Atsushi was in the garden when a servant went running by. The poor woman looked completely frantic, so the demon decided to offer his assistance.

"Excuse me, ma'am. What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's InuTaisho, the Master's son. He's disappeared again! If Lord Masahiko discovers I've lost his son, he'll be furious!" she replied, nearly in tears.

"Why don't you let me help you look?" Atsushi offered. In his three weeks at the palace, he had barely met anyone. He didn't share meals with everyone else, he wasn't allowed to go to the training halls or the stables. Basically, he was halfway quarantined. Probably because Masahiko is worried about me going crazy and hurting someone, he thought. But if I go crazy, it will be because of this isolation! She nodded, eyeing him warily.

"Just please…don't hurt him." The war demon sighed heavily.

"I have no intention of hurting anyone," he assured her. Then, he walked off to search for InuTaisho. About twenty minutes later, a young boy came sprinting around a corner and smacked right into him. Atsushi reeled back. "Whoa! Are you okay kid?" he asked. Then he got a good look at him. Silver hair, gold eyes – that's probably Masahiko's kid.

"I'm okay, just don't tell anyone you saw me," the pup replied. He made to run past Atsushi, but the older demon caught him and hoisted him up by the back of his shirt.

"You don't happen to be InuTaisho, do you?"

"Prince InuTaisho of the West and South, Heir to the Great Dog Demon!" the silver-haired boy replied. Atsushi fought down a laugh. The pup couldn't have been older than ten years old.

"Is that so?" Atsushi asked in mock seriousness, setting the boy down. "Then, your majesty, my most humble apologies." He bowed low. The boy blinked.

"You…didn't know?"

"I had suspicions, because you look a lot like your father – same cheek-markings and all – but no, I didn't really know." InuTaisho frowned curiously. "I hear your running away from your nursemaid."

"Well, I was bored, and she wants to make me study even more! I've already studied for three hours, today," the boy explained. Atsushi nodded understandingly. "Who are you, by the way? Are you a servant?"

"Not exactly. My name's Atsushi. I…I can't tell if I'm a guest or a prisoner, actually."

"Why would you be a prisoner?"

"I killed this other demon, apparently, and now your father doesn't trust me not to go berserk and kill someone."

"Why'd you kill the other demon?"

"I…I don't remember. It's a little complicated."

"You don't seem crazy to me."

"I know, but I understand why he's doing this." The Inu pup's head turned as he heard the voice of the maid calling him.

"Shh!" he whispered. Then he ran off down the hall. The maid came hurrying up the hall, looking around.

"Have you found him, yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. You check down that way, and I'll check this way," Atsushi replied, heading away after InuTaisho. "But don't worry so much. I'm sure he's a smart kid that can handle himself." It took him another forty minutes to find the pup again. He was hiding in the cellar, crouched behind a barrel.

"How did you find me?" he whispered.

"It's just me down here, you don't have to whisper," Atsushi chuckled, sitting down next to him. "And I found you by looking. Come on. You're really scaring your maid. She's at her wit's end."

"Why? It's not like the palace isn't safe or anything."

"She thinks your father will get mad at her."

"Everyone's scared of my dad. I can't do anything without the servants all telling me to stop because my dad will get mad at them. I mean, they hardly let me run or play or…or anything!" InuTaisho sighed and stood, stretching. "I mean, is my dad really that bad?"

"I don't think so. I think he'd understand. In fact, I bet he wants you to be able to do those things. But when someone has a title and position like your father does, people stop acting rationally around them." Atsushi also stood. "I'll race you out to the garden." The boy's face lit up and his mouth pulled into a huge grin.

"Really? One, two, three, go!" He scampered off, Atsushi following, keeping just a half-step behind the little pup the entire way. They pounded up the stairs, sprinted through the halls, and burst out into the garden, where their game of chase evolved into an all-out wrestling match. (A/N: I know that they just met, so maybe Taisho wouldn't trust him so easily, but I do a lot of babysitting, and there are kids that take like…3 minutes to get to know you and are then your best friend, so…I guess Taisho's one of those kids.)

