Six: Roses Are Planted Where Thorns Grow
Once again, he was watching her from afar, lust raging through him. Claws, sharp and tinged with poison, pierced his skin when his hands reflexively clenched into fists the longer he stared at her bare neck. Even so, it did him no harm and never would. He was strong. The strongest. But that child made him into something he despised. It wasn't her fault, though. Nothing was. Should he take her, he would dishonor himself, his father, his ancestors, and his country. But taking her would be the sweetest thing on this earth, he knew. As sweet as her laugh, her voice, her smell.
The thought of taking her as a lesser wife made his gut clench in a beautiful kind of agony. Multiple wives would only be permitted once he ascended to his rightful place as emperor, but who knew how long that would take? In just a brief few decades, she would be dead, and his father would probably still sit on the throne. Would he disrespect her and himself by taking her as his mistress? It would just be embarrassing. The court would jeer at him in loud whispers, unflattering songs would be written about it and performed where he could hear them, and the negative public opinion would perhaps even cost him his birthright.
For what was he to her in the eyes of the world? A father. A doting master. Never a lover. It would be revolting.
Sesshomaru continued to watch Rin from his office window. The girl was picking flowers in his private garden. Anyone else who dared do such a thing would be executed. Everyone thought he just enjoyed the view, enjoyed cultivating the colorful bursts of light until they were perfect. But in reality, it was all for her. All for Rin. His little pet who loved flowers so much that he'd made her a garden in the clouds, a heaven for his angel.
Rin had never really developed much beyond a childish, waifish figure. Perhaps it was the severe malnourishment she had experienced before their paths met and became one. Even so, she was beautiful to him, her brown hair shining with sparkling strands of red in the bright sunlight. The song she sang was some off-key rendition of a children's song that she felt secure in voicing, thinking herself completely alone and unobserved. Her tiny hands worked diligently at braiding a delicate flower crown, the only kind of crown that could ever rest on her head.
His hands tightened into fists. Sometimes he wished he had never met her.
Of course, like with every bit of conflict in his life, it was all Inuyasha's fault.
Ten years ago, when the brat had just turned eighteen, their father displayed a rare lapse in judgement by allowing him to join the Inu army and fight in Sesshomaru's regiment. The boy was flashily showing off the sword that should have been Sesshomaru's to everyone he had occasion to speak with for more than a second.
"If you aren't more careful, half-breed, someone far more deserving of your heirloom will take it from you," Sesshomaru warned after about two weeks of just barely preventing himself from committing fratricide.
Inuyasha stopped stuffing his face with the disgusting military rations long enough to answer. "Keh! Father said I'm the only one in the world strong enough to control Tetsusaiga. Not even your jealous ass can handle it."
The group of soldiers that had taken to following Inuyasha around poorly covered up their snickers.
Feigning indifference, he sipped his now cold tea. "I see you still believe in fairy tales. Figures Father would still be telling them to you, child that you are."
His small comment made the half-demon's face turn red. Jumping to his feet, he retorted, "I'd rather be a child than shackled to some bitch I hate for the rest of my life. You're worse than a child, you're a coward."
The mention of his marriage almost made him chip a fang in rage when his jaw clenched automatically, trying to bring himself under control. Usually, it worked. Until the idiot opened his mouth again.
Realizing he had an audience, Inuyasha began to perform. "Keh, not only are you a coward, but you're a cuckold." A grin overtook his face. "Your wife's had more dick in her than there are men in this regiment, but her favorite one is right here." The half-breed thrust his hips to the accompanying soundtrack of hoots and hollers.
It wasn't for Kagura that he hit his brother in the face with a closed fist. He assumed she was a perfectly fine woman, but she held no interest for him. Marriage was a necessity, and was about as painful as learning to transform into his true form, but like his transformation it made him more powerful, albeit in a different way. Her father had recently gone from a lowly ambassador to some backwater kingdom to a very powerful man within the court, the kind of power that made people dangerous. By marrying Kagura, the eldest daughter and heiress, he secured their wealth and connections for the Inu empire forever. Just because his father requested it and he was visibly reluctant from the start did not mean he hated the woman. But to see that half-breed's idiotic gaping smile and to hear his jeering attempts at emasculating him made him snap.
