Warnings: male slash, yaoi, lemons, some violence, cursing, minor character bashing (Kagome)... Okay, more than just minor Kagome bashing ^^
Author's note: This chapter has not been beta-read. I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in there.
Author's note the 2nd : I am looking for a new beta, since my old one doesn't have the time to read trough my chapters anymore. If anyone's interested, write me a PM.
Disclaimer: don't own anything T.T
"Talking"
"Demon talking"
'Thinking'
'Inner demon'
Dreams/flashbacks
Chapter 13: Unwelcome visitors
"That is not our only problem." The older inuyoukai finally said, running his finger through his long hair with a heavy sigh.
"What do you mean?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Sesshomaru… Your mother is here!" Rei Inu replied.
For a moment after his grandfather's announcement Sesshomaru was stunned into silence. But after the unwelcome news had finally hit home he had to stop himself from destroying something. A visit from his estranged mother was just about the last thing he needed at the moment. As if dealing with that traitor Itomaru and possibly the whole council wasn't big enough of a problem.
"Since when?" He growled, his eyes flickering between their usual golden color and the bloody red of his demonic side. There were very few things that enraged him as much as just a mention of the woman who has born him could.
"She arrived this morning!" Rei Inu answered grimly.
"Did she have company?"
"No. She came alone."
"Why would she choose now to make an appearance? She hasn't shown her face here since father died?" Sesshomaru asked roughly, trying to hold his temper.
"I don't know! And she wouldn't tell me. She refused to speak to me and demanded to see you. And when I told her that you were absent from the palace at the moment she invited herself in to wait for you."
"She has never been very patient. Why would she want to wait for my return?" The demon lord questioned, instantly suspicious.
"I don't have even the slightest clue. But she has taken the suite of the Lady of the West as hers for her stay. " Rei Inu answered, getting visibly frustrated.
"She has absolutely no rights to those rooms. She hasn't been the Lady of the West since she left after father's death. I want her out of my lands!"
"Then go and tell that to your mother I have no more patience to deal with her!" Rei Inu snapped in return.
"Do not worry, grandfather, I will," Sesshomaru replied a moment later after he had finally wrestled his flaring temper back under control, "It can't be a coincidence that she came for a visit now of all times."
"Okay. Sorry for the stupid question… but would you please explain to me what the deal is? With your mother, I mean… Sesshomaru?" Naruto asked, bewildered by Sesshomaru's reaction to the news.
"She's a cold, twisted bitch. That's the deal." Inuyasha intervened.
"Oh. That's very helpful, Inuyasha!" The blonde replied sarcastically.
"Keh!"
"I could do with a few more details!" The kitsune huffed in annoyance.
"There is not much to say, besides that she's a horrible mother and I wish my son never had had to mate with her. Sesshomaru is the only good thing that has ever come from that woman. And I'm glad she couldn't be bothered to help raising him, or he would have turned out just as bad and twisted as that bitch." The former lord of the West replied tiredly. It was plain to see that the whole matter weighted on the old demon.
"Great. Do you think she's connected to the whole mess with the council somehow?" Naruto asked turning to Sesshomaru. Not liking the depressed air Rei Inu suddenly emitted.
"There isn't anything I wouldn't believe her capable of." Sesshomaru replied coldly.
"So let's assume she's somehow involved in this mess, what would she gain from it?"
"I do not like to repeat myself. I do not now. The woman quit showing interest in me when I turned out to be my own person and not a male version of her. She was severely disappointed when I started showing signs of having opinions of my own."
"Okay! She sounds like a wonderful person with a cheerful personality." The blonde kitsune muttered sarcastically.
"A real darling!" Kouga added.
"She had hated my son and had resented their mating. Of course that didn't stop her from exploiting her position as the Western Lady." Rei Inu ranted angrily, all signs of tiredness suddenly gone, as if he had spent years without voicing his opinion, "She had hated the fact that she had to bear Touga an heir. Only the fact that he was from a clan of white dog demons had finally convinced her agree to it. And still, she had resented Sesshomaru's birth. On the one side she treated him like dirt, never taking the time to tend to his needs as a child, but on the other side she expected absolute perfection from him in everything he did. My grandson had spent most of his childhood trying to please her and his relationship with his father suffered for it. She was also the reason for that horrible disagreement they had before my son walked into his death. But that had also been the straw that broke the camel's back. After that I evicted her out of the palace, with Sesshomaru's help. She hadn't dared to show her face around here since then."
