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The captain of Sesshomaru's youkai guards immaculately dressed in royal blue hakamas and creamed colored tunic, patterned with the west insignia of a red and white flower escorted his brazen wife and willful companions outside the prison. It was hot and dusty, a state that he knew his wife hated.
There the carriage awaited; the same one that took them here would be the same one to transport them back to the west.
Maemi staggered to a halt and glanced back at her husband who walked slowly behind, disbelief and uncertainty glazed her eyes over he noted, yet not a trace of remorse was present there for her actions.
She opened her mouth to speak just as the soldier pulled on the tight rope and she stumbled forward before she could accomplish it.
"Stop!" She cried out as she bumped into her mother's back.
The guard looked to the lord for permission to the request, because while the woman was his captive she was still a princess and the lord's wife, and he had to tread carefully with good sense for the sake of protocol.
Sesshomaru nodded and he relinquished the tight hold on the restraints.
Maemi huffed; she had been cut badly and was in pain. The thick rope tied around her wrist seared into her flesh and now it bled. She would be scarred she thought in dismay and scowled severely.
The entire company came to a halt as she stopped abruptly and nearly bumped into her mother's back for a second time. Her mother was tied in front of her while Jade was apprehended to her back. She shook her head with the denial in her heart. How, why was this happening to her? She had every right to act as she did, she was his wife, not a commoner, yet her husband mistreated her and family like stray dogs.
Her lips parted as she prepared herself to speak. But before she did, she gazed at her cold, beautiful and wicked husband; the love of her life for one terse minute. His eyes were like ice, frozen and unfeeling, and his face an uncompromising mask of alabaster stone.
She shuddered internally; so much derision, so much hatred in his body and soul and it was all for her. Tears rolled from her eyes and down her face at the wicked gleam in his eyes.
Why did he hate her so, and yet he loved the other woman with all of his being? What sins had she committed in a past life to deserve such a brutal fate? She thought bitterly with so much force that madness threatened to ravage her mind.
She sobbed now as she witness the spite he displayed, the subtle victorious smile that curled the corners of his lips that she couldn't stand. How dare he degrade her in front of his people like trash? One way or another, even if it killed her she would repay him ten times over for his evil actions against her. This she promised herself.
She didn't hide what she felt. Sesshomaru saw the bitterness, the anger, quiet acceptance and then vengeance as it ran across her face. There was no remorse or sorrow in her body, neither was it there in her soul. If he had to surmise, the tears were a tool for sympathy and not so much because her schemes had backfired, and now she was shackled, treated like a common criminal that awaits sentence for her misdeeds.
As he continued to gaze at the woman who stared right back at him with hatred in her eyes, to see if there were any signs of contriteness in her form, he saw none, and two minutes held the silence ransom before she opened her mouth again.
"You've detained me and my family for something that is my right to exercise as your first wife, and yet you and I both know that if you are to take a mistress, as your legal spouse I have to give consent else it cannot happen otherwise."
He tensed slightly, clenching his teeth as the woman's words usurped his anger, and within moments his resentment rose to the fore of his mind and he approached her. The words he really wanted to say he held them at bay, but this time he would not remain silent as she'd insulted his mate once again.
His lilt dripped with scorn as he looked down his nose at her. "Human, this one's first wife you may be but you are not my first bond. The priestess that you have tried to kill is my true mate, and if she had not conceded to this arrangement you and I would never be."
"Liar," she yelled, the words rushing pass her teeth, "my brother informed me that at the summit he had asked you if you had a wife and you had said no. So how can you just stand there, so puffed up with pride trying to justify what you did to me for a woman that is less than a common who…re?"
The hand that gripped her jaw roughly and with deadly violence muffled the last syllable that left her mouth. She gasped and blinked as long fingers spread, pressing into her throat. He felt his hand on the woman's neck tightened even further while her eyes bored into his fearfully.
One inch, one pierce of his claw with his poisons and he could watch in satisfaction as she writhed in agony before she bled to death. He wanted to kill her but would not. He knew that to follow his impulses now would be foolish, it was not yet time.
The death grip slackened as reason overruled impulses, but before he let go, red seeped into the corners of his eyes, disdain and hatred evident there. She gasped loudly and tried to back away but he held her jaw firmly, restricting every move, while the others watched silently.
Forcefully he wrenched her chin up to meet his gaze, she winced with pain as she had turned away moments ago in fright. The enormity of what took place now came crashing down on her, and for the second time that day she felt utterly afraid of him.
His eyes caged hers and she squinted, the reds and blues in them insidious, dark and threatening. The promise of vengeance and unspoken pain lingered there, and her response was a quivering all over her body.
