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As light began to fade, brilliant shades of orange washed the evening sky, Sesshomaru, current lord of the west returned from a five day excursion, walked onto the castle grounds of emperor Masayoshi and opened a thick brass handled door to reveal a magnificent banquet.
The colorful paper lanterns illuminated the room and casted images that bounced off the walls, the shadows danced and swayed as figures moved by. The long wooden tables overflowed with provisions; roasted pigs and chickens, soups and vegetables, rice, noodles and the wine flowed abundantly; and to finish off the jubilation, musicians played a happy tune.
The merriment contagious to all except him, there were dancing and singing, beautiful women lined up in a row tried to ward off the amorous affections of the half drunken men.
He scanned the room and saw as the emperor and his two accomplices laughed, enjoying the festivities. His eyes settled on them but only for a moment, then narrowed a fraction before shifting to the right on his friend Tora.
Their gazes met and held briefly. Sesshomaru turned around and left the party, only stopping when he was some distance away from the noise and waited. Shortly afterwards, Tora joined him outside in the garden lit by an almost full moon.
"Welcome back old friend," Tora said in greeting.
Sesshomaru nodded. Tora gave him a thoughtful look. He was hesitant at this point of how to convey the events that had occured in his absence. Perhaps Sesshomaru's reaction to the forthcoming accounts was the cause for the hesitation, he knew it wouldn't be good, the issues were just too combustible, he sighed deeply in thought, and after a few moments of contemplative silence he decided to just tell it as it was.
"All the documents have been signed but I fear that in your absence the human rulers have deceived us with more trickery."
The statement hung in the air between them for a few moments. Sesshomaru frowned; he didn't believe that he could endure the strain for much longer. He took a deep breath before he answered. "What did they do now?"
Tora's head came up. "He is very afraid of our power and achievements, and it doesn't help that his advisors, the prime minister and the shogun are the main instigators behind his mistrust."
He was slightly irritated by Tora's conjecture. But from a practical point of view he could see why the humans had such an uneasy deportment. All they knew about them were from stories that did not accurately describe their individual breeds and lifestyles; they did not have all the facts.
Rationally, he understood it. The emperor could not perceive them or the way in which they lived and interacted with each other on a daily basis. In fact there were more similarities between them than the noticeable differences.
As Tora watched Sesshomaru quietly with a clinical eye he could tell that he was perusing the things that he'd said to him in his mind. That conclusion was easily derived by the slight frown marring his brow and his concentrated golden gaze. He himself wondered how the lord would react when he was made aware of all that had transpired in his absence.
He shrugged warily and considered; the deed was already done, all that was left for Sesshomaru's to do was to stamp the royal seal approving the alliance. He looked at him and waited until he responded; it was a slight nod of the head but if was enough.
"The emperor has decided that if you want to legitimize the contract between the two of you, then you must impregnate his sister by year's end. He believes that in doing so it would be a show of good faith between our kinds, and it will look less like a sham to his people."
Sesshomaru's eyes widened with shock and disapproval, but disgust and anger narrowed them almost to slits. However, Tora did not see any of that, because he'd moved and now they faced away from each other. He did not see the anger that darkened his friends eyes, claws that speared cleanly through his palms as he formed them into tight fists, and continued on in ignorance.
"All three of them voted unanimously for an heir. It is their belief that if the kingdoms are to join then having a child would be the glue that binds it together in family and friendship."
Sesshomaru chuckled in spite of the hatred and fury boiling within him. Here he was foolishly thinking that he would marry the princess out of duty alone, dissolve his mating bond to Kagome, something that would break her heart and could possibly kill them both. He respected her too much to let her suffer the indignity of being with him while he was with another, and besides, even if he swallowed his pride to accommodate it, Kagome would never agree to such an arrangement.