Before Sesshomaru could hit him again, Inuyasha dodged. Always vulgar, he spat a mouthful of blood at the ground.
"We're taking it outside, asshole. 'Bout time we settled this."
The full demon heard the words but they did not register. All he could think was that this thing, this abomination, had stolen from him. He'd stolen his father, his sword, his men's respect, his wife. True, he didn't want or care for most of those things, but to have them taken by something that civilized people would have stamped out before birth was an insult that could no longer be borne. The thief had to be punished. There was no one to save the mutt from the consequences of his actions this time.
Flying at him, propelled by the force of his bitter hatred, he followed the half-breed through the open tent flaps, part of it collapsing and falling on the men who didn't make it out on time. He didn't notice. The only thing he saw was the gaping grin of the idiot in front of him. Some sort of sauce was smeared around his mouth and a strand of saliva connected a top fang to the bottom one. The rotten fruit of the union that should never have been.
Disgusting.
The fact that they shared blood was disgusting.
He'd have to spill it, then. He'd have to bleed the brat of their father's royal, exalted blood, leaving only the foul human half.
Barely aware of it, he transformed. The scent of fear from the crowd filled his nostrils and had him slavering, eager and ready to use his powerful jaw to tear the one he despised to shreds. Monstrous green-tinged drops of saliva fell to the ground, the acid within burning the grass and ensuring nothing could grow there for at least a decade, if not more.
Lunging forward, maw open wide, wicked fangs exposed, Sesshomaru gave himself over to the madness of his hatred and rejoiced. As soon as the half-breed was out of the way, everything would be secure. The empire, his position, his status, his familial honor. Washing out a stain. It was like washing out a stain.
The pain that ripped through him was all the worse because he had not been expecting it.
Inuyasha grinned at him and lazily sheathed his sword again, finally wiping the sauce from his face.
"Tetsusaiga can kill a hundred demons, dumbass. Looks like you're not even worth half of one."
Applause and cheers rang in his ears, deafening him. The men were celebrating. His one consolation as he watched them raise Inuyasha on their shoulders was that they had given him a wide berth on their way to chum it up with the empire's favorite prince. Though he didn't have the fraternity they shared with Inuyasha, he had their fear, and fear could command respect, even after…
Running on will power alone, he forced himself to become energy, flying as far as he could from the scene of his greatest humiliation. Though he didn't want to, he abruptly changed back into his natural form, falling to the ground a small distance away from where the camp was into a small wood. On the way down, he hit several branches, one tearing through his flesh and impaling his right calf. With all the pain that had been dealt to him already, it was like nothing.
Sesshomaru didn't know how long he lay where he did. He stayed there on the forest floor without moving a muscle for so long the insects began to bite at him, tearing away more pieces of his body.
He was lost in his mind.
If there were gods, why had they permitted such a thing to befall him? They had chosen him as the heir to the greatest empire history had ever seen, given him the heritage of the two strongest demons in the world. He was the best of the best. The elite among elites. In mind and body, he excelled and put those who would under normal circumstances be called his peers to shame. Yet here he was.
Nothing was going the way it was meant to.
As the demon lay face down in the cool dirt, he found it somewhat soothing, and his mind began to drift.
Who did he hate more? Izayoi or her mongrel offspring? It was hard to say since it changed depending on who he had to deal with more. At the palace, it was usually her. Out here, it was Inuyasha. While his half-brother had only stolen his father, Izayoi had stolen both his parents. If not for her, he would at least have his mother on his side, but as it was she doted on the human queen to an embarrassing degree. Like a damned servant. Never could he remember his mother looking at him with gentle tenderness the way she always looked at that human whore. That care extended even to the half-breed himself, and InuKimi treated him more like a son than she did her own flesh and blood. The mongrel got everything because he was the child of Izayoi, and what was left for Sesshomaru? A cold room in a forgotten part of the palace, visited only by his tutor and maids, speaking with his parents almost exclusively through dictated notes even though they dwelled in the same building.