An awkward silence followed Rei Inu's impressive rant. The older dog demon was visibly trying to calm himself while Sesshomaru was silent, his face closed off. And his companions just didn't know how to react to the new information. Only Naruto, having spent so much time of his stay in the Western Palace getting to know the young lord, was not surprised by the revelation. Even his own brother hadn't been aware of the whole story behind his bad relationship with his mother. Stepping closer to his future mate, Naruto laid a comforting hand on Sesshomaru's forearm.
"Thank you, grandfather, for this insight into my life." Sesshomaru replied after a moment. And even though he knew that his face was still pretty much expressionless it was obvious to him that his companions knew that he was displeased with his grandfather.
"You're welcome, child." Rei Inu answered nonchalantly. The familiar banter finally relaxed the old man, after his outburst, because he knew that the other could never stay angry at him for long. He had raised Sesshomaru after all.
"I don't want to interrupt your little heart to heart but what are we going to do? About your mother I mean. Hell, this whole damn mess?" Inuyasha interjected.
"We confront her." Sesshomaru said resolutely.
"Ok…. Wait! What? But that would destroy any chance to surprise the council."
"We will take care of my mother first. As I said, I do not believe in coincidences. Compared to my mother the council is practically harmless. I need to know what she is planning." The demon lord replied.
"This is the second time that you mentioned the council and some kind of mess. What did those old farts do now? Would anyone be so kind as to enlighten me? Rei Inu asked exasperatedly.
"The short version is that someone from the council, we're pretty sure it's Itomaru, hired a mercenary and sent him after me. That asshole had been trying to force a mating on me when Sesshomaru came and took care of him." Naruto explained, not meeting the older mans eyes.
"They did WHAT?! Oh, that old bastard Itomaru! That spineless worm would do just about anything to gain more power and influence."
"Indeed." Sesshomaru agreed stiffly, clenching his fist in anger at the reminder.
"I should have known that something fishy was going on when that slime ball greeted your mother and helped to get her settled into the rooms she claimed as her own. And he did mention that the council approved with her stay in the palace."
"Grandfather, are you telling me my mother met with Itomaru after she arrived?"
"No. I'm telling you that the two of them are, most probably, still spending time together in that suite she claimed for herself." Rei Inu replied while Sesshomaru and his companions stared at him bewildered.
"Well, at least that saves us the time to confront the two of them separately." Naruto finally said cheerfully.
"Great! And what will we do if the council takes that chance to flee?"
"We will hunt them down. Should they flee I will take that as an admittance of guilt and I will show no mercy to those traitors."
"Fine. Now that that's clear can we get this over with?" Naruto asked impatiently.
Nodding to his companions the demon lord led them out of his grandfathers chambers and in the direction of the rooms his mother had invaded.
Itomaru was seriously beginning to regret decision to involve Lord Sesshomaru's mother with his plans.
Sure, since his relations with the other nobles left much to be desired, she was the only person that he had been able to contact that actually answered his call. But now that she had actually arrived he thought that it had not been his best idea.
When he had contacted Sesshomaru's mother he hadn't told her the actual reason he had called on her. He needed her cooperation, after all. And the kind of persuasion that would be needed in her special case couldn't very well be handled through a letter. No, only a personal approach would lead to success with a woman as difficult complicated as the former lady of the west. But the woman hadn't been anywhere near the Western Lands in years. And of course he could not wait until she decided to show up on her own. Instead he had contacted her through a letter under the pretense of inviting her to Sesshomaru's approaching mating ceremony. As the mother of the Lord of the West she couldn't possibly be absent for the mating ceremony of her only son that was to take place at the beginning of the mating season.
After all, the absence of his mother at his mating ceremony could damage the image of Lord Sesshomaru and the West as a whole. Fortunately, Lady Kimiko shared his opinion in that matter and had agreed to a stay in the western palace.
'Though I think it has more to do with curiosity that she actually showed up. And maybe she plans to punish her son for not informing her of his approaching nuptials.' He thought smugly.