She felt utterly naked and vulnerable as demonic eyes imbibe her. She opened her mouth with the intentions to speak; he gritted his teeth and squeezed her jaw hard, shutting it for her again. He didn't wish to hear her voice; that would only serve to anger him further.
He hissed in a breath and closed his eyes briefly as a storm raged inside him. How easy it would be to just snap her neck? He thought, the desire to do so was strong, but instead he chose to clarify her earlier outburst.
"I can assure you that I do not lie, your brother knew of my mate as well as the entire human nobility," he paused to catch a breath before he continued. "And if any among the two of you is a whore," he said slowly, acidly, " then it is you."
He let her go suddenly and turned away, half expecting the woman to shout out a witty response, but she did not, instead all he heard was more crying, something that he did not care for.
His name came soon after that with much effort; it wasn't the voice of his wife, it was that of her cousin.
"My lord what will become of us?" She asked pitifully, while the matriarch looked on indifferently.
Without facing her he gave her an answer. "The charge laid against all of you is treason and the penance is death. However, I will give you the chance to refute the penalty of death if you so desire it."
Jade sighed; the breath expelled was one of relief. As much as she loved her cousin she had not agreed with the decisions that she had made in the end, throwing her life away for a cause that was trivial was not what she had in mind.
"Take the prisoners back to the west and detain them in the palace guardhouse. I will return in two days." Sesshomaru said hurriedly and walked away.
As he strode away he heard the cries and screams of his wife forbidding him to go to his mate, her language foul as she cursed Kagome. He clenched his jaw hard and tried to ignore the nasty words. Soon his quick footsteps took him away from the sounds.
On the way to Kagome's house his heart finally quieted, he could hear the rustling of the leaves on the forest floor, the swish of the wind now that his heart wasn't thundering into his ears.
A pulse of his power washed over Sayoka as Sesshomaru neared the house. She knew that he summoned her and dashed off swiftly in his direction.
She saw him as he stood in the woods outside of the fence and approached him, she bowed slightly. "Lord Sesshomaru it is good to see you again," she said, he nodded. "I take it that you require something of me."
He nodded again and then calmly addressed her. "Take the children along with your son to your home for the next two days; there is something that I need to do privately."
"Will do my lord," Sayoka answered, keenly aware of what Sesshomaru had in mind.
She smiled and turned away. A short time later he saw as the five of them left the house. It was time for him to truly be with his mate, and hopefully mend all that was broken once and for all time. He needed her love and respect again, and would do what he must to achieve it.
Kagome lies in bed clean, devoid of the sweat and vomit that had clung to her earlier, and her hair cleanly washed. She felt his presence and knew that he was at the door but could not find the strength to turn around and greet him.
The torment that she'd faced these last three days was still fresh in her mind, and the tears still stung her eyes whenever she remembered it. Her heart stilled as she heard him removing his amour and swords and then placed them quietly on the floor.
The bed sank as he came to lie behind her. He could scent her tears and feel the pain from the experiences that sluiced over her. He leaned over and smelled the springtime flowers of her hair. Doing so allowed him to sneak in a quick nuzzle behind her ear and a kiss to her temple.
Kagome began to sob quietly into her open hands as the stresses of the situation would not relinquish its hold on her heart, her body trembled with the onslaught of her emotions. He shook his head and sighed tiredly as he held the woman that he loved with all of his heart and soul tenderly.
He hadn't the right words to say to her at the moment, the burdens that she carried and had endured was too much to bear, and at times he had wondered how such a small female could contain such lofty ideals, within a world that held her in contempt. She was truly special.
She broke out of the haze of misery when she felt a warm tongue on her neck licking it sensually. He hadn't the right words to say to comfort her now, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
He kissed her neck softly, sucking on the pulse points as they ticked evenly under his lips. She moaned and tried to turn around, but he wouldn't let her as he held her about the shoulders steadily.
Kagome kept quiet amd allowed Sesshomaru to caress her neck, and only the tiniest of moans that escaped her lips echoed around the room.
A moist tongue trailed up her throat and jaw, then stilled at her ear before languidly moving around and then the tip inserted. She shuddered at the intense sensation and moaned throatily. A hand moved to the front of her robe and untied it skillfully; he sought her breasts, rolling the tight buds between his fingers gently.
In time the robe left her shoulders altogether and pooled at her waist, his mouth and tongue was everywhere, licking and sucking on her body. He covered her with his scent as he moved against her.
His hands created a path as he dragged them along her calves and thighs, she was being ravished, eaten alive and yet she yearned for more, the delightful feelings drove away the unwanted ones and her spirit soared.
