent. He could probably pick it out no matter what other scent surrounded her, and when did he have the ability to smell someone's emotions? He stopped eating, racking through his brain for an explanation. While true most demons could smell fear on their prey, it wasn't the same as the smell he got from her. Her fear made him sick, and it felt as if it rotted his nose. He didn't like it, and he preferred the sweet scent she gave off now. He looked down at her, watching her eat as more occurrences came to him. She felt protected around him, even when she barely knew him, and had warmed up to him right away. His constant desire to watch her eat to ensure she was healthy, the strong desire to hunt for her. He wasn't the same around her; the constant irritation he felt beneath the surface of his skin, his beast trying to come out of him was calm around her. He barely even noticed the beast now, he could feel its quiet hum within him, but the calmness he portrayed wasn't a façade now.

"My lord…?" Kasumi questioned. She was looking up at him now, her ears down. "Do you not like it?"

He looked away from her and started eating again. "It's good." He muttered. He smelled her pride and joy from his admittance and he wondered if she could smell his emotions too.

"When will you leave today, my lord?" Kasumi asked, making idle conversation while the other three sat in their tense silent.

"After this meal," he answered. "I only came here to tell Onaga you were allowed to use the kitchens whenever you wanted to. I didn't expect you to be in it already."

"A lady of the house always rises before everyone else," Kasumi said. "Its what I've been taught, ever since I was a child." She explained. She closed her eyes, picturing the text as if it was right in front of her now "'A lady of the house must always be on the alert and keep a strict watch over her own conduct. In the morning she must rise early and at night go late to rest. Instead of sleeping in the middle of the day, she must be intent on the duties of her household; she must not grow tired of weaving, sewing, and spinning. She must not drink too much tea and wine, nor must she feed her eyes and ears on theatrical performances, ditties*, and ballads.'"

"You remember all that?" Usui asked, surprise in her voice.

"Mhm," Kasumi nodded her head. "It was engrained into my head…" She closed her eyes again, remembering the rest she had been taught when she was older. "'A Lady of the House has no other lord; she must look to her husband as her lord and must serve him with all worship and reverence, not despising or thinking lightly of him. The Way of the woman is to obey her man. In her dealings with her husband, both the expression of her countenance and the style of her address should be courteous, humble, and conciliatory, never peevish and intractable, never rude and arrogant — that should be a woman's first and principal care. When the husband issues his instructions, the wife must never disobey them. In doubtful cases she should inquire of her husband and obediently follow his commands. If her husband ever asks her a question, she should answer to the point; to answer carelessly would be a mark of rudeness. If her husband becomes angry at any time, she must obey him with fear and trembling and not oppose him in anger and forwardness. A woman should look on her husband as if he were Heaven itself and never weary of thinking how she may yield to him and thus escape celestial castigation.'" She opened her eyes and looked at Usui. "I learned those lessons before I turned 14."

"14? Why 14?" Onaga asked.

"Well, back home, if a young girl has reached the age of 14 before she has had her first monthly she is allowed to marry. If her monthly starts earlier, she is married off even younger." Kasumi explained.

"Monthly…?" Usui sounded confused to this.

"You mean; you don't have one?" She asked, ears perked to the side. "You know, the time of the month when a girl… bleeds? It means she has matured into a woman, and can conceive a child."

"Is that a human thing? There's nothing like that for us demons. The worst we females have is going into heat, and that's only for certain species, usually felines and canines. Oni don't experience that."

"Heat…?" She paused, looking up at Sesshomaru, who didn't visibly seem to be paying attention to the conversation. "I haven't experienced anything like that. Although, I suppose I'm a special case. My caretaker and I worried I might never have children. Father hoped marrying me off soon would start something but... well I never did marry. I don't experience the issue all human women have once a month." She always hated that about herself. She was 18, and didn't even have a body capable of giving birth, which as she was taught, was one of her uses in life.

"You don't need to worry about that." Sesshomarus voice broke through the barrier of her moment of sadness, and she again looked at him. The two oni were also curious as to what the inulord had to say, and when he spoke again, he chose his words carefully. "When you are ready, your body will experience whatever it is its meant to. Right now, you don't have to focus on something your body can't do, but on what it is capable of doing. You think you might not have children. There are other things you are able to do. You don't need to have children in order to live."

"While you may think that, Lord Sesshomaru," Kasumi said slowly. "It's always been my duty as a woman. To marry a lord, please him, do everything he asks of me, and bear his children. It's what my father wanted for me. What my caretaker taught me."

"What good is marriage when you're nothing more than his slave?" Sesshomaru questioned. "A husband who treats his wife as his lesser isn't worthy of having her, or her children." He slowly stood up, a little embarrassed with himself for saying what he did. He hid it well on his face, but he feared she suspected what he felt. "Don't ever settle for a man who will treat you as such."

"Then what else am I supposed to do, my lord?" Kasumi asked, looking at her food tray.

"You're still a kit. You have years to figure that out. In the meantime, enjoy yourself while you still can. You may have responsibilities here, but that doesn't change the fact that you are allowed to act your age while here. If anyone treats you differently, then I will take care of them myself."

Kasumi felt unexplained tears pooling into her eyes, and she tried to hold it back, looking down at her lap in her effort. "Y-yes, my lord…" She stammered, swallowing hard.

"Good. Now, you stay here, and be a good little kit until I return next month." He gave her a hard look and she nodded quickly.

"Yes, my lord, of course." She bowed her head to him slightly, still not looking up, and just as the other two began to bow their heads in respect, Sesshomaru was gone.

Cymbopogon: Lemongrass, it has citral in it which is what makes lemons tart

Ditties: a song, or poem