If Itomaru was anything, he was a realist. He knew that the demoness couldn't care less for her son. Every inhabitant of the Western Palace had known that since their current Lord had been a small child. But she cared a great deal about her image, so he had used that to lure her in. Of course, that alone, would not be enough to persuade her to aid him in his plans, but Itomaru hoped that Lady Kimiko's love for messing with the life of her only child and the fact that Lord Sesshomaru had chosen Naruto, of all people, as his mate would help him.
The only problem was that upon his return the presence of his mother in his home would enrage Sesshomaru even further. He was absolutely sure of that. After the untimely death of his sire the young lord had developed a deep loathing for his mother and was prone to violence at mere mention of her name. He tried his hardest not to imagine what the young lord would do to him should his plan fail. But that couldn't be helped now. At least he was rather certain that his situation couldn't get any worse.
It was far too late to change anything anyway. Because there she was, Lady Kimiko, former mate of Inu no Taisho, sitting before him like a beautiful porcelain doll. She looked very much like her son and it was easy to see where Lord Sesshomaru's good looks stemmed from. Not that his lord father had not been good looking. But Lady Kimiko's deceptively fragile, feminine beauty was nearly overwhelming. And her white clothing gave her the appearance of purity and innocence. Too bad, that he already knew what kind of personality was hiding behind her facade of fake innocence.
If he wanted her support against her son he had to tread carefully. To have any chance at convincing her to see things his way meant that he would have to fulfill her every wish until her wayward son returned to the castle. Fortunately for him he had already been a resident of the Western Palace when Lady Kimiko had mated with the late Inu no Taisho so he was very much aware of her quirks and habits. Her sometimes innocent, sometimes cold and indifferent facade couldn't hide how cruel and fickle she was and how her whims changed at the drop of a hat.
After the lady had arrived Itomaru hadn't had a moment of peace. He had decided on giving her the same rooms she had occupied in her time as the Lady of the West because he had known that she would have been very unhappy with him had he offered her any other.
He really should have known that that old dog Rei Inu would try to interfere in that regard. The other inuyoukai had always hated his son's first mate and had no qualms about showing it. Itomaru could even understand that a little, though he would never repeat that thought out loud. The two of them had never seen face to face about anything.
So Rei Inu had tried to make a nuisance of himself by having Lady Kimiko thrown out of the palace and he really couldn't have had that. In the end he had argued with him, long and hard, and only the mention of the council's agreement, that the mother of the ruler of the West should be present at his mating ceremony, had won him that argument.
'But I've got the feeling that that old dog will not forget that alteration anytime soon.' He thought grimly.
It was really not the best time to make more enemies, but he got the feeling that his relationship with Rei Inu had been beyond salvageable for centuries.
'And somehow I doubt that he would ever turn against his beloved grandson, no matter what kind of stupid decision he made.' His inner demon commented cynically.
Despite everything he had enjoyed the face the other demon had made when he had stormed off in a huff after losing the argument.
But now here he was, playing servant and serving jasmine tea to the mother of the lord he had betrayed. He had to be very careful now, saying the wrong thing could cost him his life. Because the one thing Lady Kimiko had in common with her son was the infamous temper they both shared.
"I am so very glad that you have found the time in your busy schedule to pay the West a visit after my invitation, my lady." He began carefully.
"Indeed. I admit I was very surprised to hear that my son was finally about to settle down. I was of the impression that he wanted to stay a bachelor for the rest of his life, roaming the West as he pleased." The lady answered, sipping at her tea.
"The council and I were of the same opinion, my lady. We saw no other way, but to force his hand. We forced him to choose a mate until the coming mating season or live with the consequences. The people have grown very uncomfortable with the fact that the West had no true heir. And considering who stands to inherit the position of the Lord of the West, should something happen to Lord Sesshomaru; no one can really blame them. Who would want a half-demon to rule the Western Lands?"
"That is very true, my lady. I never understood Touga's interest in humans; they are such filthy uncultured mongrels. And now my son is also consorting with them, how disgraceful. I am sure Sesshomaru was very unhappy with you and the council after you gave him your little ultimatum." Kimiko sniffed.
"He was indeed."
"It is so typical of him to neglect to inform me of his pending mating ceremony. He had always been such a willful pup. I hope that he choose a proper mate, at least. A healthy, strong female inuyoukai that can bear him proper, purebred inuyoukai pups." The lady said, taking another sip of tea, mustering Itomaru coldly over the brim of her tea cup.
