By the time the little pretend bride-to-be was announced into his personal chambers, Lord Sesshōmaru had already been dressed in his usual formal robes of red and white silk.
The flower honeycomb pattern at his collar, little Kagome noted, contrasted very beautifully against the alabaster color of his skin, and it was all she could look at.
Suddenly feeling rather bashful, she then attempted to ignore the burning in her cheeks in favor of lowering her gaze to the meticulously woven cone matting of the tatami floor under her feet.
Out of all the years she has known him—Kagome worried her lip as she pondered—had Lord Sesshōmaru always been so elegant and his face so handsome?
Surely, this could't be the first time she had noticed?
And while all of the other attendants in her entourage bowed to the lord respectfully in greeting, it was the small girl in all white—the guest of honor—who did nothing but stand frozen in place.
Lifting herself from her own kowtow, once she had been granted ease, Momo frowned at her charge's unusual bashfulness and gently cleared her throat.
"Go on", she mouthed rather pointedly, when the child only looked at her bewildered.
The servant woman bit back a sigh—'wasn't this your doing in the first place?'
Across the room however, the mighty dog demon lord, causally resting by the meticulously prepared ceremonial altar only a few meters away, merely smirked at such a vulnerable and rare show of coyness.
Then making a point of laying back on his silk seat pillow, he slowly rested his head against the palm of his right hand, and with a soft chuckle coaxed the small girl forward with his other.
"Kagome", his deep voice drawled as he urged her to stand right before him with a lazy curl of his finger, "come to me".
Though all that this accomplished, was make his youngest ward visibly pale.
"What is it?", Lord Sesshōmaru tutted with a teasing lilt, now gesturing around himself and to the abundance of beauty at his surroundings,"not satisfied?"
A rather mean thing to say when it was clear, even to the child, that no effort had been spared in making the whole room look just like a true wedding chamber.
"I have followed through with my side of the bargain", the demon added, reminding her of the promise she herself had extracted from him, what now seemed so long ago, "now, you must be gracious in honoring it."
Without even realizing she had done it, Kagome shook her head no in response, suddenly so nervous her lungs stung from lack of breathing.
Deep within the confines of her guarded mind, somewhere between the front and back of her head, the child just knew that all this had to be a fever dream.
—A fantasy come to life, surely, but one that swelled and grew until it was gargantuan enough to devour her in one single bite.
When she had first thought up the wedding game, she had only ever pictured her own role in it—having coveted the glamour and acclaim she imagined only a bride could feel.
She had so admired Lady Shio and Lady Sugi when they married, and had especially idolized Lady Ai, who's loveliness was outshone only by her unparalleled grace, and the beauty of the abundant river of love tears flowing from her eyes.
In truth, It was all that had imprinted on Kagome, that day she and Momo woke early just to stand by the crowded gates, waving goodbye and shouting well wishes even long after this particular bride had been carried away in her elegant red palanquin.
At the memory of that, a small, yet very serious looking crease formed in the little girls brow.
—Now that she recalled it, however, not once had she seen lady Ai's groom—nor had cared for it.
Kagome knew, of course, that he had to have been part of the ceremony—for how could there possibly be a bride without a man to marry her?
And she had—of course—known all this time that in order to complete all the pieces for this long coveted game of hers, she technically needed a groom of her own.
And yet, now that she had somehow—though clearly and undoubtedly—succeeded, this little make-believe wedding seemed almost much too real to bear.
But, why did it stifle her so?
Briefly lifting her gaze from the ground, Kagome took a few tentative steps forward, and from the corner of her eye spied the dowry table.
Gone was the paper money all the servants had slaved away to make for her all summer, and instead, in its place were large stacks of actual mon coins and other valuable treasures.
Besides it, was a second table with what must have been her bride price—and behind that stood a small legion of servants holding heavy copper trays full of real Chinese gold ingots.
A small, yet troubling, and quite heavy feeling sunk low in her tummy just at the sight of such unprecedented extravagance.
—Even lady Sugi's wedding chamber, she noted—rather troubled—had not been so enviable.
This was only supposed to be a play-pretend game—the thought irked her—yet it was plain as day that no expense had been overlooked and no detail was left out.
When truly, all that little Kagome had only ever wanted was to dress up and feel like a grown up lady.
One worthy enough to be called a bride.
—Like the beautiful woman in the mirror.
What even came before and after the procession? The poor child hadn't the faintest clue.
In fact, she hadn't seen Lady Ai in months since she was married off, nor lady Shio.
They were, it appeared, in something called a confinement.
And all Kagome understood about that, was that it only happened to married women.
So naturally, a great deal of worries sped past in her mind, each one more concerning than the last.
For how long exactly, she wondered, did Lord Sesshōmaru even intend to play?
—and was she too expected to go into this…confinement?
Would Momo be granted permission to join her?
Kagome certainly hoped so!
The word confinement, itself, sounded so unappealing to the ear—somewhat harsh, with equal parts lonely, and equal parts bleak.
The wary ten year old was at least this much certain that she would not want any part of that if it could be helped.
She even shook her little round head no once more, poignantly—for good measure—the frilly tassels in her hair protesting angrily.
Just then, a gentle push on her bottom nudged her forward, cutting off her reverie.
The little girl immediately looked over her shoulder to send an unamused glare at her attendant, before she was forced to turn back and face her lord once again.
He looked even less amused than she.
"Come", he ordered one last time, that slight hint of playfulness from before, it seemed, now almost entirely gone.
Real groom or not, she assumed, even he had his pride to keep.
Swallowing her nerves, Kagome nodded at last.
It was her game, she whispered it under her breath as she took a tentative step forward, then another, quietly reminding herself—and she had wanted to play it.