"What are you doing?!" a shriek interrupted their playing. Atsushi was on his back with InuTaisho sitting on his chest. Both demons looked up at the maid.

"Well, we're playing. He's a kid," Atsushi replied. "He's supposed to get in several hours of playing and exercise a day."

"You're wrestling with Lord Masahiko's son?! You?! A mere peasant? And a war demon at that?!" the maid cried.

"Aya-san, it's fine," InuTaisho tried to explain.

"No! No it is not!" his servant cut him off. "That man is not safe! He could hurt you! Come here immediately!"

"He's not doing anything bad, Aya-san! He's nice! We're just playing a little. All I do is study! It's boring!"

"What's going on?" a stern voice caused everyone to freeze. InuTaisho clambered off of Atsushi and stood, his head bowed as his father approached.

"InuTaisho and I were playing," the war demon supplied, standing, his jaw set defiantly. "The kid had run away from his maid because he'd already studied three hours today, and she wanted him to study more. I just thought he could use a little exercise and relaxation." Masahiko glided forward until he was right in front of Atsushi.

"My Lord," Aya-san whimpered. "I am so sorry! Your son ran off and I lost track of him and then I found him wrestling with this…this peasant, and-!"

"Enough," Masahiko cut her off. "It's fine. Atsushi, please oversee my son's upbringing in my absence, from here on out."

"What?" both Aya-san and Atsushi gasped.

"He has tutors to teach him his lessons, and he has the books he needs, you just need to make sure he gets a good balance of study, exercise, and relaxation."

"Sir, as honored as I am," Atsushi objected. "I have no idea how to-!"

"I wasn't asking," Masahiko cut in. "Thank you for your hard work." Then, the demon lord turned, and strode away. Aya-san stared at them, shocked. Then, with a huff, she turned and ran off after her lord, trying to convince him to change his mind.

Later that night, once InuTaisho was in bed, Atsushi found the prince's father. Masahiko was in the garden, staring into the koi pond. He made no movement or sound to register that Atsushi has approached.

"My Lord?" Atsushi whispered.

"You want to know why I assigned you to be my son's caretaker?" Masahiko asked. "Well, firstly, you've been here three weeks and not tried to hurt anyone – clearly you're not violent by nature. In fact, you've shown no signs of violence at all, physical, verbal, or otherwise. Secondly, you are the second person I've met who is able to treat my son normally despite the fact that I'm his father – the first being Takeo, and he already has a job. This is by no means a permanent position. Rather, I'm just trying something new and seeing if it works better than everything else I've tried."

"Right, but I know nothing about raising kids."

"You only have to do a limited amount of raising. I handle all the disciplining – you just have to report incidents to me. You have to see to it that he eats well and studies at least a few hours a day and gets a good amount of exercise and starting on his birthday in a few weeks, you'll see to it that he gets to his training on time."

"Training?"

"Combat training. Playing can teach him the raw nature of combat, even teach him a little about how to handle himself in a fight, but it will not offer him advanced combat skills."

"Right, of course." Masahiko turned to him with a smile.

"Besides, Takeo really likes you, and he's rarely wrong about people. He has great instincts."

"What's up with you and Takeo?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you don't treat him like you do everyone else. Not only does he go with you whenever you leave, but also you're just…nicer to him than the other servants. You trust him more and you're more forgiving."

"I killed Takeo's parents when he was just an infant. It was something…something stupid. Anyways, I vowed to take him in. I raised him as my own as best I could, let him have whatever position he wanted in the palace, and it just so happened he made a wonderful healer – and he never wanted to be a fighter, and I wouldn't have him be just a servant. When he turned fifteen, I told him about his parents, and he forgave me and moved on. I guess that's earned him something special."

"I see."

"Please, do your best with my son."

"Yes, sir. Goodnight."

Aww, cute little-kid InuTaisho. Love that puppy! :) R&R please! :)