'And here it is, the deciding moment.' Itomaru thought as Lady Kimiko finally brought up the reason for Itomaru's desperate attempt to sway her to his side. He certainly hoped that this worked out as planed or his life would be forfeit. Maybe he should have taken the chance to flee. Maybe there was still time. But he hated to give up his status, his wealth and his power without trying to salvage all that was possible. He hadn't spent so much time and energy, on his rise to the unofficial leader of the council, to give it all up so easily.
"I fear that I will have to disappoint you on that account, my lady." He finally said sighting heavily, putting his best regretful act on.
"What do you mean by that?" The woman demanded sharply, her cold golden eyes glinting dangerously.
Just as expected her mood changed immediately. Gone was the cool, refined lady and an impatient and truly dangerous woman took her place.
"Forgive me, Lady Kimiko. But I must admit that I had an ulterior motive for contacting you, besides those I have revealed to you in my missive." Itomaru continued carefully.
"Explain yourself." She ordered angrily, though her face remained mostly neutral.
"To tell you the truth, my lady, I am a bit worried about the young man your son chose as his mate."
"So he has chosen a male. Get to the point, Itomaru." She snapped imperious.
"As you wish. I believe your son made a mistake in choosing the young man as his mate. At first glance the match seems appropriate, the child is of royal blood of course, but I fear his age and his character will cause problems for the West in the future."
"Continue."
"I fear that Naruto, for that is the child's name, is far too young and inexperienced for our lord. The coming season will be the first mating season the boy will be participating in. He is barely of age…"
"That is not uncommon." Kimiko interrupted impatiently.
"You are right of course, Lady Kimiko. But the true problem is that the boy is still far too childish and impulsive. He has a very short and impulsive temper, and he often acts like it."
"That is something he has in common with my son." She laughed haughtily.
"Yes, but your son can control his temper if the situation calls for it. I wish I could say the same for Lord Sesshomaru's chosen mate. And the fact that the boy is a fox demon isn't very helpful, since the boy uses very humiliating pranks to repay any slights done to him, whether true or imagined."
"My son chose a fox demon as his future mate? Truly? "Lady Kimiko asked sharply and by the look on her face he knew that he had her.
"Indeed. Nobody is safe from his pranks, not even our Lord Sesshomaru himself. The boy caused so much chaos that the servants spent days trying to clean up after him. The young fox could cause much harm to the West's diplomatic relationships should he target a diplomat or a foreign lord in the future."
"Were there no other, more appropriate candidates? Who were not fox demons, preferably? Our prestigious line has never mated outside of the white dog demon clans. I would hate it should our powerful line get diluted by lesser demons."
"Why, of course there have been other candidates! All children of the more notable noble inuyoukai families of the West have been invited to the palace for the coming season. Why even the unmated children of several council members were among the candidates. My own daughter Kaori was also among them."
"And my son still pursued the kitsune?" She questioned indignantly, her face twitching, despite her efforts to keep it expressionless.
"Indeed. He didn't give the other candidates a chance, instead he spend all his time with that fox child, despite his unacceptable behavior."
"It seems my son inherited his father's weakness for unacceptable lovers." The woman said coldly, but the slight cracking noise her porcelain teacup made at being squeezed too tightly and her visibly forced stiff face showed her true feelings on that matter. It seemed like the lady wasn't quite as good as her son at maintaining her indifferent façade.
"I wouldn't dare to pass judgment on your late mate, my lady. Besides, the boy is the great-great son of Lord Yuuki of the South." Itomaru answered, knowing when to act humble and submissive.
"I didn't know the old fox had an heir left after his only son disappeared." She replied, placing the damaged teacup on the table in front of her and folding her hands on her lap.
"Yes, yes. And I must say the fox is very fond of the child. And that is another reason I am worried about. At the moment Lord Sesshomaru seems very fond of his future mate, but we all know his temper. I fear about what could happen should my lord get tired of the boy or should the two of them get into a fight. What if they split or your son harms, or worse, kills the boy in a fit of temper. We could get serious problems with the South in that case."
"…"
"To tell you the truth my lady, I find this whole situation rather suspicious."
"What do you mean Itomaru?" Lady Kimiko snapped, her façade crumbling even further. And Itomaru knew that his arguments had helped his case very much.