Closing her eyes as if suddenly too shy to look at him, the child reached out to Sesshōmaru who awaited her, and she did not dare open them again until the warm and small tips of her fingers touched the cold palm of his extended hand.
Even colder eyes met her gaze, a strange contrast to the molten color of his yellow irises—and yet they did not fail in taking her breath away.
It was no effort at all to kowtow at such bloom and beauty, and Kagome found herself doing so most readily without his prompting.
She almost gasped out loud when he deemed to do the same to her.
Husbands and their wives, she was told, were equals in their own right—to a certain extent.
And when one honored the other, the action must be reciprocated, lest a couple did not wish to maintain harmony or respect.
At least the old, ancient looking matchmaker said so—mostly at her—after joining them, before proceeding to bind the long red ribbon Kagome had played with only so long ago around both their wrists.
To tie their fates together—she had explained.
Feeling her movements severely restricted, Kagome couldn't help but wiggle her fingers in the hopes of distracting from the fact the her guardian was still much too close, and would remain so for some time yet.
Lord Sesshōmaru for his part, only preoccupied himself with observing her.
The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur, and thanks to the demon lord's thoroughness, his ward was able to learn for herself, first hand, all that entailed in uniting a couple as one.
At least, as far as a little girl her age was concerned.
At one point even her giddiness had returned, when Jakken had squawked and his large toad eyes bulged to see his lord lower himself to bow at the fabricated alter of her parent's memorial tablets, before proceeding to light their incense.
And once again, completely unable to help it, little Kagome found herself wondering if one day her real husband would elect to do the same.
Would anyone else bother to care for any of her fallen human ancestors, when even she could not recall half their names?
The tiniest little pang in her chest aching for memories long gone, however, was just as easily forgotten once it was her own turn to worship those who came before her mighty demon lord.
And then, just when the game had become light and all that the child had ever hoped it would be, a dark cloud descended the room, once sister Kagura had been called forth.
She had arrived shortly after Lord Sesshōmaru had sent for her, baring the prettiest smile on her ruby red lips, even if it did not quite reach her dulled crimson eyes.
She too was dressed in beautiful formal robes, though hers were colorful and bright.
And though Kagome had seen very little of her as of late, she was surprised to find the older girl just as put together as she remembered her.
It wasn't too long ago, after all, since the child had last spied her wallowing form through the dust ridden curtains of her bedroom window.
"My lord", Kagura spoke as soon she had entered, pushing past her own attendant in favor of falling to her knees low and gracefully before her master, "have you been well?"
Kagome observed the action with a bewildered look on her small face.
—was this the same woman who had cried, berated, and screeched, after throwing a tea cup?
Lord Sesshōmaru nodded in response, satisfied, "no need to stand on ceremony", he waved the overtly grand gesture of her kowtow away, "come, show your respects to the bride."
His older ward's smile morphed into a genuine grin at that.
"I have warmed and brought the saké just as you have asked", she replied, then looking about her, frowned, "when will she and her groom arrive?"
Lord Sesshōmaru's next smile was like all his others: thin and with little emotion.
"As you can see for yourself, we are already here", he drawled, making a point of reaching down beside him to pat Kagome's head.
The ruby colored silk tied to his pale wrist, as if on propose, glimmered almost tantalizingly under the soft sprinkling of the warm candlelight.
The action, though not foreign since the child's arrival at the stronghold—paired along with the unexpected glow of red—made the older girl blanche to watch it.
Gradually, Kagura's own smile faltered.
"…W-What?", she stuttered, practically tripping over the sound of her own disbelief.
Her shock was just as poignant as the startling tone of the hurt presiding in her voice.
And somehow, Kagome felt it had pierced right through her very own chest.
"It's a wedding game!", she replied, feeling the need to explain herself, though she knew she shouldn't have to, "has older sister come to watch?"
"What?!"
Kagura's servant, Ishiko—one of, if not her last remaining—immediately attempted to steady the heavy tray of stacked wine cups balancing on her hands as she flinched, though the fine ceramic still clacked and clinked nonetheless.
Unable to stomach the scene before her any longer, she then slowly lowered her gaze—her heavy heart going out to her mistress.
How happy O'Kagura-hime had been, when after so many months of cruel silence, she had woken to find that a letter from Lord Sesshōmaru had made its way to her mail plate just that morning.
The wind witch had been completely overjoyed and emotional at the prospect of rekindling her keeper's interest—even going as far as to send her little maid off to the storage rooms in order to find a suitable pair of robes to wear to commemorate her gratefulness.
It had been so long since her mistress had bathed and dressed, and even longer still since she had smiled.
Kagura was suddenly much kinder to her as well, which had only made the little attendant pray for this revitalized change to become the new normal.
And for a moment, both she and her lady truly believe it could be.
Now, however, the look in the wind witch's eyes was even darker and more frightening than the threatening, black, towering waves of her once coastal home town—the ones that imprisoned man and demon alike, and cruelly drowned them into the depths of a watery grave.
The frightened servant could already feel those same currents of that anger growing larger and larger in her mistress—knowing it would surly soon explode and encompass everything within its path, before snatching and tearing her to shreds.
"What kind of a joke is this?", the usual calmness in Kagura's voice grew ragged, her fingers curling into a fist, her long, red dyed nails digging deep into her palm.
"I was told this union was to be honored with the outmost respect and care", she reasoned, almost laughing in anger as the words spilled from her lips.
"—and that this ceremonial wine", she bit out, gesturing to the canister in her other hand, "was to be expurgated of all impurities and blessed by the highest power!"
Kagome winced as the older girl broke her gaze from the demon lord, only for it to fall on her, the contempt in her eyes frightening her to the core.