He still remembered the first time he had truly grasped the extent of their indifference towards him. He had been just a child, still an innocent. Inuyasha was not yet weaned. It was Sesshomaru's birthday, and a great feast had been prepared to honor the crown prince. All his personal servants had made themselves scarce, too busy with preparations for the celebration that evening, and so for once he roamed about the palace unsupervised, his bright eyes taking in all that would be his one day. Peals of laughter interrupted his peaceful stroll and he darted to where the noise came from, peeved that the illusion of serenity had been shattered.
On the portion of the grounds where magically sustained gardens gave way to magically sustained woods sat his father on a plush cushion. In his arms was a wriggling red ball. It took him a moment before he recognized the ball as his father's second son in the traditional robe of the fire rat. After all, he had only seen the boy from a distance at his naming ceremony. It was his instinct to go to his father, something that only became stronger when he saw his mother standing near him. Maybe they would tell him what gifts they'd gotten him this year, or at least give him a hint. But something stopped him when he saw the way the emperor cradled his youngest son, that softness on his face, that look of contentment. Whenever his father looked at him, he was a blank slate. He gave orders and Sesshomaru obeyed. He lectured and Sesshomaru listened.
One of the courtiers rolled a ball toward the emperor, smile on his face. Slowly, it came to a stop at his knees. Holding the wriggling red half-demon ball under the arms, Toga lowered him almost to the ground. Face lit up, the baby was obviously familiar with this game. Inuyasha gave the ball a kick which managed to quickly go beyond the circle of courtiers and inside a room of the palace even though he was still so small. Toga laughed heartily and bounced his son up and down, nodding at someone to fetch the toy.
"This one's a natural warrior, isn't he Izayoi?" he said, voice glowing with happiness. "There was no play in that kick. He wanted to win."
Izayoi kissed Toga's cheek and then Inuyasha's. "Don't go projecting all that on him, dear. Inuyasha's still just a baby."
Sesshomaru wasn't so sure. The baby's face was screwed up, legs still kicking, eyes traveling the area in search for something else to beat.
"He's Inu, darling. We're different." Toga's expression turned thoughtful. "Is it too early to begin training him? Obviously he can't hold a sword yet, but I could take him to my practice sessions."
Izayoi snatched her son back. "And have one of your weapons go flying out of your hand and split him in two!? I think not!"
"Are you saying I can't protect my own son?"
Putting an arm around Izayoi, InuKimi stepped in. "He's still in diapers, Toga. And he's half-human. It would be best to wait a few years. Even Sesshomaru's only got the basics down."
Toga nodded in understanding and pulled Izayoi over by the hand, sitting her in his lap, arms encircling her and their son.
"When did Sesshomaru start training?" Izayoi asked, rocking an increasingly fussy Inuyasha. "You can start training Inuyasha at that age."
"Uh… Well…"
InuKimi's face turned sour. "You don't remember, do you?"
"Do you!?" he shot back.
"Um…"
"Really?" Izayoi asked in exasperation. "And on his birthday, too."
"It's his birthday?" the rulers of the empire said in unison.
"I thought it was next month!" InuKimi groaned. "It's a good thing his tutor gives the servants lists of things he thinks the boy likes or he would have gone without a gift from me."
"What horrible timing," Toga muttered, rising to his feet and bringing his mate and child with him. "I wanted to take the two of you sailing today."
"Ba!" Inuyasha squealed at the abrupt movement.
The three of them went still.
"His first word!" Izayoi squealed.
"Oh, he was trying to talk to Toga and call him 'papa'. How precious!"
"My boy's a fighter and a talker too, now." Toga beamed with pride and kissed Izayoi on the lips.
Hidden in the shadows, Sesshomaru was glad he was downwind of the traitors. No one but him could smell his few tears.
At the celebration that night, his mother left early due to a "headache". His father gave him a pat on the head and told him to try harder with his studies. Izayoi gave him a wooden sword, which he promptly broke when back in the safety of his room.
Tired of the memories, Sesshomaru attempted to turn over onto his back only to realize he was missing a rather significant object: his left arm.
Snarling, he clawed at the dirt, pounding the ground with his remaining fist, letting out a pained roar that shook the branches of the trees surrounding him.
