Chapter 21
A/N: I do not own Inuyasha.
Yuutsuki's memories had been shattered, uncatchable glimpses of unspecified events kept dooming her conscience. The only sensations she thoroughly remembered were her life absconding from her grasp like sand draining out of a squeezed fist, and a warm body joining her in the experience, where she was shunning danger chasing her closely. Eventually, the purpose of running disappeared once she found herself inside of a dense, chilly fog of oblivion. Feeling extremely alone, the girl sat down, embracing her shoulders in order to warm up her weirdly cold body, her lips were shaking and tears ardently poured from her eyes. Next, all feelings began to disappear, as if someone had started to shut down everything around her, as if she had fallen asleep. An indescribable fear possessed her body, prompting a belief deep within her heart that something bad would occur. The unpleasant perception was followed by a warm arm wrapping around her back, a sound of a strong heart beating just next to her, convincing her to resist the sudden drowsiness she had experienced.
Yuutsuki slowly lifted up her swollen eyelids, uncovering the dark eyes of hers, heavily shadowed underneath. She squinted, forcing her vision to focus on the person in front of her. Kikyou's pale face was turned sideways, wearing a slight emotion of relief. The priestess pierced Yuutsuki with an admonishing glare once the girl opened her dry mouth, trying to speak.
"Save your strength." Kikyou straightened herself to reach an intensively smelling herbal liquid. "Sit down."
Yuutsuki lifted herself up, in a painful way discovering that her body was numb, barely able to move, as if there was sand within her muscles. She greedily grabbed the proffered mug, realizing her thirst. After quenching it with the medicine, she curiously looked around, quickly recognizing Sesshoumaru's mansion, the exact same room as previously.
"You have been revived with Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga, despite that, you did not come to consciousness for eight days. Luckily, your scars disappeared due to revival..."
Yuutsuki loosened the material around her chest, seeking the confirmation. To her great disbelief, a piece of pale, homogenous skin substituted the scar after Kikyou's purifying. With a steady movement, the girl bared her thin legs and exanimated them thoroughly. The thick, white stripes on her claves of Tadao's beating were gone, as if the occurrence had never happened. It was quite cold, therefore the girl returned under the thick covers, waiting for Kikyou to speak more, however it was not meant to happen for the door to the chamber opened, revealing Sesshoumaru's habitually aloof face. One-step behind his proudly straightened posture a warrior demon was standing, who could possibly be a guard and two maids; one of them rushed to tend the dying fire within the room.
"I have managed to bring her to consciousness. Now, as you promised, release me, allow me to go away." Kikyou's voice was scarily unfavourable, Yuutsuki could not see her expression, nonetheless one could effortlessly imagine it was a fierce one. Sesshoumaru nodded his head, not straying his eyes from the girl's thinned out face.
"Lord Sesshoumaru shall grant the promise." The demon standing near spoke earsplittingly, the sound of his voice like a church bell scattering about an empty tower. "You are free to go."
The priestess hurried to leave the chamber, however she stopped abruptly, already behind Sesshoumaru and directed silent words towards Yuutsuki:
"You also better leave soon. It is not safe here."
With no supplementary clarification, Kikyou walked away unfazed even when Sesshoumaru growled, enraged by her boldness. Forlornly enough, the demon was well aware of the truthiness of Kikyou's words, there were many jealous eyes turned towards Sesshoumaru's suspicious affection for the human, especially now, after his honour bound duty to protect her had finished. The demon had decided to keep her nonetheless, driven by a disturbing proposition of not only his people, but also his honourable mother. It posed as no secret that the western lord was taking advantage of beautiful women, who were too unconditionally attracted to him. Mistakably taking Yuutsuki for just another short time toy, his faithful, nevertheless strongly influenced by his mother, adviser had kindly proposed a cunning tactic to keep the human 'pet' close, available whenever he would feel the 'need' to visit her. To satisfy that alleged whim, a proposition of Yuutsuki marrying the feudal lord's son had arisen; certain conditions could be negotiated so that feudal lord would keep his eyes closed at Sesshoumaru's night visits. The spiteful idea pictured what his subjects along with his honourable mother thought of the human - an unrefined courtesan, willing to share her bed with two males. Such was the image of Ren Yuutsuki they wanted him to accept and tolerate, even though since the beginning he had sworn to keep her untainted by his political situation, also free to do as she pleased. He had already broken a couple of promises set by himself, he had never intended to get involved emotionally with the human, but slowly the initial aim had reformed itself into at least hiding his unhealthy affection, for Sesshoumaru had never wanted to treat Yuutsuki as just another passing time activity.