"Only to find that this is all just part of a little game!", the wind witch shrieked, making the child, who already fully expected her to throw the canister at her feet, recoil.
"All—all for that human brat of yours?"
Lord Sesshōmaru's once complacent smile, just as quickly turned into a sneer.
The threatening consequences from his listlessness was just as palpable as Kagura's outrage.
"If I had known you couldn't control yourself, I would never have called you here", he hissed, not even bothering to lift himself from his seat to humor such a reaction, "pour the wine and go."
The cold tone of his voice, however, made not only Kagura, but her servant balk.
This was heartless and cruel, the young attendant thought, whether or not her poor mistress deserved it.
And deserve it, she did not.
After all, hadn't O'Kagura-hime stayed at his side since she too was a small child? Had she not always done what he asked and expected of her?
Did she not herself forsake a union and ceremony of her own, just to be granted the selfless wish to stand besides her lord and master until her very last breath?
It was beyond cruel!
Her mistress would never be bride—not even a pretend one.
Why must she also be forced to sit still and bear witness to such an obvious and humiliating slight?
"I will not!", Kagura hissed back, recovering her voice and holding back the visible storm in her eyes, "I refuse."
She then boldly searched out wary baby blue orbs and upon finding them peeking through the slit of pure white sleeves, sent them a warning glare, one that challenged their owner to try and defy her by taking a single sip of the ceremonial drink she herself had so foolishly prepared.
'Don't you dare!', the wind witch's frantic crimson ones seemed to convey.
"No?", the dog demon mocked, unfazed to all who observed him, though little Kagome who was nearest, could feel a rumble of something just as dark overtake the look in his own eyes.
"Then you may sit and watch."
Someone gasped.
Just as the sound left her mouth, Kagome watched in awe as several new servants, ones she had previously failed to notice, sprang forward and escorted the older girl none too gently to stand still by the side of the room.
One of them, with a particularly strong set of arms, went as far as to hold her roughly in place, as if wordlessly daring the already much subdued wind witch to look away.
The meager and almost callous care displayed in such a heartless action made the small girl's stomach knot uncomfortably.
Little did the child know, however, that this was just as much a punishment for the older girl as it was a reward for her.
"You", Lord Sesshōmaru demanded, undaunted, snapping his finger at Ishiko, "pour the wine in place of your mistress."
Muffled cries followed suite, and they were so weak, yet so miserable that they too drowned not just Kagome's ears.
Unable to do anything but follow orders, the tortured attendant reluctantly ignored the heavy feel of the wind witch's agonized gaze, and stepping forward, carefully did as she was told.
Two sets of three cups were placed on the altar, all of them filled up to the brim with the rich flavored rice wine her mistress had not only prepared, but warmed herself.
Once her task was done, the servant had no choice but to bow low, before quickly retiring to Kagura's side.
She too attempted to hold the older demoness still, lest she did something they'd both regret— however Kagura, for her part, no longer made any sudden movements.
She merely reached forward to lean on her attendant's arm with a deathlike grip, in an effort to keep her own hands from trembling too terribly.
The innocent child bride, always caught in the middle and now plenty frightened—perhaps sensing and respecting the amounting tension for once—spoke up.
"Lord Sesshōmaru, I'm tired", she protested, forcing a yawn, "cant we continue some other time, or play another game instead?"
Sister Kagura had never been kind to her—she had never welcomed or embraced her—and not once had she smiled at her like she did their lord.
But somehow, and only in this one moment, Kagome so wish she had—and now even still hoped someday she would.
The harsh contempt drowning the older girl's taken aback crimson eyes, however, made no such promise.
Their master too, was just as, if not more, displeased by such a sudden and daring suggestion.
"We are already playing this one.", Lord Sesshōmaru muttered in response, reaching forward pointedly to grasp the first cup, before presenting it to the ten year old.
As expected, despite her little complaint, the bashful Kagome could only avert her gaze, then after a beat, hesitantly accepted his offering.
—Like the good little girl he knew her to be.
The demon lord then wordlessly watched her contemplate the transparent liquid for a brief moment, greatly disliking the mild trepidation blatantly showing in her face.
"You cannot stop until we see it to the end.", he then admonished.
Discontent staining slightly, the pride he had felt only a few days before.
In his eyes, Kagura had amounted to nothing more than a failure, now he must not allow the same for Kagome.
—if nothing else, the demon lord will teach her to surpass every expectation without excuse.
"Drink", he ordered, "until the very last drop is gone."
Little Kagome, in contrast, bit her lip and shivered.
She had never tasted rice wine before, nor had she so blatantly disrespected an order from her older sister.
Yet, now all of a sudden, she was expected to do both.
Too frightened to face the older girl's wrath any time soon, she avoided looking away from the cup for fear of having to confront those defeated crimson colored eyes one last time.
—Naturally of course, Lord Sesshōmaru's command must take precedence, whether they all liked it or not.
Kagome dared not sigh, but she did take a deep breath before her first sip.
The wine was warm and sweet as it slid down her throat, the aftertaste however, burned and left her mouth bitter.
She was encouraged only, as if in a trance, by the contented glow of a hot golden smolder.
"More", It's owner's deep voice goaded.
By the third cup, her tongue felt somewhat swollen, and her head was left spinning, so much so that sister Kagura and her anger seemed like a foggy and distant memory.
A sort of giddiness grew inside her, not like her usual jubilance, but stronger, selfish—wilder.
Kagome was reminded of that woman in her mirror again—only she no longer wanted to wait to grow up anymore—she wanted to be her now.
She no longer cared to be graceful, or beautiful—right now, Kagome wanted to be tall, strong, and just as demanding as the one who screamed and cried whenever things didn't go her way.