The inward sections of his right hand rubbed against her hairless core and with each upward and downward motion his thumb glided over her clitoris and her womanhood quaked, grabbing and releasing as the sensations spiraled into indulgence.
"Sesshomaru," she breathed through gritted teeth, "don't tease me."
He smiled as he kissed the center of her back, there was nothing standing in his way anymore. He would never be with his wife intimately again, so taking Kagome now as his mate felt right and long overdue.
She writhed against him, pushing her bottom and heat onto his shaft. He hissed with the pleasure and lifted her leg. She felt the warmth of him caressing the heat of her core as he rubbed his manhood along her slit.
His phallus covered with their combined fluids moved easier through her walls as he buried himself deep inside her body. She gasped and closed her eyes tightly as the slow burn of his entry shimmered into her belly. She felt him there, firm and unyielding.
The deep and timely strokes excite them both, and he groaned as she gyrated unto him. His mouth covered her neck and suckled the spot where their auras had joined them before.
Unbidden, a gasp tore pass his teeth as the thought of failure when he attempted to bind them together again stirred in his head. He wasn't certain if his endeavors would succeed because of the rarity of their circumstances, but whether or not it was so would not deter him.
Totosai had instructed him when he had made the bracelet that as long as Kagome wore it, the trace amount of his blood and youki that encased the jewel would come to recognize the wearer as part of its consciousness, thus enabling a second mating.
"Sesshomaru what's wrong?" He heard Kagome asked unclearly as she glanced over her shoulder, because his body had ceased to move as his mind had wandered.
"All is well," he responded, and kissed the shell of her ear.
He drove into her again and she backed into him, fueling the fires of his heat like oil onto the flames. He found a pleasurable rhythm; he stroked her insides languidly as he pushed past the doubts in her mind and body. He felt himself pounding into her now, stretching her walls as passion mounted and she moaned sweetly.
The claws on her waist pulled her even closer to him, she slumped onto him groping his arm, the muscles there tensing as his youki rose. The oppressing air felt strange yet it was familiar and she wasn't afraid.
When she felt darkness pressing down on top of her, choking her, making it almost difficult to breathe, she exhaled and embraced his power.
Listen. Someone was crying, a slight delicate wail. She touched her cheeks and found them wet, but they were not tears of fear, but were instead of happiness and relief.
She reached around and felt the hard warm smoothness of his lower back, the muscles there spasm just before he slammed his body into hers. She knew what would come next and her soul broke free in welcome.
He felt when she'd resigned her soul over to him, the knowledge that she wanted him with the same depths as he did set every cell into his body buzzing. He claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss, full of emotions that neither of them wanted to relinquish.
They'd spoken their feelings and intentions with their lips, hands and bodies. The heat of desire consumed them as the fires licked at their very core, an uncontrollable craving that only each other's touch could quench.
She dug her nails into his arm, arched, gasped and screamed his name with a breath that she thought would be her last as he continued to fill her.
He felt drunk with desire, his manhood hardened even further while his lips receded and fangs elongated with his poison. The animal in him took over as instincts drove him onwards with an intensity that he never knew he possessed. He was glad that Kagome could not see him now.
When his climax hit, crashing into him like the thunder, his head descended and tore into her neck savagely, the rush of viscous blood filled his mouth immediately.
Kagome screamed, struggling with the horrible pain. She thought that she would die as his energies ran throughout her body, clinging to every cell and nerve endings that she had. She clawed at his face but he wouldn't relent, the pain was far worse than she remembered.
He tightened his grip on her body, lifted her a little so that she was leaning on him. It wasn't over yet, he had to force more of his power into her body and she had to submit to his will.
Her screams pierced the daytime and his ears; he ignored the irritation and let his youki rise, forcing his will and power into her being. Her reiki, the source of her priestess abilities did not perceive him as a threat, and the warmth of her energies rose up, swirling and cascading with his own.
Her light colors brushed up against his dark ones, they mixed and blended into one solid color of the brightest blue, until at rest it penetrated their very souls. A place it would reside until they both grew cold.
The manifestation of their joining burned brightest at the center of his bite; she squirmed and turned her head into his direction. He looked on in fascination as the image of the crescent moon that adorned his forehead literally burned into her skin as it re-appeared.
The pain ebbed away and Sesshomaru remained hard inside her. Her eyes streamed still and she could taste salt on her lips. One jab of his hips ignited the passion into flames, she tingled all over and the nerves in her womanhood and belly quivered with desire for him. He was willing and ready for the next round.