Despite various thoughts within his head, he kept the indifferent expression unchangeably; he only spoke with his usual, demanding tone that would not tolerate any kind of demur.
"Leave me alone with the human."
Two maids and the male demon accompanying him left after a brief moment of hesitation. Once the door shut, Sesshoumaru approached the girl. Besides the thinner face, he noticed significant weight loss around her shoulders and arms. The brown, usually glossy hair was lustreless, her skin complexion was abnormally light.
"Your duty of nullifying the jewel is finished, Naraku has died. There are rumours that Inuyasha's wench collected all the shards and uttered the right wish, in consequence the jewel disappeared."
Yuutsuki's face brightened, her dark eyes widened in excitement. She remained silent, hoping for more explanation, not expecting such grim news to follow.
"Also, there is a rumour that the wench was taken back to her times, unable to return. The well stands unchanged but she is not returning. The passage has closed for Inuyasha too, I presume your stay in here will be significantly prolonged." Sesshoumaru made a gesture warning Yuutsuki that everyone else around was hearing the conversation. The demon's glare stopped on her surprised eyes, as if confirming whether she had understood the circumstances.
"Our alliance has come to an end, but there is something I wish to ask you to do."
Sesshoumaru did not requisite any assistance in the least, the plea was just an excuse to keep the human under his protection without causing too much suspicion from his generals. Yuutsuki decided to delay the questions regarding events bothering her and act how he was clearly expecting her to.
"What do I have to do?"
"In a couple of days, which gives you time to recover, I am going to have a visitor. The daughter of the lord of the south is going to stay over my mansion for three days and I wish you to keep her company."
Noticing how disturbed the girl had become, Sesshoumaru decided to ease her suspicions.
"She is half human, also her personality is closer to humans from what I have heard. There are no other humans in this household to make her feel comfortable." Yuutsuki sighted, defeated; there was no possibility of denial.
"Undoubtedly you can choose to bear out the promise between our clans and marry a general of mine, without granting any more favours."
"No." Weak and disoriented, however her voice convexly mirrored understanding the settings well. "I will be honoured to fulfil the request, lord Sesshoumaru."
Yuutsuki's next five days passed on eating delicious food, which helped to achieve a balanced health condition, her cheeks rounded, bringing the casual, brimming look over her face. Even though she urged to see Sesshoumaru and clear up the doubts in her heart, the only person she had chance to see was her personal maid, who was not willing to utter a word besides offering more food. Finally, on the sixth cold night, Sesshoumaru visited her chambers and without explaining a thing, he abruptly grabbed her shoulder in order to teleport them away from overhearing ears of the mansion.
A violent gust of wind collided with her body, causing her to shiver in cold. They were standing on top of a high place, engulfed in such deep darkness that Yuutsuki could not see Sesshoumaru's face.
"Inuyasha claims the well inactive, therefore you are forced to stay in here longer. I would rather have you in my mansion, for I have set your protection as my priority. It is safer than remaining along Inuyasha. Do you comprehend?"
The girl nodded her head, quickly realizing that perhaps Sesshoumaru could not see her either, so she uttered a verbal confirmation to his question.
"Yes, I do."
The demon touched her shoulder and forced her to turn around, which allowed her to notice a string of light down the mountain.
"These are soldiers of the south. The lord of the south, Hinowo had asked me to grant permission for his troops to march through my lands to which I have agreed."