She wanted to look straight into Lord Sesshōmaru's strange yellow eyes and tell him he ruined her game and owed her reparations for it.
She didn't like saké, and she didn't like this itchy white cloth wrapped around her body.
She especially hated the red silk string tied to her wrist, and how it restricted her movements.
—It was her wedding game, not his!
Kagome frowned at the smirk in her lord's thin lips, and is visibly outraged when he brings up his own wine cup only to wet them slightly.
"You are supposed to drink it for real!", she complains adamantly, leaning forward to stomp her foot petulantly, to the great amusement of almost everyone in the room.
Though much like Kagura, Momo too is not half as amused.
Lord Sesshōmaru, for his part, finds he quite likes his youngest ward's severe little pout.
She always carried a certain type of ambitious vigor he admired—a rather greedy one—and it never seemed to sate easily.
"Here", he tells her, handing the small cup he has yet to drink over for her to take, much to the child's chagrin and his diversion, "this Sesshōmaru will let his bride do the honors."
Little Kagome huffed, no longer abashed, but did as she was told anyway.
Grasping the cup much more roughly than she had the first time, she lifted herself on her knees in order to scoot closer to the much larger, and taller demon.
"…drink until every last drop is gone…", she drunkenly mumbled, cheekily parroting the words back to him firmly, just as the shallow lip of the cup forcibly pressed against his own.
Impossibly white fanged teeth clanked against the black ceramic teasingly, as if threatening to crack it in two.
"Very well", the demon lord chuckled, quickly capturing Kagome's tinier red stringed wrist within the confines of his palm, effectively halting her momentarily from doing exactly as he had asked of her.
Gently reaching down to finger the blood red colored ribbon he himself had chosen, he allowed his gaze follow the string until it reached the connected end wrapped around his own left writs.
He then searched for and found her inebriated eyes—eyes that promised an allure he had yet to see from demon or human alike.
"But only", he muttered, "if you pledge yourself to me and only me."
. . . . . .
Eventually, as they were want to do, all things must come to an end.
Once all the rice wine had finally been drunk—all the bridal gifts accounted for—and all the loud and obnoxious praises from sniveling courtiers sang up high into the night until the first early signs of morning light bled through the Kicho screens…
Momo was at last allowed to take the sleeping Kagome—whom had long succumbed to her drowsiness sometime in the evening—and hand her over to the careful hold of her devoted manservant, Tōboe.
The demon grimaced as he adjusted the child in his arms, being extra careful not to wake her, even when the dry stench of alcohol permeating off her little body burnt his nose unpleasantly.
Momo frowned in agreement, withering as she too helped adjust her more comfortably, before attempting to loosen the red string on Kagome's wrist.
Pausing briefly only to tut at her charge soothingly when she groaned in protest, the suddenly annoyed attendant stopped the exasperated wolf from slashing through the fabric with one of his sharp claws himself.
With a single pointed look alone, she chastised him for his lack of patience.
"It turns my stomach to see it", the younger man admitted, voice deathly quiet, "even humans don't marry off their children this young."
Momo smiled bitterly in response, extending a lone arm so her fingers ghosted lightly over the ten year old's straight cut fringe, still damp with sweat.
Ever since her arrival to the stronghold, the nursemaid herself had cut it for her with the very same shears her own mother had once so lovingly used when she too was a child.
Always making sure to maintain Kagome's bobbed hair in pristine condition, Momo washed and trimmed it on the last day of the third hour of every week.
She had long prided herself in this one diligence, for never once had her charge suffered unruly, uneven, or knotted strands, no matter how rambunctious she played.
It had also become a bonding ritual for them, of sorts, one that was never to be impeded by fastidious tutors or demanding lords.
—Though always fated to be broken, now that at her tenth spring, the master had requested her hair be let free to grow long and elegant, like her sister's.
The next time it will be trimmed again, the older woman sighed at the though, will have to be at her coming of age ceremony.
An inevitability that admittedly left her nursemaid heartsick.
For such a short lived creature like Kagome, the servant woman knew it was a day sure to come at the mere blink of an eye.
Bittersweet as they were, these few precious years—Momo felt—were passing by much too quickly—so quickly in fact, she feared she might not have a chance to grasp hold of a single one before they all slipped past her fingertips.
Poor little mistress…
Yesterday she was a child playing a bride, what then would become of her in the days after tomorrow?
"Even humans don't marry their own young.", she murmured at last, with a sadness she could not hide.
Then ignoring the meaningful look Tōboe gave her, she instead refocused on untying the cruel farce that was her little Kagome's red string of fate.
Momo knew that look, of course, it was the same he had given her during the height of last night's ridiculous celebration—but right now his misplaced affections could only take up so much of her attention.
There were, after all, far more important things she needed him to focus on at present.
Some several years ago, with Lord Sesshōmaru's permission—naturally—the nursemaid had secured this astute young wolf demon as her mistress's closest guard, and has since trusted him with little Kagome's utmost safety, even in the rare show of her absence.
A severe task not just any servant or guard would dare gamble their life with.
—Not that most of them could ever dream to win Momo's trust in the first place.
Only Tōboe alone, who continuously pledged his everlasting love and devotion for her, had withstood the test of time.
Though he was insufferable in his own special way.
Ignoring the cheeky grin he gave her, the high ranking attendant sent him an unamused glare and gestured at him to keep moving, before they called any more attention to themselves.
But then again, when was she ever so lucky?
The red palanquin in which the child had laid, shifted slightly with their weight, and in doing so roused the slumbering form of the lord who had laid besides her.
The glowering gaze that met them, gave the two wary servants pause, but otherwise the dog demon did not impede their task.