Of course the fact that Sesshomaru's future mate was not a dog demon, but rather a fox demon, was a huge factor that played right into his hands. Personally he couldn't care less about that, but it was widely known that his lord's mother thought all demons that were not inuyoukai were beneath her.
"Well, Naruto's appearance in the palace was certainly oddly timed. He appeared the same day we informed your son of our decision to see him mated. It was oddly convenient; don't you think so, my lady?"
"If you have so many worries concerning the boy, why haven't you tried to discourage my son from choosing him?" The dog demoness demanded, getting increasingly agitated. He could already feel her youki stirring restlessly, while her hands twitched in her lap.
"Of course I have tried. I have encouraged the other candidates to interfere every time the two of them have been alone. And I have also sent my daughter to try to sabotage their budding relationship. And for a while it had seemed that my plan has worked. Lord Sesshomaru and the boy had a fight and Naruto had left the palace after that."
"What has changed?" She asked, her golden eyes flashing red let Itomaru know just how angry the woman before him was. Had the tea cup still been in her hand when he was informing her of the numerous shortcomings of her sons chosen, it would have shattered in her hands.
"A few days after the fox child has left our lord followed him, and I fear when he returns he won't be alone." He sighed, doing his best to look resigned.
"Why haven't you done something, then? Why did you let him leave at all? Why didn't you just keep him here until your ultimatum ran out?" Kimiko raged, her carefully constructed calm façade falling apart completely.
"My lady, how could I have kept my lord from doing anything? You should know your sons temper. And I didn't even get the chance to talk to him before he left. The council was only told that he had left the palace after he had been gone for hours. Rei Inu made sure of that. I don't know what that man is thinking encouraging Lord Sesshomaru in this."
"That man never had much sense! Encouraging my son to dilute our noble bloodline with some fox demon mongrel. He must have gone senile from his old age."She spat viciously.
"That is very possible."
"So what is your plan?" Lady Kimiko asked, after she calmed down some. Itomaru was counting himself very lucky indeed that he hadn't found himself at the wrong side of the Lady's poisonous whip while she had raged some more about the disgrace her only son was bringing onto the family.
But this, this was the moment he had been waiting for. All his careful maneuvering had lead up to it.
"I fear that at this point there is very little I can do. I have set a plan into motion as soon as Naruto had left the palace as a precaution against a scenario like this. But I believe that it will backfire on me spectacularly once your son returns with his future mate."
"Backfire how, Iromaru?"
"I do not believe that your son will let me live after he returns." He explained tiredly, acting as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.
"What exactly did you do?"
"Before I explain my lady, I would ask that keep in mind that I had always the best for Lord Sesshomaru and the West in mind. I knew that my plan could turn against me, but I still choose to go forward with it because I think that young Naruto is not the best mate for your son. The West has always been my biggest concern…"
"I am getting impatient. Get to the point, Itomaru." The lady interrupted briskly.
"Of course, my lady." Itomaru answered promptly, not letting on how much it annoyed him that Kimiko had interrupted him constantly.
"When Naruto had left, I thought that all my prayers were answered. But I wasn't taking chances. Just in case I set my plan in motion. I hired a snake demon that specialized in tracking and set him on young Naruto's trail. His objective was to find the young man and to mate with him, using any means possible; though charming him into agreeing was the preferred option."
"And you think my son reached the boy before your snake demon?"
"That is of course possible, but I don't think so. He had a considerable head start on Lord Sesshomaru. I think the more probable scenario is that Lord Sesshomaru simply got rid of the competition. And if he got wind of my little plot, I fear that my life is forfeit."
"And what do you expect of me?
"I wish I could tell you that the West is my only concern and that I don't care what happens to me for trying to protect it, but I am not that selfless. I wrote to you in the hope that you would help me to szop my lord from making a huge mistake. And of course I hoped for your help in keeping me alive after the situation had blown over."
"And you think my son would listen to me?" Lady Kimiko laughed haughtily.
"You are his mother, my lady. And don't we all strive for the approval of our parents?" He asked.
"…"
"I am sure that, if you explain your, our, position , your son would consider it. It is a logical argument. As the Lord of the West he has to be cautious, his mate will be met with a lot of scrutiny from the nobles and other lords. He can't choose someone so inappropriate and uncouth." Itomaru continued.