The clouds around the moon cleared, bringing a faint vision over the silver haired demon.
"Although, to ensure my land's safety, I have demanded for Hinowo's daughter to remain within my mansion until the troops leave west." Yuutsuki observed his emotionless face, wondering why he was explaining political issues to her, since he had always been reserved about sharing such information.
"The southern troops have no outstanding individuals, yet their average one is much more skilled then a western soldier. Also, the southern lands are very rich in crops and minerals, resulting in high trade with other countries."
"What is their destination?" The girl was overwhelmed with the amount of walking soldiers, they looked like a river of lava running in a high speed. "Are they all demons?"
Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, trying to pick best words in order to explain his plan.
"All of them are demons. Hinowo was not hiding the fact that he intends to invade north, where Tadao has just taken the leader's position."
Yuutsuki stood motionless in bewilderment, hoping she had not understood Sesshoumaru's words correctly.
"Tadao has just begun gathering his supporters, so there is no possibility for him to protect his newly acquired lands."
"Why did you agree to the southern lord's request? Do you wish to see Tadao fall?"
"Foolish human." Sesshoumaru removed his thick outer pelt to throw it over her underdressed back. "The previous leader of the north had been supported by Hinowo. He wishes to rule the north and will not abandon his idea of retrieving the control. He was cheeky enough to take all his troops for this attack, not even one is left back south. My plan is to slaughter all of them next to northern border and keep the daughter captivated as insurance for southern inhabitant's obedience. Tadao shall be free from the attack and I am going to significantly widen my lands and increase its prosperity. I am revealing the details to you, so you will not be startled by upcoming events."
Sesshoumaru made one step forward, urging to scold her for her foolishly thoughtless accusation, however once her cold hands tightly squeezed his forearms.
"Sesshoumaru… Why do you concern yourself with me even though my duty has finished?"
"No one has dared to ask this question yet. Not even myself." Yuutsuki's glance went astray, her heretofore strong grasp completely weakened, allowing her hands to drop freely along her body.
The girl's concerns of being separated from the demon by his political situation had grown larger, the sole thought of possible state, something unbearably heavy dragged her heart down, tightening her throat. She tried to keep the emotions crossing her mind secret by hanging her head low and hide the grim expression, but Sesshoumaru had recognized her sorrow and forced the dark eyes to look at his face. Her pupils widened, she smiled slightly, for it was the first time that great demon had an earnest look on his habitually indifferent face. The same hand that had mercilessly killed many humans and demons was now gently placed over her frozen cheek, it emanated with such warmth and care that Yuutsuki closed her eyes, enjoying Sesshoumaru's caress.
She decided to memorize thoroughly that rare sign of his amiability, fearing it would not happen again. The demon lord frowned agitated with glee at Yuutsuki's delight over his actions, the urge to further please her was not supposed to be so persistently present within his heart. Despite that self-prejudice, he placed his second hand over her other cheek, recalling the void feeling after her death. Sesshoumaru stifled a growl, a thought appearing in his head once more; this mutual feeling of affection would ruin them both. His hands slid down her shoulders and arms, finally reaching her hands. The demon gently pulled them and wordlessly led the way to his mansion.
On the next day, Yoko, the daughter of the lord of the south arrived to Sesshoumaru's mansion. Yuutsuki perceived her as seemingly shy, greatly intimidated by the dog demon. She barely uttered anything else besides a brief greeting and her own name, always keeping her shiny, green eyes down. During the time Yuutsuki kept her company, Yoko did nothing to initiate a conversation, spending her days in Sesshoumaru's garden, gazing at the snow covered plants and trees. As an alternative to that captivating activity, she grew found of spending hours in hot springs with a towel covering her face.
The girl wondered if the visitor was purely indolent, or was offended at sharing her time with a human. Two days had passed before Yoko answered Yuutsuki's efforts to form a conversation. The half demon confessed that she was the only offspring of Hinowo, the leader of the south. According to Yoko, he urged her to consider marrying the lord of the west, as he wished for a strong successor of his lands once he would be gone.