They spent the next day basking around as they were caught up into each other; they made love ceaselessly, never leaving each other's side. Their union this trip was more profound, intense, and Kagome could feel every nuance of her mate's heart and soul.
They lay entwined, hot and spent for long moments, floating in the erotic world of release. At long last Sesshomaru eased his weight off her and looked deeply into her eyes.
"The trial of the princess will begin in exactly one month and I would appreciate the gesture if you would consider attending. I care not for the hiding anymore; it is time for all to see that you are this one's true mate, and that you are a truly powerful being."
She lies still in the afterglow of their lovemaking, her body tired and susceptible, so it took a moment for Sesshomaru's request to sink in. If she had learned anything about him from their time together, she knew that he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Whatever he had on his mind was something that he would have given a great deal of thought, and he wasn't going to let it go quietly. For a moment she lay there and stared up into the wooden roof, and then she smiled and kissed his lips.
"I will come, send Shippo for me when it is time."
Sesshomaru crossed his hands behind his head as he rested himself down to lie flat on his back. "I will send him for you when the time draws nigh," he said evenly and smiled.
She nodded, too tired to speak and a little scared as the past was on a collision course with the future. She sighed softly, the past she would face regardless of the apprehension.
He left her that afternoon while she'd slept; there was something that he needed to do urgently. High above the ground he flew encased in a ball of light. When he stopped he was standing in front of a cave, sealed off with ice.
He hesitated a moment, then reached for Bakusaiga. With his hand on the hilt he cut through the air sending a blast of destructive force into the barrier, the ice imploded shattering into miniscule particles.
Steam permeated the air as heat and cold collided, when the smoke cleared he entered the cave. The smell of decay and mould assaulted his nostrils, his nose twitched but he carried on until he came to the back of the cavern.
The area was almost the same as he had left it almost three years ago he observed. On the slab lay the bodies of the three dragon children; however one was still very much alive. The small dead bodies to the right and left of the living one had deteriorated badly leaving only dried bones behind.
The day that he had wounded the child flooded his mind as he looked on the boy's motionless but still intact form. He remembered the incident clearly as if it was happening right here and now. The young ryu had begged him to spare his life as he'd knelt at his feet, while Tora watched from afar.
At the time he was of two minds because of obvious reasons, but still he wasn't an unconscionable murderer. He had lifted the child up by the front of his yukata and had brought him close to his face.
Like him the boy was very powerful and they could communicate with the mind without actually speaking out loud. The child had cried piteously, begging for his life, and he had agreed as long as the boy swore an oath of allegiance to him.
The agreement was made, the child acutely aware that he was the last of his kind. Sesshomaru had asked him to trust him and to keep silent before he'd pushed his hand through his chest. He had purposely missed his heart, but had left his poison in his body to prevent him from healing completely.
It seemed to him like only a moment had passed yet it had been years. He took a shallow breath and withdrew Tensaiga from his waist, pointed the tip at the boy's heart and with a touch of his mind the sword did his bidding. The sword's healing energies coiled around the blade, spreading before exploding in a wash of light.
The young dragon gasped as his light returned, his eyes flew wide opened but closed again because of the radiant sunlight. He tried to sit up, not yet aware that he wasn't alone. He was weak and his limbs unused for too long felt numb like it did not belong to him. His body would not obey him.
He was falling, he closed his eyes waiting for the pain, but it never came as strong hands caught him before the impact. Weary silver eyes met brilliant gold ones, and in that instant all the pieces of his mind welded.
He tried to speak but the words would not come, but his tears flowed. He cried as he remembered the past and his family, he could have died with them, but when the moment came he had wanted to live.
He sobbed onto the arm of his savior and showed his weakness and gratitude, regardless of that Sesshomaru did not turn away or shun him; instead he patted him on the head and said.
"It is time we depart."
He nodded and the lord let him go. He tried to stand but his best efforts were futile, his limbs were underused and lacked vitality. Sesshomaru sat and waited while the child ambled around trying to get a feel for his limbs again.
Half the day had passed before he was able to walk at a pace to keep up with him. And he couldn't fly either; he needed to eat to regain his strength.
"Wait here," Sesshomaru instructed the child before he sped off.
A short time later he returned to see the boy leaning on a tree. "Follow me," he said and turned away before the ryu could respond.
Lithe footsteps were heard as the child trailed behind him between narrow pathways surrounded by great boulders. He led the boy to a fresh kill of a wild pig. His belly rumbled as he approached the meal.
The weeks passed quickly as the day of the trial drew nearer. The new addition to his family, the young dragon adjusted quickly as his children had taken an instant liking to him. As of yet he had not spoken his name, he needed more time to heal.