'At least I hope so." He thought desperately.
"You make a convincing argument, Itomaru. I will see what I can do."
"Thank you, my lady." The council man replied, already feeling a bit relieved.
"I won't do it for you. I just don't want to have such filth in my family."
Finally the tension, that Iromaru had carrying around since Sesshomaru had left the palace, bled out of him and he finally served himself some tea. Kimiko followed his example, after he served her some more tea in a fresh cup.
They settled into a comfortable silence and enjoyed the excellent tea.
But soon their peaceful idyll was destroyed by the doors that were wrenched open rather violently by a fuming Lord Sesshomaru, who was followed by a whole hoard of people. He was very surprised to see Sesshomaru's younger brother among them. And he had certainly not expected his lord back so soon. He would have thought that the young fox demon would have needed some convincing before he agreed to return to the palace. Their fight had been very unpleasant after all.
'Thank kami that lady Kimiko arrived timely.' Itomaru thought when he was his lord's face. The look in his eyes would be enough to freeze the sn and he prayed to god that he would survive the day.
After a quick march trough half of the Western Palace Sesshomaru and his guests arrived at the rooms that had housed the Lady of the West for generations. Without pausing to knock the Lord of the West pushed opened the grand double doors and entered the chambers, his entourage following behind him.
If he was honest with himself, Sesshomaru could admit that the sight that greeted him upon his entry didn't surprise him very much.
There she was, the woman who had given birth to him, sitting comfortable in the rooms she couldn't call hers any longer, drinking tea with Itomaru, the man that had conspired against him. It was like looking into a mirror. She was dresses in a white silk kimono, with a pattern of light blue snowflakes on the sleeves and the hem. Her pure white moko-moko was draped artistically across her delicate shoulders. Her skin was still flawless and her long white hair that was braided into a beautifully complicated braid, was carefully placed over her right shoulder. She hadn't changed at all since the last time Sesshomaru had laid eyes on her; she was just as beautiful and cold as ever.
"Still the same cold bitch, I see." His inner demon commented drily.
If it was possible the young lord's face became even more stoical, seeing the scene before him.
"What are you doing here, mother?" He barked coldly, without issuing a greeting and completely ignoring Itomaru's presence.
Unimpressed by his behavior the demoness turned her attention on her only son, her eyes narrowing at the greeting. Itomaru's reaction was nowhere near as nonchalant as his companions. Seeing Sesshomaru before him seemed to make the council man nervous and he hadn't been able to suppress a tiny flinch at the demon lord's abrupt appearance.
"Is that the way you great your mother after such a long time, Sesshomaru? I raised you better than that." She admonished coldly.
"Raised him? You? I don't think ignoring and treating your only child as if he was beneath you counts as raising him in any sense of the word, Kimiko." Rei Inu snorted disdainfully.
"We've always had different opinions of raising children, Rei Inu!"
"Yeah? Well, thank kami!"
"Enough with your childish squabbling! I asked you a question mother! What are you doing in my home?" Sesshomaru interrupted sharply.
"Why, Sesshomaru? Can't a mother visit her only son?" Lady Kimiko replied, acting innocent.
"You haven't cared to visit your only son for nearly two centuries. What has changed?" He asked, not letting it go.
"It doesn't happen every day that my only child has to choose a mate."
"What do you care?"
"Because, as your mother, I have to make sure you choose a mate worthy of our noble lineage. It's bad enough that your father sired a half-breed. I don't want to have to be ashamed of you if you make a bad decision." Kimiko replied haughtily, sneering at Sesshomaru's companions.
"Of course! We wouldn't want your spotless reputation to suffer, would we?" Rei Inu sneered.
"And who saw it fit to inform you of that fact?" The young lord snapped.
"That would have been me, my lord. I thought it would look good if your mother was present during your mating ceremony." Itomaru replied nervously.
"Yeah, I'm sure that was the reason." Naruto muttered, drawing Kimiko's attention to himself.
The fact that Naruto had caught his mother's attention was not missed by Sesshomaru. For a moment she was silent, mustering the blonde carefully. Then she spoke, addressing the young fox demon: "Ah, yes. Lord Itomaru has already informed me about you, little kitsune!"
"Did he now?" He replied uncaring.
"Oh yes, indeed. And I must say, you're just as I have pictured you to be."