"Once I saw him, I knew any attempts would be futile."
Yuutsuki observed her combing the long, straight, black hair of hers with a great care.
"Why is that? Is he not of your liking?"
"I cannot think of a better mate, however the lord did not even bestow me with a glance. He's also scary with that mighty aura around him."
The conversation lasted a bit more, allowing Yuutsuki to listen to Yoko's ponderings if by chance her father had mentioned something about the possible marriage to Sesshoumaru, angering him. That could explain his cold attitude towards her, as he wished to emphasise the lack of interest.
"Do you know why your father is leading his troops north?" The half demon found the question too pert. She frowned, however answered it quietly, as if ashamed to admit it.
"I do. I am in no position to question my lord's choices. Political decisions are not of my interest."
For an unknown reason, Yuutsuki felt sorry for the half demon. Her passiveness to various reasons pictured her as a sad marionette with no opinion, making her character bleak and tedious. Despite wanting not to pry into political issues, Yoko would soon need to live with consequences of her father's choices.
None of the females realized Sesshoumaru's advisor had overheard their conversation, bringing up the topic to other advisors. All of them were aware of Sesshoumaru's plan to in fact protect Tadao and murder southern soldiers, as well as aware of the fact that keeping obedience in the south would assuredly pose as a problem. They decided to propose a solution to the western lord, providing him with details during the everyday audience.
"The only way to successfully ensure the conquer of the southern lands is to lie about Hinowo's upcoming death, saying he honourably died in battle along with his troops, and marry his daughter, which is broadly valued among southern people."
Surprisingly enough, Sesshoumaru did not admonish anyone for the prudent words, he only spoke in a very calm voice: "I will consider."
The demon paid attention to no other matter during that meeting, as his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the advisors' proposition. From practical point of view, there were no hindrances to it, marrying a passive character as Yoko would change nothing in his life, at the same time would grant him a strong control over the south. The only thing holding him back was Yuutsuki, his incurable affection for the girl. Deciding not to carry out the proposition would be equal to admitting that Yuutsuki meant more to him than his land, honour or position. The demon thrust his claws into his palms, realizing one of his biggest fears had come, he was facing a chance to expand his land and influences, however he was hesitating because of a mere human.
As Sesshoumaru was tending his matters a day prior to the battle, he noticed Yuutsuki's curly hair from afar. She was accompanying Yoko from the hot springs, her slightly bared chest was pink from water's hot temperature. The demon frowned at her recklessness, exposing her warmed up body to such cold weather could easily result in sickness, the lord of the west decided to reprimand her later and walked away, focusing on issues that were more important that day. Regrettably, his responsibilities had greatly stacked up, not even for a moment allowing him to stray away from them. The formerly established day for Hinowo's ambush had finally approached, yet Sesshoumaru had not gotten a meagre opportunity to hold a conversation with Yuutsuki unnoticed. Indisputably, he was a powerful demon and his troops did have an advantage resulting from a moment of surprise, there were certain jeopardies to his absence within the walls of the mansion. He simply could not leave without meeting her glance, therefore dressed in fancy armour he attended Yoko's chambers, knowing Yuutsuki would undoubtedly be there. Upon the entrance, Yoko had immediately reacted to his official outfit and bent her body in an elegant obeisance. Despite the difference in the women's influences, as a complete attitude contrast to Yoko, Yuutsuki merely lowered her head, placing her gallant eyes over him.
"I will pray for your safe return, lord Sesshoumaru. Please aid my father in battle." Yoko's timid words echoed in the nearly empty room.
"Prayers do not win battles." Yuutsuki interrupted the half demon's attempts to elaborate her speech, only afterwards realizing she had unnecessarily drawn attention to herself. Sesshoumaru smirked, pleased with the girl's casually audacious attitude. "I shall depart now." After granting a prolonged glance to the human, he teleported away from the chambers, leaving two females alone. Yoko straightened her pose and ogled Yuutsuki thoroughly, wishing to clear her spreading uncertainties.
