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Sesshomaru lie in bed awake and feeling disturbed by Taizo's withdrawal from him, and the thought that his son was in pain left him feeling even more distressed because he was not able to find out from the child what was wrong with him, but regardless of the setback, tomorrow he would without a doubt find a way to reach the boy and hopefully get the answers he needed, and to help him recover from whatever ails him. With his right arm resting comfortably across his forehead he sighed still feeling a little tired, although his weariness was more from a mental standpoint as oppose to a physical one.
With the dawn's arrival he had a few more things that needed resolving; getting back to one's life after not fully remembering it for six months felt a little odd to him, but nonetheless, with the morning's light he had to finish cleaning his house, the bitches would have to leave, however, the plan was slightly altered, his pups would not be leaving with their mothers, here they would remain with him, because that was the only way he could guarantee their safety; their mothers could not be trusted because they have shown that their loyalties lie with his dam and not with him. Kagome would have some adjusting to do, but he can already vouch for her that she would welcome the idea of living in his house with him and his pups; because she was as kind as she was compassionate. With that thought in mind he closed his eyes and rested a little easier.
The hand over his mouth and nose felt suffocating as he opened his sleep weary eyes and gasped for breath frightened. "Taizo my son, it is me your mother," she said quietly to him in the darkness of the unlit room while removing her hand from his face. "Mother, why are you here?" he asked just as quietly and she responded. "Shhh!" and placing her index finger on his lips quieting him and prevented him from questioning her any further. Carefully and gently she lifted him out of bed and into her arms, because she did not want to hurt him anymore than she already has, because he had been enduring pain and discomfort for two days already. She had to be as cautious just as much as she had to be cunning if she wanted to leave the castle unseen by Sesshomaru or the imperial guards or both.
As she approached the open door with her eldest son in her arms she glanced back and peered at her other two sons lying on another bed sound asleep, in the far corner of the large room facing each other regrettably; once she left with Taizo there was no going back, and if she was caught she would be killed. She sighed heavily, compressed her lips together and blinked back the tears that were settling in her eyes, now was not the time for regrets and hesitation, now was the time for action. Lady Harumi's visit four days ago had opened all their eyes about their dismal future, and of Sesshomaru's unwillingness to let go of his emotions for the human priestess and to fight the humans with fists, swords, and cunning to ensure their survival was a lot to take in, and it was a bitter pill to swallow as well because now they all felt betrayed by him.
Hastening her steps she walked away from her life leaving her two youngest sons alone while Taizo fell asleep in her arms from weariness and pain breathing heavily. The staircase was looming in the distance as she was almost at the end of the long corridor. When she was in her son's room earlier she had wanted to jump from the balcony and fly away with him but sound judgment prevented her from taking that course of action, because if she had done so, while it would have been quicker and more efficient, all in the castle would have been alerted by the increase in youki that she would have needed to accomplish such a feat, and hence she decided against it.
When she set foot in the hall after descending the many steps of the stair, she went as far as the huge archway between the living room and the kitchen before making a hasty retreat under the staircase after almost bumping into a guard, luckily for her he was half asleep and did not see her; she sucked in a breath annoyed, now she would have to find an alternate route. Panting heavily from her narrow escape she rests the child down on the floor under the dark staircase and sat beside him thinking. Going through the kitchen and entering through a secret door which would lead into three narrowly linked passageways and one of those three pathways was the gateway to the outdoors and freedom. That was her plan, but now it was blocked by a guard, but with Taizo in hand she came to a conclusion; there was no way around it, she would have to leave passing through the kitchen.
While she sat for a bit longer still in thought she woke Taizo and said. "Stay and be still, I will come back soon," very quietly and he nodded his sleepy head then closed his eyes as she got up. Cautiously she walked to the sleeping guard with a dagger hidden behind her back, one that she always kept in an inside pocket of her yukata poised and ready to kill. With her heart pounding, she inched a little closer to the kitchen and to the unsuspecting soldier, she was almost upon him when the floor creaked eerily from stepping on a loose booard, she froze as he opened his sleepy eyes blinking and saw her. The blood rushed to her head and then into her heart rapidly with her anxiety sealing her to the spot while the guard got up from the table and came over to where she stood.