"Thanks?!" The blonde said, confused.
"That was not a compliment, child. I'm sad to be the bearer of bad news, but it is quite impossible for you to become Sesshomaru's mate." Kimiko explained, talking to Naruto as if he was a small child, "But don't worry, you're so very young. I'm sure someday you will find a mate fitting for … your station. I believe you and your … companions will find the way out"
For a moment after Kimiko's little speech nobody said a word. Inuyasha, Kouga and Rei Inu were staring at Kimiko as if they couldn't believe what she had just said. Itomaru was nervously fidgeting in the background.
Sesshomaru was beside himself with fury, his eyes were flashing between their usual golden color and the blood red of his demon form.
'How dare she!' His inner demon snarled and the demon lord couldn't suppress the growl that escaped him after his so-called mother insulted his chosen mate so thoroughly.
He was just about to put the demoness into her place when he saw the expression that was on Naruto's face. Naruto actually looked amused, but there was a strange glint in his eyes. And Sesshomaru saw that his mother had also noticed. It was a glint Sesshomaru knew all too well. Having been at the opposite side of those eyes once already, he knew without a doubt, that there would be no need for him to step up in defense of his future mate because his mother didn't know with whom she was messing.
'This Sesshomaru doesn't choose weaklings or imbeciles for a mate.'
' Our little mate got a pretty sharp tongue when he's angry.'
'Indeed.' He thought, watching as an incredibly fake, sugary smile broke out on Naruto's face.
'Now she's in for it.' Sesshomaru's inner demon commented just as his little mate turned to address his mother.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I, as the only grandchild and heir to the lord of the South, simply can't compare with all those sons and daughters of councilmen and lowly nobles. What was I thinking?! I am not even worthy to breathe the same air as Sesshomaru. I should leave immediately and look for a mate worthy of lowly my station. The fact that Sesshomaru dismissed all the other 'candidates' and followed me, even when I left the palace, doesn't matter at all. I thought that it was Sesshomaru's choice to mate with me and that the approval of his grandfather and brother, as his closest family, would be enough. But it seems I was sadly mistaken. The approval of his estranged mother, whom he hadn't seen in several centuries and who didn't give a shit about him practically all his life, is much more important. Your adult son shouldn't be able to make such decisions on his own. He may have ruled the West for a few short centuries but he just can't be trusted to choose the best for himself." Naruto replied, all the while smiling his fake smile.
Once again everyone was stunned silent by Naruto's little rant. Sesshomaru was more than proud of his little mate when he saw the deeply insulted expression on his mother's face and the stunned face of Itomaru. His grandfather seemed to be of the same opinion because after a moment of silence he began clapping.
"I couldn't have come up with a better reply." He complimented the blonde, grinning widely.
"Indeed." The demon lord agreed, smirking at his mother.
"Sesshomaru! You can't be serious. You can't mate with this weak, uneducated, filthy fox demon mongrel. Our line consisted of pure white dog demons for millennia and you want to ruin that for a pretty face." Kimiko snapped furiously.
"So we finally get to the real problem you have with me. You don't give a damn about my age or my royal status. Your problem is that I am a fox demon. You're a freaking racist." Naruto burst out, laughing at Kimiko's affronted face.
"Be silent." She snarled in reply.
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? You think you're better that me because you're a dog demon, don't you? As if that makes you somehow superior."
"I am better than you, little boy."
"Really? And what makes you superior? At what exactly are you better than me?" Naruto asked.
"At absolutely everything." Sesshomaru's mother replied confidently.
For a second after her arrogant statement Naruto remained silent. From the mischievous look on his face Sesshomaru knew that his little mate had a plan. And he didn't think that his mother would enjoy it very much.
"You are very confident." The kitsune drawled.
"I have every right to be." Kimiko sniped.
"Of course… If you are so confident, how about we put it to test?"
"Put what to test?"
"Why the superiority of dog demons over fox demons of course!" Naruto explained cheerfully.
Author's note the 3rd: Sorry for the very, very long wait. But I was just so busy with law school I didn't really have time to write anything. And after all the essays and assignments I had to write I wasn't really motivated to touch my laptop again, much less write something. Now I have some time to breathe so I will continue writing. Though updates may be a bit slow. Sorry!
Thank you for reading! Please Review!
Happy Easter :D