"Set a comfortable place for me", was all he instructed, just as his golden eyes glued shut once again, "this Sesshōmaru will rest in her rooms."
Tōboe nodded somberly, but Momo bristled.
"This servant will see to it at once, my lord, when O'hime-sama is bathed and put to sleep", she responded, nonetheless—forcibly biting down on the ire in her voice for fear he might sense the clear disgust in her tone.
"Lay her to sleep just as she is now", the dog demon ordered instead, waving the notion away, "I want to get a good look at her new robes."
'Haven't you seen enough of them already?', that small, yet brave little voice at the back of the nursemaid's head wished nothing more than to snap in retaliation.
Though of course, she nodded instead.
"As my lord wishes.", Momo muttered, dejected.
Thin lips sneered coldly at that.
"You, nursemaid?", the dog demon added, now awake enough to send an unbothered glance her way—before those cold eyes of his latched on to the young demon at her side.
For a glorified babysitter, he never did like her very much, or her paramour.
"Yes, my lord?"
The stony look in his gaze did not dissipate, though it did harden ever more so at the sight of the other end of the red ribbon left untied at his side.
"If this Sesshōmaru sees so much as a hair out of place, I will give you and that brute of yours the honor of alleviating those useless heads off your necks.", he advised.
"Do I make myself clear?"
The demoness, ashen-faced, nodded, wordlessly gesturing at the wolf demon to take the child away.
"Abundantly, my lord."
Though Lord Sesshōmaru would not bother with them again any time soon, Momo more than understood an obvious warning when it was given.
As powerful and intimidating as he was, this mighty dog demon was also just as territorial as any other flea infested mutt on the street with a newfound bone to covet.
—It was in his nature, after all.
And though her little Kagome had been a shiny new toy for a while now, something else had clearly changed within the span of a few days.
There was a frenzied sort of look to his eyes now—almost unabashedly so.
And at this rate, Momo feared no one would be safe from whatever was brewing underneath it.
"What's eating at him now?",Tōboe questioned, once they had made it to the safety of a large hall three doors down.
"Shh!", the nursemaid hissed, quickly checking behind her before leading them past another sliding door.
"I don't know", she muttered at an even safer distance, reaching forward to take the child back into her own arms, "but perhaps it will be best if I hold the little mistress".
"What for?", Tōboe argued, refusing to relent his hold on the girl, "she's heavier than usual, and you've had a long night…"
Momo sent him a withering look, "don't be stupid", she admonished, rolling her eyes primly when he grinned.
"Aarghh!"
A sudden, shrill, feral screamed ripped through the thin rice paper walls just then, making her jump off her skin before she even had a chance to cradle the child.
"O'Kagura hime-sama, please!", another voice cried frantically, immediately following suit.
"Nghaaah!"
Loud crashing sounds accompanied yet another shriek, the horrible commotion seeming to rattle closer and closer down the next hall.
"It's the wind witch", Momo breathed, practically mouthing the words and almost deathly still, as if fearing the lady would tear through the very next corner at any second.
"…causing trouble again, no doubt…", she bit her lip at the thought.
"Tōboe beside her, swallowed hard.
"Here", he replied, clenching his jaw, "take O'Kagome-hime and run—go hide, or bring her to Lord Sesshōmaru—I will—
"No", the nursemaid argued, and shaking her head, pushed the child back into his much larger and stronger arms, "you take O'hime-sama to rest in her rooms, and have someone prepare for his lordship's arrival—", she instructed instead.
"Those were his orders.", Momo reasoned urgently when the wolf demon simply glared at her in response, just as another scream ripped through the air.
"To hell with his orders!", Tōboe griped, not bothering to hide his outrage, or the volume of it.
"I told you not to be stupid", the orangutan demoness gritted, pulling her arm away from his desperate hold, "do as I say", she hissed, "I will go and see what can be done about her."
"You are going to get yourself killed!", the manservant hissed back, unrelenting.
—Was she really and truly out of her mind?
The older hime's infamous tantrums were well known to be tumultuous at the very best and cataclysmic at worst.
No one—high or no rank, noble or not, friend or foe—were ever safe from them.
How then could she expect him to just let her go and face such destruction on her own?
Kagura's ire not only knew no discrimination, but no bounds, for goodness' sake!
If she wanted your bloody head on a bamboo platter or your intestines cut up and flayed, it would be served so one way or the other, come heaven or hell.
—And not even the great Lord Sesshōmaru bothered to reign her in about it.
As far as he and anyone else was concerned, the wind witch was still his ward and very much under his protection—a task all knew he takes in great strides—which meant even more heads would roll should anyone else dare impede her.
In fact, only but a year ago, it was not she who suffered punishment for her cruel rampage of tearing through the heavily guarded doors of a restricted chamber in the lower rooms, but the legion of attendants who failed to appease her.
That alone had resulted in the removal and execution of fifty-two servants and nine guards—while all their families, three generations deep, were left spared only to suffer banishment.
It was then needless to say, that any and all brave but foolish enough to get involved, knew the risks that might befall them should matters take a sudden, yet dangerous turn for the worse.
And none should know it more than Momo, who was herself tasked with the safekeeping and wellbeing of the one true target of such violent episodic rancor.
Tōboe cursed under his breath, distressed by the predicament.
"Better yet, let us both return", he then suggested, almost pleadingly, "let the others deal with her on their own!"
Momo shook her head, "do you not hear?", she snapped, referencing the fearsome shrieks and howls demanding for the little human.
"It is clearly the child she wants, and she will not be stopped until she has her " she reasoned.
"How can I allow it?"
