Chapter 20

Ok admittedly this chapter is a little boring but, it's necessary.

Naraku opened his eyes to find himself in a carriage. A smooth riding carriage with red seats and floors. Groaning he discovers a bottle of water near him along with a small cloth ball. Rubbing his eyes he looked around. He was by himself.

Looking outside he wasn't surprise to see the ground hundreds of feet below him. Sesshoumaru had that flying two headed dragon. That must be what's moving the carriage. Well escape was clearly impossible.

Feeling parched he opened the bottle and sipped at the water. He also opened the wrapped cloth to find rice balls inside. At least Seshoumaru was nice enough to give him something to eat. He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious but he was starving. It was also another pleasant surprise to find the rice balls were stuffed with chicken.

Naraku wondered where the dog demon got these. He doubted Sesshoumaru knew how to cook. Maybe the girl or the imp made them. Either way they were delicious.

Naraku also found a book in the corner. It was a fiction book about some orphan girl. Naraku ignored it at first but after hours of endless boredom he decided to read it. It was a sad tail with lots of real world problems. It ended on a cliff hanger which annoyed the dark hanyou.

On the last page the carriage touched the ground and came to a gentle and graceful stop. Sesshoumaru opened the door to see the book in his hand.

"Rin suggested the book, in case you grew bored." He commented. Naraku stayed in the carriage waiting. He hoped the dog wouldn't violate him there. He tried to keep the fear from showing but he knew his body language showed his submissiveness. It was something he automatically did around Kouga so the wolf wouldn't get a sudden need to prove his dominance over him if he thought Naraku forgot who was in charge.

"Come, this Sesshoumaru will take you to your quarters." He stepped back giving the spider more room.

Naraku stepped outside nervously. He was in front of another castle bit this one was half burned down and pretty beat up. He knew a little about Sesshoumaru's past. This was the castle his father had died in, in a big fire. After he died Sesshoumaru inherited what was left.

Sesshoumaru was still a young pup when his father died. At that age he had no desire to run his father's land or repaired the castle, so all the servants left and wild demons roamed free. But even at the age the dog demon made it his priority to establish his right and claim to the land. He must have known he would need it in the future. Sesshoumaru spent his years traveling around enjoying his free life style. He only recently found a purpose in killing Inuyasha and Naraku. But now that the war was over the dog must have felt empty.

It could explain why he was fixing the place up. New walls and floors were being put up and rubble and fallen glass had been cleared out. There was still a lot of work to do but Sesshoumaru had nothing but time.

Naraku was led through the old hallways. There were scorch marks on the wall and the floor board creaked.

Sesshoumaru stopped at a door. "This will be your room. Dinner will be brought to you."

Nobbing Naraku expected to be pushed into a dirty room with chains hanging from the walls. Instead he saw a freshly cleaned room with a comfortable bed, covered in light blue sheets. The room was nice; it had a dresser and mirror. Sesshoumaru must have prepared this for him in advance.

"The wolf gave this to this Sesshoumaru for you." He placed a bag on the floor. "It's filled with clothes and shoes."

"Thank you." Naraku said. He bowed his head in respect hoping it earn him some points.

"Was the child delivered safely?"

"Yes, I had a beautiful boy. His name is Sky." The spider smiled warmly.

"Good, this Sesshoumaru expects a healthy child as well."

Naraku swallowed hard. He was waiting for the demon to bring that up. It was foolish to hope Sesshoumaru wouldn't want to breed with him.

Seeing that Naraku wasn't going to respond Sesshoumaru decided to take his leave. He still had work to do. Jaken was cooking supper while Rin played in the garden. He still needed to repair the main part of the castle. Luckily the fire didn't reach there. Everything else would be knocked down and rebuild. He would have to hire builders soon. He wasn't very skilled in construction.

….

Naraku took a small nape and was awaken by the sound of knocking on the door. Getting up he slowly opened the door.

"Lord Naraku may I come in?" It was the green little imp.

Naraku nobbed. It had been while since someone has used a title with his name. It felt nice.

The Imp placed the tray on the bed.

"We have not rebuilt the kitchen yet so I had to make do with what was available. I hope roasted stream fish is expectable."

"Thank you….." Naraku had never learned the imps name.

"Jaken M'lord."

"Thank you Jaken."

"Lord Sesshoumaru said that if you require a bath I can lead you to a nearby hot spring."

"He is not worried I will try and escape?"

Jaken paused for a second, thinking over his words. "In your present condition, you would not get very far before Lord Sesshoumaru tracked you down."

"I see… I think I'll just eat my dinner and go back to bed. I'm still very tired."

"That is normal M'lord. Most mothers have very little strength so soon after birth."

