Chapter Eight
Please tell me I am dreaming…
When Sesshomaru made it back to the castle he could sense that something was up. When he entered through the long entryway of the castle there were hardly any servants in the corridor. When he finally got to the main house though, he did see a bunch of servants working fervently. A little too fervently. None of the servants raised their heads as Sesshomaru walked into the main castle. Servants were usually supposed to keep their heads bowed in the presence of royalty but this was different. They were actually going to great lengths to avoid any contact with him at all. There were quite a few servants that turned away quickly as they saw that Sesshomaru was walking in.
Sesshomaru chose to note this but continued on into the castle towards his quarters. As he continued onwards servants that were heading towards his direction instantly turned and fled in the other direction. There was one servant in particular that appeared so terrified that he flung himself over the banister of the stairs.
What is going on? Sesshomaru thought as he continued walking. Did something happen to Inuyasha?
He squashed that worry deep down. He could not allow himself to feel that way towards a slave. He finally made it to his room when Jaken came into view.
Jaken saw him and shrieked slightly and tried to run away from the young lord. "Jaken!" Sesshomaru slightly shouted.
Jaken froze in place, "Yes, milord?" Jaken looked more terrified than usual.
"Update me on-," Sesshomaru cut off as he made his way into his room. What he saw in his quarters made his heart skip a beat. Jaken took this as the time to try to squirm away. Sesshomaru ran and grabbed him by the neck and commanded, "What. Happened."
Jaken started to cry, "Milord, Lady Inu Tsu Kimi ordered this! While you were away she met Inuyasha and she—"
Sesshomaru began to drown him out as he surveyed the room looking in horror at the atrocity that took place. He tried hard to keep his anger out of his aura as much as possible since he knew that it would hurt Inuyasha, but this task was difficult given the circumstances.
Lady Inu Tsu Kimi must have felt the slight shift in energy since she walked into the bedroom to greet her son. "Sesshomaru, glad you are back. How was your trip?" She made her way over to one of the ornate chairs in the corner of the room.
Sesshomaru was having a hard time controlling his anger as he still proceeded to choke Jaken. "Mother…..what…did…you...do?" Sesshomaru emphasized by squeezing Jaken in tandem.
"Let the servant go before his eyes pop out and I will explain why I renovated your room." Inu Tsu Kimi said with a smirk.
Sesshomaru then proceeded to throw Jaken into the open hallway. He smashed against a rather large tapestry then collapsed on the floor in front of a group of startled servants that were there to tend to the young lord after his journey. They deduced that they should not enter the room.
Sesshomaru looked over to his mother with a demanding look. "Why is there another bed in this room?"
The bed that he was referring to was a small child's bed that was placed at the foot of Sesshomaru's oversized luxurious bed.
"Well for Inuyasha of course. That child is your responsibility now. He is your pet, isn't he? He has been through trauma, and he will need his master to take care of him."
"Why should I allow a slave to sleep in my quarters?" Sesshomaru fumed as he exhaled, trying to keep his anger in check.
"Because, you were the one that picked up the stray puppy. It is your job to look after him." Inu Tsu Kimi still smirked as she leaned back into the chair.
"Is this the reason why my room is covered in new toys?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Of course. A puppy needs things to play with to keep them occupied. Ugh the curios and furniture that you ruined. Trust me, this is a must. A happy puppy means happy décor." She continued to smile at the frustration of her son. He was getting a little too sure of himself. She needed something to knock him down a few pegs.
"And why…did you feel the need….to cover my room…in paintings…OF KAWAII DOGS?" Sesshomaru fumed. He let his aura flare and he then felt a tug on the connection he had with Inuyasha. He thought he was too angry to care, but as he continued to feel the tug he tried to calm himself the best that he could.
"Oh, you noticed my masterpieces? It is necessary to make the room more comfortable for a child. Since Inuyasha is a cute little puppy I felt the need to decorate the walls in his likeness." Inu Tsu Kimi smiled at her handiwork. She knew that this would be the thing that would send her son over the top.
"I think you forgot something important." Sesshomaru said as he began to massage his temple in frustration.
"No I think I covered everything. Toys, bed, comfortable environment-" Inu Tsu Kimi pondered. Inu Tsu Kimi knew what he was going to say.
"The child is BLIND! He isn't going to see the paintings anyway!" Sesshomaru yelled. "
"Oh, didn't think of that." Inu Tsu Kimi feigned. She knew this already. She also knew that this would be the thing that would send her son over the edge.
Sesshomaru was not enthused. Inu Tsu Kimi got up from the chair and walked towards the door. "Even though you may not like to share your space Inuyasha is now your responsibility. Don't think that you can kill him or ignore him. That child doesn't deserve it. It is time you grow up and face your responsibilities. Do you understand?" She looked back at Sesshomaru.
Sesshomaru sighed, "Yes, mother."
Inu Tsu Kimi smiled. "Good. I will let you get refreshed. When you are finished, your father would like to see you in his study." And with that, she left smirking. Wait till he sees my other masterpieces. She thought to herself.
Sesshomaru sighed and turned to Jaken, "I wish not to be disturbed." He said as he made his way over to his bathroom.
"Yes Milord!" Jaken said as he scurried out of the room. The guards that overheard the conversation closed the large ornate doors behind the imp.
It took all of Sesshomaru's strength to not flare his aura when he reached his bathroom. The walls had pictures of kawaii ducks on them and his tub was filled with floating duck toys. Sesshomaru took in a deep breath and exhaled. It took all of his power to not go berserk. That is what his mother wanted and he wasn't going to give it to her.