"What exactly…" The half demon stopped, as if she had suddenly changed her mind. Yoko intrigued by Yuutsuki's insolent behaviour and shocked by the western lord's tolerance wished to ask about the affiliation between the human and lord Sesshoumaru, however desiring no complications, she decided to keep the queries to herself.
"Yes?" Yuutsuki looked slightly up, for her companion was taller.
"Do not mind it."
The girl knew Yoko had urged to ask something of importance, but she resigned in the last possible moment. She looked away, her thoughts drifted to Sesshoumaru's objectives of killing Hinowo and take over the south. Before long, Yoko would become an orphan deprived of wealth, simply because her father, blinded by greed had trusted the wrong man. Keeping in mind Yoko's forthcoming grief and gloom, Yuutsuki decided not to elaborate their current topic, saving her from further dishonesty. Barely moving her lips, she muttered before leaving her baffled companion alone: "Sometimes it is better not to ask, indeed."
She walked slowly around the garden, preoccupied with various thoughts. Sesshoumaru had barely talked to her during her stay in there, which easily reminded her of the solitude within lady Kimi's place. However, there was no Tadao to brighten her mood, she was banned from practising her sword as well. Yuutsuki sighed in annoyance, for an advisor had been following her closely since the morning and apparently, he decided to make his move at that moment. It was an old man dressed in one-piece cloth tightened with wide rope, his long, white hair merged with the long beard of his.
The girl honestly never wished to hold a conversation with him, for his face scared her utmost. His eyes were fully white with no pupils and his eyelids were covered in brown scales. He used gills to breathe, unmistakably making him a fish demon.
"I have been always curious if there is anything else on a human's mind besides eating and sleeping." The old demon's voice was unpleasant, quite hard to understand. Yuutsuki bowed her head politely, allowing her glance to stay on the ground.
"I will go straight to my point human. We have a task for you."
"By we, do you mean lord Sesshoumaru?"
"Oh no! Lord Sesshoumaru is the one who can never get to know about out small conversation, human. You are going to be introduced to the son of the feudal lord, he needs a wife." Yuutsuki's eyes lifted up in a hateful expression as he continued. "Lord Sesshoumaru is not mad enough to take you for his mate, no. But he is so engulfed in your… human values, that he urges to make you a concubine. Do you know why he had not done it yet?"
The girl remained quiet, holding back her intentions to strike the geezer.
"Because once a woman is taken by a man, she will never find another. It is his way to protect you, yes. By keeping his wishes away. But this is not good. Like this, he cares for you more than for his kingdom. You must become someone's for him to give up on his weakness, which is you."
"I decline. Sesshoumaru knows I would never do such a thing willingly."
"It is LORD Sesshoumaru!" Steam exploded from the old demon's gills, his face reddened, portraying it even uglier. "Even if you decline this one, you have to do something about yourself! Disappear from this world or finally do become his toy, so he can put his mind where it is supposed to be! Either you do that or we will find a way to cease our lord's weakness, so tread carefully." His image disappeared, leaving Yuutsuki alone in the cold winter garden. In the edge of her vision, she noticed Yoko passing through with fresh clothing and towels. The girl sighed; she was going to spend whole night in the springs again, with her face covered by a towel. Yuutsuki decided not to accompany her and retreated to her chambers.
Several hours of ponderings passed before the moon hung high in the sky, illuminating Yuutsuki's room. The pale moonlight reflected on the Rens' sword supported against the wall, catching her attention successfully. She grabbed it and with affection passed her fingertips on the carved sign standing for "return". The girl suddenly snapped out of her absentmindedness, a shadow behind her had faintly reflected on the blade.
Before she managed to move or scream, a warrior had appeared in front of her. His armour was incomplete and he was heavily wounded, however the determination within his eyes was fierce, so when he placed his finger over his lips, Yuutsuki nodded her head shortly, obeying the stranger.