"Lord Sesshōmaru will not let her harm the girl", the wolf demon huffed, wanting terribly, but refraining, from shaking the woman for her pigheadedness.
—Why couldn't she just see it his way?
"He would sooner have her dead before Kagura even dares—this I believe down to my bones!", he gritted, so inflamed was he.
The little girl in his arms groaned in protest, reaching out to the space above her—still much too tired, it seemed, to open her eyes.
"…too cold…", she whined, half asleep, and was only satisfied when Tōboe pulled her closer to hug his chest.
Distressed, the nursemaid worried her lower lip when Kagome's breathing immediately slowed, checking on her diligently before reaching out to lightly pinch her cheeks.
How long would it take, she wondered, for the already long winding effects of demon wine to leave her human system?
"His lordship is still drunk and mellow off his long night of amusements", she argued pointedly, now resorting to pat the girl's cheek with a little more urgency, "this could be any other tantrum to him, for all he cares."
"Momo-san—
Finally, and just as the demoness had hoped, little Kagome swatted her hand away weakly, the reaction—delayed as it was—making her sigh softly in relief.
"I will not risk her getting to O'Kagome-hime first—you must take her away!"
The manservant huffed yet again, "Momo-san—
"I will be fine", she whispered, meeting Tōboe's anxious eyes one last time.
The wolf demon shook his head in disapproval, though as her subordinate, he eventually had no choice but to comply.
"I'll come find you if you're not back by the time his lordship arrives", he promised.
"I'm fine", the nursemaid repeated, nudging them away, "I only need you to guard her", she gestured at the girl, "she's only a child."
'She's not your child!', his mournful green frown seemed to say, but the orangutan demoness would not hear of it.
'Think of her as if she were', her own larger, much darker orbs wordlessly implored in return.
Another loud crash boomed several feet away, causing an unsuspecting group of oncoming chambermaids to drop the water filled basins in their hands.
With an almost identical array of frightened cries, It only took them all half a second to scatter away, unabashedly abandoning the mess they made in their wake.
"Go!"
With one last sigh, Tōboe nodded stiffly, and after readjusting his hold on Kagome, was forced to turn his back to his beloved—and all for the sake of a little human who would never love her the same way.
Momo, for her part, did not bother to wave them off one last time, she instead gingerly stalked closer to the sound of the commotion, now what seemed only a wall away.
"Calm yourself—you must think of your health!", she heard Kagura's little maid, Ishiko's chilling voice beseech, and without fully planting her feet, let herself be lead by her cries.
Already with an angry set of bloody scratches scattered about her arms and hands, she found the poor, miserable attendant—just in the next room room over—unsuccessfully trying to hold back O'Kagura-hime from snatching and throwing anything within her reach.
Momo gasped at the state of the room, and hiding behind a wall, observed warily how so much had been destroyed, with so little care, in such a short time.
Several feet in, the wind witch snarled, pushing her attendant away yet again, and in one mere swoop, loosened her grip on the priceless large vase clutched in her right hand.
The nursemaid winced, watching helplessly as it tumbled and broke into a thousand sharp little pieces on the floor.
Kagura cackled at the sound it made, almost as if gleeful at the pure malice her carnage had caused.
Though just as quickly her crazed laugh morphed into a sob—her dark, sharp nails trailing up her head slowly to pull at her own hair—clawing and tearing away at the last of the gold pins still clinging to her black, matted crown.
Poor, loyal Ishiko, she could only fret with a desperate plea, reaching forward and begging her mistress to unhand herself.
Feeling sorry for her, Momo rushed in and attempted to help, only to be kicked away by the very servant girl who kept trying to pry the wind witch's hands away from her scalp.
Falling back against a room divider, the nursemaid groaned, slowly propping herself up against the nearest sliding door—an unexpected shock entering her system at what she witnessed.
She then recoiled, her usually strong stomach turning at the large chunks of matted, black strands that came away from Kagura's blood stained claws.
This time she was not moved by Ishiko's distressed cries, when in an attempt to sooth and comfort her mistress, the younger girl was greeted by a vicious slap for all her trouble.
"Don't touch me!", Kagura snarled, her voice as raw as her throat must have felt, "you have no right to touch me!"
"…Y-You're hurting y-yourself…", her servant whimpered, unable, it seemed, to suppress the urge to hold her now aching cheek.
For all of Kagura's recent deterioration, the quick blow had been anything but weak, in fact, the little attendant could already feel the side of her face swelling up and blemishing.
Her lady openly sneered at her for such an unsightly reflex—unbecoming, she felt, for one of such low station.
She lifting her own bruised palm even higher over her head threateningly, the crazed look in her eyes growing far more unhinged.
"Not any more than I will hurt you", she promised.
Her servant had no other choice but to shut her eyes and cower, bracing herself for the impact.
"My lady!", Momo protested before Kagura could strike, unable to stop herself, but inwardly cursing her own stupid, tongue, "H-Have you no mercy?"
"Mercy?", the wind witch cackled, her hand freezing in midair and looking about her as if the cacophony of voices ringing in her ear had somehow lost their minds.
It was then that she finally noticed, for the first time, Kagome's nursemaid's wary, colored drained face staring right back at her from across the room.
She laughed again, just as loud and deranged as before, one lone, bony hand gesturing at her as if taking careful inventory of her next victim.
"Mercy, she said…", Kagura mocked.
—Then now with a sudden chilling calmness, she lowered herself to level her terrifying eyes back at Ishiko—who whimpering miserably—flinched when the tips of the wind witch's cool, thin fingers stroked at the bright, angry bruise already sprouting over her swollen jaw.
"What do I know of mercy?", Lord Sesshōmaru's oldest ward inquired in a whisper.