He was a beautiful child with killer instincts, Sesshomaru observed, but something Kagome had said to him before had helped to surrender the thought of killing the boy, on the day that he should have ended his life.
She had stated that with love, patience and good family values even the worse human could be rehabilitated. He had gambled; would the same notion go for a demon? In any event, he did not really want to slay the child. And if the child could be saved from his nature, then his mate would be the perfect one to do it.
Two weeks later:
All the individuals involved in the trial were seated downstairs in the assembly hall, and that included princess Maemi and her followers, the emperor and his advisors, all members of the council were in attendance, and only Kagome was left to arrive.
Immense relief washed over him, and he smiled exhilarated at having outwitted his enemies who reminded him of insects, irrelevant, numerous and annoying.
Though it wasn't without regret and loss, countless self evaluation, endless days and restless nights that he'd swallowed the bitter circumstances of his decisions painfully, as his enemy's plans swelled, burgeoning at the seams while he was being eaten to his very soul with sorrow.
Regardless, of the unsavory after taste of those choices, he had endured knowing that given time and strength of conviction they as a family could overcome those challenges.
In spite of the difficulties that had stood before them as a unit, they needed to overcome them together. Those obstacles served a greater purpose, it was necessary pain so as to bond more closely, value the institution of love, friendship, trust and loyalty with a passion that could transcend time. In hindsight it was a lesson that he needed to learn.
The war was almost over, one more threshold to cross and then he could rest. It hadn't been easy, truth be told it was hard and at times he had even questioned his own actions as doubt ran to the core of his beliefs, when people that he had sworn to protect ended up in less than favorable circumstances.
He felt much at ease now, and at the same time anger began to rise anew. He was someone who valued his freedom but the shackles of the treaty still weighed him down, while discontent cut him to the center of his being as he thought on the few impediments left standing in his way.
He couldn't fathom how he was to endure over three more decades waiting on the human emperor to die, so that he could rid of his wife forever while accessing the tools to make the changes necessary for his species survival and to do it justly.
He sighed deeply with the conjecture and left the balcony, walked through the sitting room and pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. Reflexively he sorted through documents outlining the charges against his wife and relatives. He scribbled two more lines and then set the brush aside.
He frowned; something had to be done to correct that further hindrance he mulled over, because treasuring his dignity was of great importance to him, without that notable element an individual was without worth.
Still, the dissatisfaction of the treaty was burdensome and unjust. He hissed angrily as duplicity slithered into his thoughts, sweeping his mind and conscience into dangerous territory. To tread such a path would end all his troubles, setting his life back on the course that it was meant to travel all along.
He could kill the emperor to suit his own purposes:
It was a very perceptive idea, as after all the contract simply stated that if the man died without fostering any offspring's of his own, then he could not will the empire's succession to any other male relatives. He would be bound by the law to honor the agreement, passing the throne to his sister instead.
It was a justifiable solution, the emperor's early demise, because nowhere was it written that the human had to live out his prime and then pass into old age before the contract would become certifiable. Whether or not he died now or thirty years from now, the contract would remain legally binding.
With the exception that if he died sooner than later, he would be able to achieve success more quickly, thus denying a future where the holy wars would no doubt begin, inciting drastic actions such as death to be implemented to thwart an unfavorable outcome. He smirked with the cruel notion…No it wasn't cruel, it was life and the way of survival.
The human allies had proven to be untrustworthy and would strike him in the back in an instant if he were to lapse into over-confidence.
To let the emperor live a long life would be tempting fate, because as the years faded and he fostered not a single heir he would come to recognize the truth, and would no doubt try to swindle himself out of the deal.
Such an outcome was not one that he was prepared to let happen, to let an injustice like that slide into his path would be counter-productive and foolish. He hadn't endured the hardships and indignities to let it end in such a reprehensible way.
Going to war and battling to the very end would be what he would choose, rather than being a lap dog for the humans. He hissed with the vexing thoughts, but smiled cunningly as it became more apparent which direction his mind and actions leaned towards.
With the emperor's early demise he could move history along, one future had already played out in Kagome's time; however, it was being undone because the events that took place now had not occurred before. And as the guardian of his race seeing them survive to a new future was the reasons for all his sacrifices and internal debate.
He would peruse the subject within the confines of his mind some more at a later time he decided, but for now he needed to join the others down stairs in the assembly hall for the trial of his wayward wife.
He chuckled by the thought, the woman had never been a real wife to him, for that to be true he would have had to want her for a wife in the first place.