"Where is Lady Yoko's room? Tell me and I will not hurt you." The girl comprehended the situation clearly, he had escaped from the battlefield, putting Yoko's life over Hinowo's. He was aware of Sesshoumaru's betrayal and intended to inform Yoko about it, he probably would try to flee along with her. That would be a great obstacle to Sesshoumaru's plan. The stranger placed his left hand over his stomach and couched out blood.
"I can heal you…" She uttered calmly, hoping for guards to notice his presence.
"No help from traitors is needed. Take me to her room or I will kill you." From the way he was standing, one could deduce he would not live through this night. Yuutsuki saw deep poison wounds, which were still eating his flesh away, also he was visibly in great pain. The girl knew she had to make a decision fast. Had he picked Yoko's smell, he would probably instantly teleport to her, shattering Sesshoumaru's intents to manipulate his way to conquer south.
The stranger took the decision instead. He lunged forward, not as slow as Yuutsuki had expected he would move. The drops of his blood splashed on her as their swords clashed. A great surprise was painted over his face once Yuutsuki pushed him away, using the demon sword's powers. Taking advantage of his opened stance, she focused as much powers as she could within that brief moment and slashed him in the loins, felling him to the ground. The girl placed the Rens' blade strongly towards his throat.
"Surrender. You are in no condition to fight. I cannot allow you to see Yoko, but your life can be spared." The stranger growled, acknowledging his defeat. Looking into Yuutsuki's eyes, he pierced his stomach with his own sword. A dense puddle of blood circled him, breeching through the wooden gaps of the flooring. The metallic, sweet scent hit her nostrils, bringing sudden nausea. As the last breath left his lungs, two guards barged in alarmed by the specific smell, shock written all over their faces.
"It is a southern soldier, Lady Yoko cannot see this. Clean it, fast!" The girl got up, observing how easily they handled the limb body and took it out of the room, leaving a path of blood drops. In a minute, three cleaners arrived, ready to obliterate any signs of the occurrence, up to the point that they forcefully tore Yuutsuki's outer kimono off. She stood motionless, looking out of the window until they finished cleaning and delivered her bucket of hot water, clean clothing and new shoes. There was no possibility of her sleeping soundly in that room ever again, she spent most of the night awake, fearing for another intruder. Yuutsuki lost her consciousness around dawn, she dozed off into restless sleep, full of vivid nightmares.
/
The battle resulted exactly as previously planned; the joint forces of the west and the north slayed Hinowo and his troops, putting Sesshoumaru one, big step closer to expanding his lands. The shock of betrayal was so big that the leader of the south had died with his eyes wide open in disbelief. The plan had been executed favourably with no obstacles, so he arrived back at his mansion when the feeble sun showed itself over the snowy lands. The demon immediately picked a foreign scent scattered around, he rushed towards Yuutsuki's room after hearing of the night occurrence. The human was lying down asleep, moving her head nervously. Seeing her unharmed posed as a tension relief, he tapped her shoulder in order to wake her up from the apparent nightmare she had been having. The dark eyes opened, meeting his usual, indifferent expression. Yuutsuki sat down abruptly, trying to greet him with honour.
"Did everything go as you wished it to be?" Sesshoumaru nodded his head, observing her awkwardness, as she was dressed in a sleeping dress.
"You have done well." Yuutsuki beamed, taking his words as praise, not even in wildest dreams foreseeing the upcoming events. The demon revealed no reaction; he simply turned away and left the chamber, not heeding her answer.
During the early morning, Yuutsuki had been instructed to bring Yoko to the court hall, where the advisors were to inform her of the battle's progress. Two high generals along with two advisors welcomed them within the hall and without further ado, the main advisor began his speech directed to Yoko.
"With great sorrow I report that the lord of the south, Hinowo had fallen into an ambush, resulting in death of all soldiers, Hinowo included."
Yuutsuki observed the half-demon's face turning pale, however her voice and eyes remained collected.
"Didn't lord Sesshoumaru also join him in the battle?"