A small gasp from the nearby bushes startled him, then had him cursing his weakened state. How could he not have heard someone approach? They were just feet away from him now. What if someone thought to gain favor with Inuyasha by finishing the job?
Unbeknownst to him, his eyes were red and his claws were lengthened. His body was trying to transform but didn't have the energy.
What looked like a tail popped out from the bushes. A second later, a small human girl child followed, most of her hair tied on one side of her head. Filthy and scrawny, it was readily apparent that she was one of the humans displaced by the Inu empire's many wars. A feral orphan girl. In her small hands was a broad leaf with two lizards on it, heads missing, clumsily lopped off with a sharpened rock or something of the sort. Dumbfounded, he stared at her. What was her purpose in bringing this to him? Why hadn't she run at the sight of him?
The girl lifted the leaf to her mouth and offered it to him once again.
She wanted him to eat that?
"Leave," he said shortly. All he wanted was to be alone and die as he had lived, forgotten.
Ignoring him, she began stabbing the lizards into smaller pieces with a sharp stick. Briefly, he wondered if she was deaf, but then remembered her gasp at his pained roar. Blood from the lizard squirted onto his sleeve and he felt his anger rush back again.
"Stop that. If I get hungry, I'll do to you what you're doing to that thing."
Instead of running away in tears, the girl looked up at him, stared in his eyes, and smiled the biggest, most genuinely happy smile he had ever seen. She'd thought he was telling a joke.
He let her stay.
The girl kept silent. At first, he thought she was merely naturally quiet, like him, but her eyes seemed to express so much, including her longing to give him words. Perhaps she was traumatized by whatever she had seen in the war, or maybe a chemical attack had damaged her vocal cords. He didn't know. All he knew was that for whatever reason, all the pain he was experiencing melted away to nothing when she smiled and snuggled beside him.
So he let her stay, and he let her bring him food. He was used to servants, after all. It was proof that he was an elite demon that even when he had been struck down a lesser being had felt themselves summoned to devote their life to him. Since Jaken was off doing a terrible job of searching for him, this child would have to do. Every day, she brought him some sort of trash as food. Roots, acorns, frogs, more lizards. Sometimes birds. She'd even made a poultice for his wounds, though it didn't do much. His debt was growing at an alarming rate, but so was his health.
It was on a day like any other that Jaken finally found him.
The girl was gone doing whatever it was she did when she left. "Hunting", probably. Sesshomaru was almost entirely well again, even if something was blocking his arm from growing back. Tetsusaiga was truly formidable indeed, stopping regeneration in a demon of his caliber. Death had been much closer than he'd realized.
"Lord Sesshomaru! Crown Prince Sesshomaru!"
Panic he did not care to analyze flashed through him and he almost moved to hide. Instead, he stood. Facing his destiny was the only way for him to continue to live. Would the half-breed be capable of running the Inu Empire? He almost laughed.
Jaken ran right into his master's calves, too frantic to notice what he'd been searching for was right in front of him.
"Jaken. Show this one to the dragons. Ride on top, for I do not wish to be disturbed."
The teary-eyed little demon looked up at him in worshipful awe. "Y-yes, my lord! Right away, my lord!"
Smoothly walking the path Jaken had blazed, Sesshomaru kept his face expressionless even though every step was agony. It had been almost two weeks since he had first come to the forest and still he was in pain. All the more reason to go back to the camp after he went back to the palace and gave a report.
A corpse was strewn across the path that led back to his duties. The significance was not lost on him.
There in the brush, right out in the open on the edge of the forest where anyone could see, laid the girl. His loyal servant who had fed him even when she was starving. Her head had been caved in with a blunt object. Blood and brain and white skull could be seen between tendrils of dark, matted hair. Was it the work of vengeful refugees? Or perhaps even enemy troops he had failed to stop? The Inu did not kill children, so he at least knew it wasn't his own people. Eyes still open, she looked at him. There was no fear or accusation. Just a terrible disappointment. Had she tried to call out for him, forgetting she wasn't capable of it?
Stains on her dress indicated they had done worse than murder her.