"My lady, are you well?" he asked her politely not knowing that those would be the last words he would utter to anyone else. She smiled kindly at him and responded. "I am in need of some assistance. The clasp broke from my bracelet and it fell under the stairs, can you help me look for it?" He looked at her for a moment longer wondering if she was telling the truth while she continued to smile at him sweetly although a little nervously as well, and after awhile he nodded his agreement; and as he walked away from her and heading into the direction of the stairs and her son, she pounced and plunged the dagger deep through his back and into his heart three times successively, and as he staggered and fell she caught him and dragged his body under the stairs.
The rest of her escape out of the castle went without another hitch, and when she was far away and standing on a hill a shrill and horrifying scream bellowed from her gut as she transformed into her animal spirit, and with her son gathered securely between her teeth she met another large white dog some distance away and they flew into the air and disappearing behind the clouds.
"Jaken, gather all the children and their mothers into the playroom, I will be there shortly," Sesshomaru ordered his trusted vassal, and the little imp responded enthused. "Yes my lord," and bowed lowly and went off quickly to do his duty. The toad's eyes bulged even further from their sockets and he trembled fretfully when he became conscious of the fact that all was not well. "My lord will be most displeased when he is made aware of this," he said out loud and ushered the children into the play area while the lord's mistress waited in her own room.
Sesshomaru sighed loudly enough and disgustedly enough to be heard when he realized that Taizo was missing and one of his guards killed. "Where is my son and his worthless mother," he growled out and into the face of his third mistress Musen, who was a half dog and half wolf demoness, and she cringed and cowered in fear. "I…I do not know," she stuttered from the anger and rage thrown at her. "You know and you are going to tell now!" He commanded fiercely, "or you will pay the ultimate price for the deception." She cried out in pain and shock as large and dangerous hands grabbed a hold of her shoulders painfully and wrenched her forward and out of the room. "No my lord please spare me, I was left in the dark of their plans," she cried and whirling away unexpectedly she made a mad rush for the balcony and threw herself over.
Blood red eyes darkened his features, razor sharp teeth descended from peeled back lips and gums as his face elongated from his rage. His blood boiled, his heart raced as he gave chase jumping from the balcony and into the garden and swiping at the females legs in mid flight which sent her crashing face first into the dirt, he was incapable of speech in this state but the vicious growls and hisses were not misunderstood as they were made in her face from his position above her. She closed her eyes tightly and begged him to spare her, and as he regained control of himself, he dragged her to her feet and proceeded to one of the guard rooms.
"Make this easy on yourself and tell me the truth," he said calmly now that he had his emotions under control. But Musen kept quiet and refused to answer, and after awhile Sesshomaru hissed his teeth in annoyance, and the fact that his son was stolen from him and by his own mother no less made the situation all the more disturbing and disheartening. And the more he thought about it the angrier it made him and he got up and struck her with claws bearing on the side of the head. She screamed, "No!" in agony as her head whiplashed by the force of the blow, and he grasped her chin and forced her head back cruelly to look at him. "Reveal the truth or you die today," he said low and dangerous and without any form of compassion for the bleeding female.
A new wave of panic swept over her as his hands clenched her jaw tighter and she felt her bone would surely break with just a bit more pressure, and the violent nature of his gesture pulled away her much needed defense to do something—anything, other than look him in the face, and worse, let him see into hers and find the dark secrets she could never reveal to him. The short snarl of bitter laughter escape from his lips as Musen closed her eyes and jerked her head viciously to the side in his iron clad hold and breaking her neck in the process, the female slumped forward on him in death and he let her go and walked away as the lifeless body fell forward hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
How did all his noble efforts turn out this way? All he wanted to do was to save his own kind, and yet he was being betrayed by the same people that he was trying to save. But what else could he have done? He wasn't a mindless killer, and Kagome had helped him and only asked that he did not destroy humanity on his quest to save demon kind. There was no wrong in that, all could survive and live in peace in this big world if they all tried. And especially now with what he was going through, the rawness of his grief by the abduction of his son, and not knowing what they were planning and why they had taken Taizo, the sense of total disbelief had him wondering. Was it worth the grief?