"Apparently, your great father had decided to handle the situation alone, belittling the northern forces. Once lord Sesshoumaru arrived at the appointed place, lord Hinowo was already dead." Yoko exhaled deeply, she fell to her knees, hiding her facial expression. "Please, do not despair. Lord Sesshoumaru had been informed of your father's wishes and he is willing to carry them out. He wants to avenge your father and conquer the north for mutual benefit of the west and the south."
Hearing that, Yuutsuki's body turned to stone, she could not move any of her limbs, nor blink her eyes. Deceiving Yoko and persuading her to persist on Sesshoumaru's side was obvious, but the girl had no knowledge that he had actually arranged to mate the half demon. Alongside that deduction, Yuutsuki recognized the exact implication of his words uttered last time they had encountered.
Still kneeling down, Yoko faintly spoke:
"If lord Sesshoumaru thinks that is for the best, I can only agree."
"Congratulations, you shall soon become the lady of the west. You have made a correct decision, lady Yoko. Please prepare for the official demon ceremony this evening."
Yuutsuki bravely kept her tears until she was alone in her chambers. Last night she had saved Sesshoumaru's marriage by keeping the soldier's revelations away from Yoko. She also had been watching over his future wife on his demand. Notwithstanding the marriage was a pure political play, she felt manipulated like a device, miffed and lastly cast aside.
That very evening, Yoko was to be marked and claimed by Sesshoumaru, which would bond their destinies together. Yuutsuki's pride was hurt, however having nowhere to go, she needed to accept the circumstances in order focus all of her might and fervour on finding a way to return home. Rising up courage, she picked her sword and directed her steps to the mansion's exit, choosing at least not to participate in the ceremony itself. On her way, she heard sobs coming from Yoko's room, human curiosity took over and Yuutsuki intruded her privacy.
"I am sorry for your loss."
Yoko chuckled through tears, directing her accusatory eyes on her.
"I end up as a tool kept for its usefulness. What do you think will happen once lord Sesshoumaru takes over the south?"
Yuutsuki put her hand over the half-demon's shoulder, feeling partly guilty for altering her fate, yet somehow contented with her misery.
"We all are mere tools, lady Yoko. We just serve different purposes."
/
Sesshoumaru inhaled the icy air of midnight, hatching plans concerning his expanding kingdom and the upcoming benefits. Earlier that evening he had marked the only offspring of the lord of the south, a couple of hours after exchanging gulps of each other's blood he had bedded her, claiming her as his mate. He had become the official ruler of the south, nonetheless there was no gratification present in his habitually apathetic expression. Sesshoumaru deemed political marriages completely normal, however the sour bile of displeasure was jammed in his throat. He wondered if his late father had shared parallel frame of mind after espousing his mother, if that discontent had been the motive of his unfaithfulness. The demon hissed, he was becoming a mirror image of his father, all because of his addiction to one particular human. So far, Sesshoumaru had only bedded women he felt appealed to and since Yoko was not the case, the act had turned out to be an unpleasant obligation. Despite so many things to look forward to, he had never felt lonelier in his entire life. Violent gusts of wind were hitting his bare chest as he waited for his companion to settle with the help of maids. Once done, Yoko sat silently on his bed and observed him putting on full outfit, not courageous enough to ask where he was going on their first night as mates. Sesshoumaru left the chambers wordlessly, feeling as if he was breaking free from a cage confining his liberty. Calmly, without any haste he traced Yuutsuki's scent and followed it, despite recognizing the display of her defiance, as she had not attended the wedding ceremony.
A/N: So, yes, indeed – Sesshoumaru is married now. He is such an asshole in my story. He used Shizuka for her body and Yoko for her influence. I have clumsily tried to explain why Sesshoumaru just does not treat Yuutsuki as a woman. The sole reason is – in his times a woman could belong only to one man, especially if it was a human. Those who have already been in a relationship (physical one) were deemed worthless. He does not want to deprive Yuutsuki of a chance for a normal life once she gets back to her times, obviously he would not know the mentality of the future.
The story is tilting to the end.