CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Mikage

I didn't understand what he was doing. His grip was hard. It didn't hurt. Yet, still, I was scared. I just wanted a goodbye. Now, though, I felt frozen. Why wouldn't I fight back?

As soon as we had reached the cellar, though, I pushed him away. I was frustrated, ignoring the pain that washed over me when my back hit the ground first. He just stood there, in the darkness, staring at me with an emotionless stare. It scared me. Swallowing my fears, I faced him.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a hushed voice. He said nothing as he, himself sat down. He was acting strangely. I felt myself back away. Although I trusted him, this was just plain weird. Lord Sesshomaru growled before his expression changed to a look of anger.

"Do you honestly expect me to allow you to leave when I would be suspected of abducting you?"

I understood now. It could threaten his reputation, right? That's all it was. I felt a bit of a temper slip out of myself.

"Here I thought that maybe you-" I shook my head. My fists were clenched near my chest. I couldn't even work up the nerve to finish my statement. "Just forget it. I... I'm going home, Lord Sesshomaru. They won't see you, so you won't get in trouble, okay...?" I pushed myself to my feet, upset, and angry. He may be a Lord, but I also had some authority. I was royalty too, after all. Even so, royalty or not... Nobody should be handled as harshly as I had just been. I can't really remember ever being angry, though. At anyone besides that demon, anyway. Maybe this was the fate of any demon...? I didn't know. I didn't care. Just as I had reached the stairs out of the cellar, I sensed him come towards me, grabbing my wrist tightly.

"What did I say?" he questioned, his tone calm. Why wouldn't he let me go? I tried to yank my hand away, but he had too strong of a hold. "You will be returned to your parents, I assure you. Now, however, is not that time." Something about his tone just made me even more angry.

"Stop... It!" I cried, whirling around. "Let me go home..." He raised an eyebrow.

"And here I thought that you were incapable of having a temper," he said, smirking just a little. A small fang protruded from beneath his pale lip. I was actually furious, and he was just amused by it! This wasn't fair. I huffed, turning away from him.

Then, the cellar door opened. This didn't fail to startle me, making me utter a noise that sounded somewhere between a puppy's yip and some other animal cry. I heard Lord Sesshomaru grunt behind me.

"Hey, sis? You down here?" a familiar voice called.

"Psh. Of course she's down here, Gakupo. Did you not hear the arguing just like, two seconds ago?" another scoffed. Wait a minute. So it wasn't Mama and Papa, then? It was my own brother and Yuuhi? Of course, their scents were nearly identical to Mama and Papa's... Still, though, I felt stupid. At least they were safe.

"Hey1 You're right, Yuuhi! It is her. Whoa, sis! Who's your new boyfriend?" Gakupo smiled as he came down, acting as though nothing was wrong. B-boyfriend? Yeah, right... Even so, against my will, my face heated up again.

"Just who are you two?" Lord Sesshomaru asked, sounding extremely annoyed. Yuuhi trotted down the stairs, resuming her small form. Her two tails waved in a greeting to me, before transforming again, directly in front of Lord Sesshomaru. She looked him up and down.

"You did well, honey. That's my girl. He sure is handsome." Yuuhi just made me go even more red with embarrassment. She glanced over at me, and began laughing. "Ooo! Look at you! You're just going completely red! You must really like him, huh?" Lord Sesshomaru's irritation was going through the roof. I could just feel it. He was trying his best to maintain a calm composure, but wasn't doing very well. Gakupo came beside me, nudging me with his elbow. He made a couple of clicking noises with his mouth, before winking.

"See, even Yuuhi thinks you did good."

"Even Yuuhi?" she retorted, turning to glare at him. "Ya sound like my opinion is second best, or something. If you must know, I have very high standards. But he's good. Yeah, he's good. I mean just look at that silky white hair! He is obviously of high pedigree," she stared, waving her paw around in the air. Lord Sesshomaru came next to her, pulling her ear until she faced him.

"I asked you a question," he stated. "Who are you?" He was enunciating each word. It wasn't difficult to see the fury festering just beneath the surface. I felt bad. I couldn't even control my own family when they were acting obnoxious.

"Yuuhi! Gakupo! Stop teasing! He isn't my boyfriend... O-okay?" I was doing pretty well at being assertive until they all looked at me. Then I stuttered. So much for making a point. Just like that, though, my cat pounced on me, her massive paws pushing me to the ground. "Y-Yuuhi!"

From the corner of my eye, I could see Gakupo started to introduce himself to Lord Sesshomaru, but couldn't hear what was being said over Yuuhi's extremely loud singing.

"Well you've got to got to got to have some self confidence!" I tried to cover my ears, but she just sang louder. Honestly, I can't believe that I didn't see this one coming. She did this every time that I acted shy around new people. Which was basically all the time. Well, whenever I met new people. As I said though. This was typical behavior for her.

"Yuuhi... Please don't sing the song..."

"Oh I will sing the song. I will sing it loud and clear for the whole world to hear!"

"Yuuhi no..."

"Yes!"

"Please don't..."

"I will!"

She opened her mouth wide, ready to begin the chorus, before I clamped my hand over her mouth. With my other hand, I pushed her back, allowing myself to get out. She glowered at me with her eyes before fighting to get loose.

Oh here we go... I thought, just as she reared up. To think that this was a regular everyday occurrence would come off as odd to some, I admit. At least I could handle her now. Beginning the routine, I pressed my hands against her paw pads, allowing some of her purple fur to stick out through my fingers. Although I didn't like to do this, it was the only way I could stop her from pinning me to the floor and singing her heart out.

"You're a weakling!" Yuuhi taunted, waving her tails back and forth.

"Oh yeah? Says the one who loses all the time!" I retorted, overpowering her a bit. She snorted, and pushed down harder.

"Uh huh. Yeah right, little girl!"

I groaned at the pressure. My wrists felt weak and they were cramping, but I willed myself to keep going.

"You don't play fair! Always turning into your big huge kitty form!" I grumbled. She started laughing. Just my luck.

In her temporary lapse of weakness, I forced her to the ground, only to be met by her surprise. She feigned defeat, before rolling on top of me again. As if I didn't see that one coming! I slipped under her belly, grabbing onto the fur of her side. She looked back at me, her face confused.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked as I pulled myself onto her back. I gently nipped her skin. She yowled dramatically, bucking like a horse. This was when it got fun! I clung to her, allowing her to gallop around the large basement. She felt just like a horse! Finally, though, I decided to end the battle, scooting myself up to her neck. Grabbing her ears, I hoisted myself onto her head. Then, placing my hands on her cheeks, I swung underneath her. All the while holding her head still. She had been flipped. Lastly, I claimed my victory.

I sat promptly on her stomach, each leg on either side of her. Giving her my best yawn of boredom, I patted her chest.

"I win."

She gazed at me for a moment. Then she cracked a huge smile. Ruffling my hair with her paw, she congratulated me. As I got off her, I met eyes with the puzzled face of... Lord Sesshomaru.