He'd even decided while he was away to give the princess a smidgen of his youki to extend her life, it was a needed tool in the war for survival, because their greatest threats weren't even born yet. She had to live on long after her brother would have died. He wasn't a fool, as a human princess she would be in a better position than him to affect the change of the holy wars peacefully…
Now only to hear that he was being forced to consummate a marriage that he did not remotely desire. Physically he could get the job done, it was only sex, but to be compelled to procreate with a woman that he did not know or care to know for that matter, was a nightmare all on its own.
Doing something like that meant that he would not only have to engage the physical aspects of his body but his mind as well. His very essences and youki he would have to share with her, knot them together to ensure its success. Having an offspring was a combination of the physical and the spiritual. He did not know the princess yet, and already he hated her. He would never allow her to take Kagome's place in his life.
An angry snarl tore from his being, his eyes lit up in the dark like a cat's, ready to pounce on its prey. His body trembled with excitement at the prospect of dispatching the fools who would dare double-cross him again. His hand reached for his sword.
Tora flinched on hearing the bitter cry and turned around swiftly, only to realize fully for the first time the depth of Sesshomaru's pain. He watched as the demon lord took one step then another in the direction of the castle. He moved quickly and placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder. He stopped.
"I understand but this will not help…You and others have come too far, has sacrificed a great deal for things to end this way if you retaliate."
The firm but calm words halted his movements. Immediately he was conciliatory, his body less tense, and the hand on his hip that touched a sword became lapse at his side.
In the depths of despair he remembered the terrible hatred that he used to have for humans, it was a sensation that he never thought would surface again. Throughout the years starting with Rin he had met some extraordinary ones, but sadly the warm feelings for their kind had begun to crumble.
Everything was muddled in his mind, except before he'd thought that he could live with the choices once he'd made them. He recalled seeing a solution to the problem, but at the moment he could not remember how, when or where. The worst thing was that he did not have the least interest in finding one now.
He was no longer master of his life; the weight of his people suffocated him. His life had turned into a contract, one that binds him and forced him to do its bidding. He was enslaved by his own cause, and while honor and integrity prevented him from walking away, he wished that this burden wasn't his to carry.
It was an ordinary formula, some letters on a piece of parchment, and he felt no desire at all to abide by it. The silence that followed was raw with bitterness, and his golden eyes burned with unspoken regret. With a sigh he raked a hand through his hair.
sksksk
Princess Maemi and her two cousins who were also her ladies in waiting did not attend the party. It was a feast to celebrate the alliance between demons and humans at her expense.
She was the sacrificial lamb in her brother's power struggle. And to think that he'd refused to see her after using her as a bargaining tool was most vexing. On her balcony she stood and looked at the night sky caught up in her musings.
She'd remained in her quarters and had locked the doors because she did not want to see her mother or anyone else for that matter. She believed that the woman was co-conspirator in her doomed fate.
Her step mother was harsh and at times cold, but in spite of that she was a woman and understood perfectly what it felt like being bartered by men, and having been born female, condemned them to the whims of men.
How could her step mother sat quietly by and allowed her brother to decide such an unconscionable thing? Knowing the desires in her heart to be like the celestial maidens, her aspiration was lofty, wanting to become a shrine princess one day. Never in all the years that she'd been alive had she ever felt the need or the urge for a man, much less a demon and for love.
By their culture's standard she was almost an old maid at twenty one and unmarried, she had no desires for the flesh. Her real mother had died giving birth to her, and her father the previous emperor married the woman she called mother when she was just three years old. Her stepmother was the daughter of a lord in a savage and distant land that her father had befriended.
There was giggling behind her as her companions played shogi and glanced in her direction ever so often. She wondered when the game of shogi became so amusing and asked.
"Sisters why do you laugh…Are you perhaps amused by my misfortune?"
The game and the giggling came to an abrupt end momentarily, but soon enough girlish giggles turned into all out laughter. The princess bewildered by her cousin's odd behavior approached them with her arms folded and pouted.
Jade the eldest of the three at twenty two stood and approached her with a smile still on her face. "Cousin, I hear that your betrothed is quite handsome, in fact I heard that he is beautiful like a woman."