Sesshomaru got undressed and went into the warm bath letting the water loosen his muscles. Sesshomaru sat in the bath and closed his eyes. His mother was right. He was responsible for a life now. He keeps telling himself that he doesn't care for the slave but some innate instinct acted in him that pushed him to form the bond with Inuyasha. There were so many things that he was unsure of. He was not a caring person. He was unsure if he could provide all if any of the care that Inuyasha would need in getting over his trauma.
Sesshomaru felt something hit his chest and he opened his eyes to find himself staring at a duck toy. Sesshomaru picked it up and grabbed it in his hand. He remembered all of the 'renovations' that his mother did and he seethed. The duck began to melt in his venomous hand. If he was going to take care of the slave he will do it his way. Sesshomaru Prince of the Western Lands is commanded by no one.
Sesshomaru walked up to his father's study doors as the guards opened them for him. He stepped inside and they closed behind him.
"Sesshomaru, glad you are back. I hope your mother didn't upset you too much. She means well." His father said as he placed a scroll down on his desk.
Sesshomaru ignored the comment and walked to one of the empty ornate chairs in front of the desk and sat down.
"How was your journey?" His father tried initiating again.
"It was rather uneventful. The Birds of Paradise were eradicated and the Northern Wolf Tribe is safe." Sesshomaru sighed.
"I know that it was rather uneventful for you, but the tribe needed assistance. I am happy that they will now be able to stand strong."
"I'm not so sure about that." Sesshomaru mused.
"Why would you say that? They have a young prince that will be taking the throne in a few years." Inu no Taisho leaned back in his chair, perplexed.
"Maybe a few hundred years." Sesshomaru mused.
"What do you mean? The messenger when questioned said that their prince was quite strong."
"Headstrong, yes. But not physically strong. The wolf is still a pup. He is 75 years of age with a rather obstinate attitude." Sesshomaru sighed.
"I was not aware of this. Had I known the Northern Tribe was so vulnerable I would have sent reinforcements until the prince became of age. As for the pup's attitude, I am quite familiar with dealing with bratty children, lest you forget you are one." Inu no Taisho jabbed. "Though I am quite certain that the pup would grow to be powerful. His father and mother were incredibly strong demons. He may need a firm hand and role model to set him straight." Inu no Taisho smirked.
"Don't even think about it. I have enough pups to worry about now." Sesshomaru interrupted.
"No, I wouldn't give him to you. I am thinking of reopening the school in the castle for the children of nobility."
When Sesshomaru was a child Inu no Taisho opened a school within the classroom. Children of nobility would attend the school and receive an education and shape them into brilliant leaders. The students would stay in an upscale dormitory and would be cared after and attended by servants. Inu no Taisho closed the program when Sesshomaru no longer needed it.
"There are enough spoiled noble children whose parents would love to send them to such a prestigious institution."
Inu no Taisho nodded. "I will start the preparations for recreating the school. In the meantime, I will send reinforcements to the Northern Wolf tribe."
Sesshomaru nodded and got up from his seat. "I am sure Yuichiro would love to come back to teach." Sesshomaru said as he walked out the room. Inu no Taisho smiled behind him.
Sesshomaru made his way to Inuyasha's room. When he stepped inside he saw that Inuyasha was sleeping in the bed curled up hugging a small pillow as if it was a stuffed animal. He also noticed that the hanyou's hair was braided. The braid was probably the doing of his mother.
"My Lord, welcome back." Miroku quietly said from his chair off to the side. "Inuyasha fell asleep not too long ago. He is having trouble with the teething. We have been giving him frozen cloths for him to chew on to try to alleviate the discomfort."
Sesshomaru took in the information as he sat down in one of the chairs. Miroku got up to show respect by not sitting at the same level and chose to sit on the floor at the edge of the bed. "Why is he clutching a pillow?"
"It is to calm him down sir. Young children often like to hold onto something soft and plush to calm them down. Most children are attached to a singular stuffed toy for most of their childhood. Inuyasha must've needed that comfort while he is dealing with the poison and the pain in his mouth and teeth." Miroku explained.
Sesshomaru filed away that information. Yasahiro then walked into the room. "Glad to see you have returned, My Lord."
Yasahiro chose to sit on one of the stools near the door. He was far too old to sit on the floor. "The time has come to try to trim away at some of the infected tissue in his feet. His other injuries have healed."
"They are completely healed?" Sesshomaru asked. He was surprised that when allowed the hanyou did have a strong amount of healing power.
"Yes My Lord, he is healed, but there are some things that we may have to be wary of in the future. The bones that were broken previously may have developed some arthritis. There is no way to tell for sure until he has a flare where or how bad the arthritis is. Now that you are here, he should recover from the poison in his blood rather quickly. The poison in his feet may still prove to be a problem until all of it is physically removed." Yasahiro explained.
Inuyasha began to stir in his sleep. His fully healed ears were twitching as they became alert to all the sounds that were around him. He then whined and opened his eyes.
Yasahiro got off the stool. "Poor puppy does your mouth hurt?" He helped Inuyasha sit up in the bed. Inuyasha nodded then began to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Inuyasha then buried his head into the pillow that he was holding and gave a small whine. "Well, Master Sesshomaru has returned." Inuyasha lifted his head and reached out with his hand in Sesshomaru's direction making a grabbing motion while kicking his legs slightly.
Sesshomaru was not going to be beckoned by a small insignificant—Inuyasha gave a large whine as tears fell and his hand he was reaching out with came up to his mouth. Sesshomaru sighed and got off the chair because he wanted to, not because of the hanyou.
Yasahiro and Miroku got up and left the room to give the young lord privacy before he had the chance to order them to leave. Sesshomaru walked over to the bed and picked Inuyasha up and held him against him. Inuyasha melted into him as he continued to sniffle. Somehow holding him and feeling Inuyasha's light breaths against his neck was the most comforting feeling in the world.
Sesshomaru was in trouble.