The jadedness in her voice, the fatigue of it—Momo thought—must have accompanied a great deal of bitterness, a torment that now seemed to permanently swim in her head.
Never once, in all her years of service, had the much older attendant seen such a disturbed and miserable creature.
"…P-Please…", Ishiko supplicated, reaching up to gently pull her mistress' hand away, unable to stop the trembles wrecking through her body—or the deep new lacerations Kagura's talon like nails traced over the injured part of her skin.
"Tell me then…", the beast in noblewoman's clothing crooned, digging her claws in deeper, her once pleasing smile now a terrible phantom of what it ever was.
"…Since your audacity knows no bounds…why should I not tear you limb from limb, here and now?"
"B-because…", her attendant wept in pain, "I-I'm all y-you have l-left—
Another slap greeted the servant, this one so harsh it rammed her to the floor, "—ah!"
"You think—", her mistress gritted, emphasizing each new word with yet another slap, one after the other, her normally feminine voice more like an inhuman growl.
"—that because that little human scum can happily parade around as a bride, I am now someone you can underestimate—someone you can clown?"
"No! Please!"
"Is that it?", Kagura snarled, now pulling her fingers up to tear at the girls own mousy hair with hard clenched teeth, "am I everyone's laughing stock?"
"—No!", the servant girl howled in pain, and though she was clearly scared out of her wits end, was seemingly already more than plenty familiar with these such cruel and violent episodes.
Her own heart beating so rapidly it threatened to jump out of her throat and onto the floor before her, Kagome's nursemaid couldn't help but reach out once again, only this time she attempted to pry Kagura away from her battered attendant.
And though she did indeed feel for the misguided Ishiko, now her actions solely meant to protect only her innocent charge.
Someone—anyone—her mind reeled, had to stop her, before she sets her sights on Kagome again!
"…The little hime is only a child", she reasoned, desperately, "she is not yet a bride! Of course not!—It's all a little game and his lordship only seeks to humor her—
That, however, was also the wrong thing to say.
In one breath, the beast turned on her just as suddenly, her thin body pressing and pinning Momo to the floor with an immense strength, her blazing crimson eyes just as heavy as she surprisingly felt—those thin, cold hands reaching down to encircle around her neck.
"Keep your filthy limbs away from me!", Kagura croaked, pressing with all her might, the pads of her thumbs up against the nursemaid's windpipe.
"Don't you dare touch me with the same hands that touch her!"
While Momo writhed and bucked, attempting to wrest the wind witch's clutches away from her, she coughed and gargled a wet warmth bubbling up her throat.
Even as she struggled under her—close enough to hear every ragged breath—it was not only surreal but quite disturbing to see what was once a beautiful and pampered lady morph more and more into a monster.
Kagura's eyes were by far the most alarming—uncommonly wide and perpetually perturbed, as if they never slept, though Momo knew she did in ample amounts.
The crimson color so dark and dulled now, it more so resembled the chillin look of dried blood.
But worse still, was how they never blinked, only swiveled about as if unable to stay still—as if constantly aware of something breathing down her nape.
Or maybe perhaps—the servant woman shuddered at the thought—it whispered in her ear.
"I'm not jealous—stop telling me I'm jealous!", the younger demoness bemoaned at some point, her breathing growing rabid, her frantic head between a nod and shake, "you're just cruel!"
Momo screamed, one part terrified, three parts disturbed, gritting her teeth and wriggling away what energy remained in the hopes of dislodging her.
"Why?", Kagura suddenly whimpered above her, and though her voice grew somewhat softer, she continued to press even deeper against the other woman's throat—and in that instance of false clarity, she seemed to glare at something that wasn't entirely there.
"Why her? Why here? You snuffed out all the others!", she wailed, gasping as if an invisible force had taken hold of her own throat, squeezing the life out of her so brutally that it forced red, hot tears to ooze out her eyes.
"W-Why do you choose to torment me like this!"
Momo grimaced, shocked, now past more than a little petrified—though always resourceful by nature— took advantage of the the other's somewhat weakened state and using what strength she had left, forcibly bent her knees to try and push the frantic young woman away.
"…O-O'Kagura hime-s-sama!…", she wheezed, blindly feeling for and grabbing enough perch to knee her directly in the side, "…You are—s-seeing things….y-you must—c-calm down..!"
The blow, however weak it was, seemed to do the trick, at least long enough for the hysterical wind witch to gather back whatever senses remained of her mangled nerves.
Jolting slightly from the impact, as if breaking from a trance, Kagura growled in outrage when she blinked a few times, only to find Kagome's most favored attendant writhing bellow her.
Gnashing her teeth, she proceeded to lift the back of her hand—releasing it momentarily from the woman's neck—and swiftly smacked her across the temple with all her strength.
"I will be calm", she hissed, "only once that little human parasite is disposed of!"
Feeling her vision dim significantly, Momo attempted to squint away the black dots obstructing her view before Kagura could throw her aside in favor of hunting down her desired pray.
"N-no…", she begged, choking on a desperate gulp of air, "…p-please…"
"No?", the wind witch tittered, her unstable mood swings shifting again, though at least now her mind seemed to be more at present, "if you were me now—you stupid ape—you'd gladly put her out of her misery too!"
"W-What—has that—c-child—e-ever done—to y-you?", the servant demanded through her coughs, panting even as she hacked up clots of blood.
Still determined to stall, it seemed—despite struggling to breath through the heavy stench of copper seeping through her nose.
Far away, somewhere above her, however, Kagome's attendant could just barely make out the echoes of what sounded like the frantic shouts of several others calling for help.
Her heart skipped a beat—Tōboe, it seemed—had sent for her after all.