The princess's mouth opened to say something; however, she closed it without uttering a word as Heaven the youngest of them, still in her teens at seventeen years came forward. She too had something to say.
"I saw the back of him quite by accident, his hair is the color of the snow and it looked so soft and delicate that I wished to touch it," her smiled widened as she paused, and then continued softly with her little tale. "He turned so quickly in my direction, almost as if he knew that I was there watching him…I ran away and never got the chance to see his face," she finished off shyly.
The princess's left hand came up to cover her mouth and to fake a yawn, to hide the soft smile that threatened to erupt into something bigger. She was intrigued, but didn't wish the others to see and so she feigned disinterest instead.
"He is still a demon and not suited for me." She said and huffed, crossing her arms again.
"Maybe so little princess." Jade replied sarcastically, not at all fooled by Maemi's brave words. She could tell that it was all an act because she had seen the way in which her eyes had lit up with interest, or maybe it was excitement, she dared to wonder, and the smile that curved the corners of her mouth, though she'd tried to hide it with her hand.
As princess Maemi continued to gaze at them with disinterest, Jade regarded the princess with affection and grasped her slender fingers loosely before persisting.
"Try to see the bright side of the darkness, at least you will get away from your brother, something you've desired for many years, and we will be there to help you."
Maemi studied her cousins with interest now, knowing that they would always be there to help her through any challenges that life threw at her. She looked away almost frightened as she wondered what her life would be like without them in it.
Thanks to the kami's that was something she needn't worry about now. Her brother had suggested to her mother that they could all go along with her to the west.
"Thank you both for always being here," she said in gratitude, forever comforted that she had them.
The women huddled close together and hugged each other, mindful of one simple truth. Where one goes, they would all go.
As they embraced Maemi thought of her brother. There was no love lost between them as siblings, they had different mothers. Masayoshi was the product of their father's first marriage, and by the time she'd come along he was almost fully grown at seventeen. He was a man and already primed for the role of emperor. They did not bond as siblings.
He saw to her needs, it was an obligation and nothing more. He was always civil to her and at times indulging. To get what she wanted most of the time without her real mother around and her father dying when she was just nine years old, left her at her brother's mercy, thus making him ruler at twenty six years was by no means always conventional.
The only two beings that knew her real personality were the women that she hugged. She was extremely manipulative and acted the way she thought one would expect her to act. Maybe marrying the demon wouldn't be so bad after all, she thought as they separated.
Tomorrow she would spend time with two women who would guide her in the art of pleasing her new husband. She sighed unhappily, a marriage and what it would bring was not something she looked forward to. However, her betrothed wasn't a man, most certainly he was male, but he being demon put her into a whole new world of the unknown.
Her royal bloodline meant that duty came first, and although she was scared, making the most out of what life dealt her was something she would face head on, she would not run. And besides, what choice did she really have?
She couldn't run away, where would she go? All of her life she'd been a pampered princess, not knowing how to do or be anything else. She was very beautiful, and at one time her beauty made her the subject of many suitors, however, she had rejected them all. Still, she hoped that this demon would be pleased by her appearance and treats her properly.
She shook her head and sighed heavily, pondering on her fate and what her new husband would be like was bothersome. The girls drew closer again, almost as if they could feel how worried she was. She smiled nervously and gestured toward the shogi board.
"Let's play."
sksksk
The morning had Sesshomaru locked in a meeting with the human rulers and Tora, this would be the final time that they would meet before he returned to his kingdom, and six days before his scheduled nuptials to the princess. The pain his misfortune caused him was sharp and deadly, one that seized him mercilessly by the balls, crushed him, stomped him hard then let him go to fall weakly to the floor.
With their gazes locked, the emperor shifted in his seat uncomfortably before reaching for the pitcher of water that he poured with undisguised trembling.
"I will assume that your advisor has informed you of the changes to the agreement on your return last night." The emperor suggested and took a sip of the water.