Naraku turned his head away in shame. His hand pressed against his flat stomach.

"Maybe tomorrow Lord Sesshoumaru will hunt some elk and you can eat the liver to regain your energy."

"Noo!"

The imp jumped from the sudden outburst.

"Forgive me, I just really dislike liver."

Nobbing the green creature left.

Naraku left the tray. Three fish with sticks pushed through them rested on the plate. The last time he ate food like this was when he was Origumo and was camping out in the forest. Sitting down he ate. So far he had been treated very well. It was a big surprise. He half expected to be locked in a dungeon and beaten.

…..

The next day Naraku woke up early, feeling a little less tired. The night had troubled him with thoughts about what Sesshoumaru was going to do to him and on how his children were doing without him. Sky wouldn't even remember him when he returned.

Naraku spent most of the time rubbing his belly. Even after giving birth twice his stomach tighten right back up. His abs were even still there, though they were not as sharp or hard as they use to be. It looked like he was half way between real abs and a normal stomach.

Jaken brought his breakfast, which was boiled while birds eggs and honey.

"Lord Sesshoumaru will visit you soon. He request you wear warm clothes.

Naraku bobbed.

He put on a long sleeve shirt, and long pants. He really didn't have winter clothes. Demons and hanyou's were not as sensitive to the cold like humans. He also wasn't allowed to go outside, so there was no point in having any.

His heart nearly froze when Sesshoumaru opened his door.

Sesshoumaru's eyes looked over him. This caused Naraku to look down at the floor. He knew how sadist an alpha could be.

"Is the room comfortable enough?" He asked.

"Yes, it is comfortable."

"This Sesshoumaru request you take a walk with him."

Naraku nobbed. He could use some time out this room. Besides he had resigned himself to his fate. Sesshoumaru couldn't be rougher than Kouga. Everything up till now had shown that the dog was trying to make him feel comfortable, even if he had no reason to.

Naraku was led threw the castle. Most of it was but there was part that weren't scorched by the flames but most of them had gone rotten over time from neglect. Sesshoumaru led him to the porch. From there they could see the snow fall. The cool air made the spider shiver.

"Is it too cold?"

"No I'm fine."

Sesshoumaru sat down on the porch leaning against the wall. Naraku copied him.

"You are considerably weaker now. This Sesshoumaru wants to know why."

"It happen a few months ago. I was fighting Kouga and his wolfs. I was winning. Just before I was about to kill him he made a wish on a genie and took all my powers away. From then on I have been beaten and humiliated non stop"

"So the rumor of Kouga beating you in a fight was a lie. He used a trick to win. I did not believe you could be defeated by him. Is the genie the reason you can give birth?"

"Yes, though I did not think Kouga meant for that. The genie only grants the hearts truest wish. Me getting pregnant was the only way to save his pack and it worked. Look where they are, in a nice castle, protected with lot of food to last all winter. And because of me providing an heir for him, Kouga doesn't need to marry a women he doesn't love."

Sesshoumaru stayed silent most likely absorbing everything he had heard.

"Dose Kouga love you?" He asked

"If he loved me, he wouldn't have traded me. He has made it quite clear that he thinks of me as his slave."

"Where did he get this genie?"

Naraku shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know."

"Dose the wolf hurt you often?"

Naraku wondered why the dog would even care if he did.

"Sometimes. It depends, when I tried to escape he messed up my knee and cut my hair."

"This Sesshoumaru notice you were walking strangely and your hair is shorter." Sesshoumaru knew how embarrassing it was for a man to have his hair cute.

Naraku rubbed his hair. Now it reached his upper back. It was almost as long as before. "He cut it all off before."

"He only punishes you when you misbehave?"

"Most of the times yes. But he considers talking back or glaring at him misbehaving….. Sometimes he just gets to excited and hurts me by accident." He said blushing. "Sometimes he can get sadist, but during these moments he had never caused too much harm. Mostly threats to scare me or just little acts of aggression to prove his dominance."

"This Sesshoumaru promises to be fair."

Naraku nobbed his head.

"This Sesshoumaru wants you to feel comfortable looking at him in the eyes and speaking your mind."

Naraku raised his head. "And this Sesshoumaru wants you to be able to walk correctly."

Naraku jumped when he pulled out his sword. It was out of habit to fear weapons now.

Sesshoumaru used it to heal his knee. Naraku was taken back by the act of kindness.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru" He said gratefully. The hanyou got up and walked around. His leg felt like it had never been damaged.

"This Sesshoumaru is also allowing you to roam freely around the castle and spring. He trust you will not try to escape."

"I won't, I want to return to my children." Naraku confess.