Kagura, for her part, laughed, so loud and so deeply it might as well have been a wail.
Her fingers, they too had loosened, but only slightly.
"What a thing to ask?", she murmured, suddenly dropping her head to gently trace her dry, bruised lips against the squirming nursemaids ear.
"Can't you see?", she cooed almost sweetly, before once again tightening her deathlike grip against the swell of an artery, "How she has taken everything from me!"
Then immediately, an agonizing pain like no other she had ever felt, pierced through every inch of the nursemaid's throat.
—A throbbing, shooting, blazing pain.
It welled like a river, seeping up her jaw and down to her collarbone—stinging fiercely at her lungs and soaking her chest.
Her choked up, gargling scream only making it worse.
And as a merciful blackness seeped into the outskirts of her vision, every and all other thought left her—except for the one where she wished she were dead.
Then just as numbly, somewhere deep within an all encompassing void, the very last thing she heard, was the evaporating traces of a childlike giggle calling her home.
….
.
.
Blinking open impossibly heavy lids, red coated her vision, then blinding white, and Momo gasped in pain at the phantom feel of a crushing weight no longer trapping her body.
"Do not sit up—rest", a familiar voice instructed, tone grave, "half your neck has been ripped open."
'Never mind that!', her mind reeled, despite the exhaustion.
"…W-here..", she croaked, throat so inflamed every word stung, "…is K-Kagome..?"
"Shh!", Tōboe warned, pressing his large hand over the tightly wrapped gash on her still oozing neck, "don't talk!"
As expected, it did little to impede her.
"…O-O'H-hime s-sama…?"
"Still sound asleep", the wolf demon grunted with a sigh, now forcing her lips closed with his other palm and sending her a chastising glower, "resting besides her lord."
What must have been a wave of relief wrecked through Momo's body.
Mercifully, Tōboe omits to tell her of his lordships displeasure.
"O'Kagura hime-sama has been locked away in her rooms", he then adds, before she could struggle opening her mouth to ask, "left there to her own devises, I assume, free to torment whatever remains of her empty walls."
A deep frown mars Momo's brow, unable was she, to comprehend why such a dangerous and disturbed creature had been allowed so much breadth in the first place.
"They say she yelled as she was dragged across the castle, that she would make a meal out of her yet", the demon besides her chuckled dryly as he spoke, "just for the chance to spit out her carcass at his feet."
The tremble that wrecked through the nursemaid's body at that, had very little to do with the tenderness in her throat, or the slight sting from the fresh blood dripping out her nose.
O'Kagura-hime was out of her mind, she reasoned, there was no other way around it.
"In reward for such blatant passion", Tōbeo sneered, just as afflicted as her, "Lord Sesshōmaru has bestowed upon her a necklace of bones."
Another tremble crawled up Momo's spine, and this time gooseflesh coated her arms.
"W-why?", she wheezed.
"In place of her supper", the other responded with a shrug, "he wants her ravenous, he said, to see just how she will dare."
Despite the foggy memory of it, Kagura's own words echo back at her suddenly, starkly— "..would it not be better…", she muttered, "…to simply f-free her of her misery..?"
Tōboe looks at her strangely at that, "what misery is there to be had?", he scoffs.
Though, she supposes, one can't expect otherwise from someone who themself had to grow from the very sludge of the streets, alone, cold, and starved.
Momo shrugged, unsure herself how to answer, and closing her eyes, prefers to listen instead, when he yet again urges her to sleep her aches away.
Many hours later, she still feels her demonic body working hard to heal her injuries.
Well, after all, the wounds would require much energy and rest before they could fully recover—and for what it seemed, that would not be any time soon.
Momo however, does not take pleasure in sleeping for sleep's sake—she never has.
But more importantly, duty calls, and she cannot justify ignoring her post for much longer.
Little Kagome, she knew, would sooner or later grow wary and come find her.
The very last thing she wanted, was for that stubborn child to search her out unattended.
After all, such prudent nursemaid did not trust the validity of Kagura's house arrest any more than she would a starved, injured fox sleeping near a chicken coop.
As Momo slowly pulled herself up, however, she noticed a brooding form nearby, watching her from a distance.
Lifting her brows in surprise, she swallows with a little difficulty.
—it is Ishiko.
Whom somehow looks even more broken than her own glare.
Caught at last, the servant girl pointedly averted her gaze, gritting her teeth, and instead busied herself with attempting to reach for the canister of water near the tray at her side.
Her bruised arms tremble even as she pours herself a cup, and loosing her balance, dropped the heavy copper with a loud splashing thud.
Out of sympathy, Momo went to her immediately, dragging her aching knees across the hard wooden floor to try and help steady her.
But just as she had before, the girl once again pushed her away.
"Don't mock me", Ishiko spat with pure venom, using her free hand to lift her own self up, even if she did stumble painfully a few times.
Somehow she seemed even worse for wear than Momo did—and yet the plain hatred radiating from her dark brown eyes was directed solely at the nursemaid.
"I'm not mocking you", the older demoness sighed, "I am worried for your wellbeing."
And though the other scoffed in derision, she still forged on to say her piece.
"You are so very young still", the more seasoned attendant reasoned, meeting her hard gaze, "and with your talent, you do not need to serve such a cruel master."
The little servant girl laughed, and for a moment, Momo was dismayed to find that she almost sounded just like her mistress.
As expected, she ignored the well meaning concern behind the older woman's words, unable—or refusing—to hear them.
"This is all that little human brat's fault, you know", Ishiko's cold, raspy voice warned her in exchange, as if to remind her.
"…And the sooner she's dead, the sooner we are all better off for it."
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A/N:Thanks for reading! And as always, I'd love to hear your thought!