Sesshomaru glared at the man long before responding. "Yes, but how can you be so easy handed to let your females go into the unknown without proper protection?" He asked that question because as much as he did not like the way things were being settled, he did not wish to hurt the princess. He had no quarrel with her, and if she became his bride she would suffer for it, because there wasn't any room left in his heart for anyone else.
Masayoshi leaned forward. "She will be protected not only by you, but by the five hundred soldiers I will dispatch to accompany her when she enters your land and becomes your wife."
It was an obvious challenge, the emperor's declaration. One that Sesshomaru found mildly irritating, but under the circumstances he decided to let it go.
The man wallowed in the small victory like a swine in a muddy sty. The prime minister gave him a sharp look; it was quite strange because of the three he was the most timid. It goes to show what victory can do for one's ego. He cleared his throat as if to bolster his confidence, and in time added his concerns.
"The princess must be treated like a proper wife; she is to be your queen and the head of your house. On the day of the marriage we will all attend…The marriage must be consummated, it shall be a marriage honored by the kami's and not only for convenience." He finished off strongly, with his chin in the air as if he were gloating.
Tora stood up quickly at that point and interrupted, because he could feel Sesshomaru's oppressing aura seeping into the room. He had to do something to quell the blood lust that still amplified strong in his friend. Because when it came to Kagome and his family the lord wasn't always rational.
"Have you ever considered that Sesshomaru may not want a wife? That he is satisfied with his own life. All you have succeeded in doing here is to cause misery on unsuspecting individuals."
He paused after speaking and glared at the humans who averted their eyes. And after awhile he sat down when he felt sure that Sesshomaru had calmed.
For five days Sesshomaru had traversed the country looking for answers, some he derived and some were left unanswered. In some respect he might have been searching for a way to clarify his own life and disillusionments. The first place he went after leaving the tree demon was his father's grave site, where he just stood and stared for a long time.
His sire had chosen his life, a woman and his son over all else and had died happily in doing so, unfortunately for him he did not have the same freedom or luxury. He now carried the weight of demon-kind upon his shoulders. But he took pride in the fact that if his father was still alive he would have wanted him to continue. It was the right thing to do. If all goes well both species would survive and hopefully live on in peace.
The visit with Totosai was enlightening and it served a greater purpose. In the end he felt more like himself and less like the weakling that surely must have possessed his form, for how else could he explain not killing every single last one of those humans for their impudence?
And now to sit in the company of the same fools again was just too much to bear, but Tora had said it simply last night and it gave him clarity, and he hadn't forgotten. They'd come too far and had sacrificed too much to see it be destroyed by a fit of uncontrolled anger.
Sesshomaru took up the scroll outlining the contract and looked at it slowly, then turned his eyes to the men in front of him. "I will stamp my approval on the contract, but before I do I have one stipulation. If the emperor dies without an heir, the kingdom must pass to the princess, and not to his brother or any other male relatives."
There were audible gasps from the humans, because none among them could fathom as to why the demon lord would suggest such a thing.
"That is preposterous," the shogun voice rang in, "women cannot rule, and if by some ill-fated misfortune that the emperor's three marriages do not come to fruition, then his brother or his sons will rule," he said passionately, and leveled his gaze at Sesshomaru.
"I will not withdraw my supplication," Sesshomaru responded acidly. "This is the only change that I require, while you have made several." He paused and waited with his fingers spread stiffly on the table.
Tora kept quiet, he knew instinctively that Sesshomaru was up to something. But what it was; was the big question? For now he would wait, the answers would come later he was sure.
While he was away the bleakness surrounding his mood slowly ebbed away like the tide. He'd thought of his mate constantly, and it was those thoughts that had helped to free his mind so that he could think clearly and was able to formulate this one plan. Thanks to Kagome, in time he would be the one holding the handle of the sword and not the blade.
The emperor sat and listened to the conversation going on around him; he was both irritated and bemused by the request. He had three wives and the first one was four months pregnant. What the demon was requesting was absurd. He had nothing to fear, and being prideful he ordered the clerk.
"Put the demon's request in writing."
The studious clerk wrote the addendum to the original contract on two sets of paper, one for the emperor and the other for the demon lord. When he was finished they both stamped them with their individual seals.
Before he left Sesshomaru turned to the emperor. "I will make preparations for your sister and the guests."
He turned to go but the emperor stopped him briefly. "Don't you want to meet her before the wedding?"
Sesshomaru's chuckle was brittle when it came, and shortly thereafter he replied. "No!"
The emperor was stunned by the coldness in his voice and eased back quietly in his seat in thought.
Eight days came and went and he was finally on his way home. But the biggest question that seared his conscience painfully was. How was he going to tell Kagome the news without devastating her? He wished that there was such a thing, but unfortunately for them that ideology did not exist.
They'd known that this day would come for a very long time now. It had plagued their thoughts throughout the years, and even though they'd both tried their very best to ignore it; it was never far from their minds. What they didn't know was how it would happen. No longer was that an unknown, the inevitable had finally occurred.
Steady footsteps caught up with him. "I know there is a reason for the request made, and yet I cannot figure it out."
Sesshomaru looked to the left and gave Tora an almost pleasant expression but not quite; though his eyes seemed less penetrating he still wore a frown. He looked away from tora and halted his steps. "As you are aware my mate is from a future time, so when I say these things you will accept them as truths." He paused and waited for an answer.
Immediately Tora nodded his reply of yes.
"The human emperor will not father any offsprings, his first wife is with child but soon will fall ill and both she and the baby will die. His second wife is barren, and the third loves a herbal tea that has properties that will make her sterile."
The revelation would have been hard for some to believe, but not him. He has known the being beside him from they were children and never had he lied. He was driven by logic and his instincts, some would say that he was often times cold and ruthless, but in a deceitful world and of war, it was best to be unattached and quick.
It was a world of power and wealth, cold deceptions and icier manipulations. The dominant took what they wanted from people, using them to fulfill their own desires without a thought for their feelings. He had done it too when it suited a greater purpose.
And so he wondered why Sesshomaru hadn't used the information he had to his advantage, his eyes widened when he made a very brazen discovery, just as the lord seemed to know what he thought and answered.
"Initially I had planned on using that information to my gain, but the dynamics of the negotiations changed when the prime minister and the warlord joined in. There were too many doubts and I felt it unwise. My mate's origins and the future must be protected at all costs."
Tora smiled, there may be hope for Sesshomaru and Kagome after all, but it would be a long hard one, he thought. If what he'd been told just now was in fact accurate, Sesshomaru could become ruler of both the demon world and the human one, because the little princess could not ascend the throne. She would then have to pass it to her husband.
With that thought in mind he smiled again, although it was fair to assume that Sesshomaru would not want to be ruler of a human empire. Possessing it would become another arsenal in his defense for survival.
They took to the skies; if they hurry they could reach home by night fall.
sksksk
Kagome leaned in on the horse that nibbled on an apple that she had in her hand. He was a chestnut brown stallion with a white star on his forehead. He was Sesshomaru's gift to her on their last anniversary.
Picking up another apple she fed it to Starfire, when she was finished she went over to Ah-Un and gave each head an apple as well. Drawing in a deep breath as she exited the stables she emerged in the sunlight. She had a feeling that her mate would return today.
Aiko her youngest daughter came running from the house being chased playfully by one of the family's domestic dog named Canon; the spectacle had her smiling which broke her chain of thought.
"Mother," the child yelled as she ran around her, "Is father back yet, I really miss him."
Kagome clutched her arm and stopped her movements abruptly, which caused the dog to collide into the back of her legs.
"Why did you do that mother?" She yelled, while she rubbed the dog's head.
Kagome sighed. "He hasn't come home yet…But I have a very good feeling that he will be home today."
"Hmm-mmm," Aiko responded.
With both their hands about each other's waist they walked the short distance back to the house, while the dog followed closely on their heels.
"Mom what are we having for lunch?" She asked and leans her head on her mother's shoulder. "I am so hungry."