Though it was the first time he'd felt pity in his life, Sesshomaru still almost stepped around her and walked on. In a way, he thought, this was a kinder fate than continuing to eke out an existence abandoned and alone. Closing his eyes, he attempted to move, but instead of darkness he saw her smile.
The worthless sword he wore merely for decoration thrummed against his thigh, whispering to him and urging him to act without words, mute like the girl.
His eyes were opened. Despicable little imps crowded around his servant girl, delighting in her wounds. A rage greater even than the one directed at Inuyasha filled him entirely, consuming him. Without even realizing it, he wielded the sword that could not cut and sent the evil creatures back to whatever place had birthed them.
"My lord! What are you—"
Sesshomaru picked up the girl. All at once, her wounds had been healed and she was breathing, comfortably cradled in his arm. Her eyes opened, making his heart pound in response, and he was deaf to the squawking and yelling of his other servant. The girl smiled up at him sleepily as though she had always known this was how they were supposed to be and the price she had to pay had been worth it.
"Rin is very happy," she murmured, and promptly fell asleep.
The carriage ride back to the palace was spent silencing Jaken with glares every time he tried to open his mouth. Rin, his newest servant, had just come back to life and was understandably in need of a nap. As long as he was around, no one would steal her slumber from her. Unwilling to part from her even when they landed back at the palace, not wanting her to be frightened when she awoke in a strange place, Sesshomaru carried her to his father's offices while Jaken took care of the dragons.
Striding in without knocking, he was met with the unpleasant visual of his father gagged and bent over his desk while Izayoi stood behind him, midway through bringing the flat side of a wooden sword down on his bottom.
"Sesshomaru. You're back." Izayoi seemed more than a little upset at having been interrupted. "And with a guest."
Toga removed his gag, face contorted in fury. "Why aren't you in the field!? You weren't summoned!"
Stunned, Sesshomaru could only stare. Finally regaining his tongue, he replied, "I thought you sent Jaken to find me and bring me back to the palace once you'd discovered I was missing."
"Missing?" Toga finally noticed his son's less than put together appearance and his precious cargo. "Where'd your arm go? I haven't heard about any recent battle."
All at once, he felt like laughing, but he held it in. Honestly, what had he expected?
"Your son," he spat, "did this to me."
Izayoi's eyes went wide and she held a hand to her mouth. "Oh goodness!"
"I vaguely remember receiving something about Inuyasha misbehaving, but I figured it was just another one of his scraps."
"I'll be going back to my regiment, then." His voice was as icy and dark as he felt inside.
"Hold on a minute. You can't serve in the military with a handicap like that." Toga eyed the place where his arm had been. "From now on, your place is in the palace. You can work from here, communicating with all the higher-ups out in the field. Think of it as a promotion." He grinned. "About time you got to work on making a family with Kagura. Naraku's been a very important ally and it would make him happy to have a grandchild. It's all he talks about."
"And Inuyasha?" For once, he begged the gods, just once let the brat be punished.
Toga waved a hand absentmindedly, eyes on his mate. "Don't worry about him. He can have your old job."
As Sesshomaru walked to the door as though hypnotized, he heard behind him, "And don't come again unless I summon you!"
The walk back to his rooms seemed longer than it actually was. Looking forward to the relief privacy would bring, he almost punched a hole through the stone wall when he saw his lady wife waiting for him. Clutching his pillow to her chest, black tears ran down her face to rest on her heavily painted lips. Gods, but now his private sleeping chamber would smell of her stench.
"S-Sesshomaru!" she cried, reaching her arms out to him. "Jaken told me everything. I wanted to look for you myself, but—"
"But you didn't."
She stopped in her tracks at the tone of his voice. Nervous, she cleared her throat, eyes darting around the room, avoiding his face.
"Is that a human child? What are you going to do with it?"
Dully, he stared down at the girl who was so comfortable in his embrace that she even slept through entire conversations.
"This is my servant."
Kagura's eyes turned concerned. "What happened to you? Where were you all this time?"
"Go back to your chambers. I do not wish to speak to you."
Reacting like he had just struck her, she burst into fresh tears and fled the room. Why did all women overreact like that? Did they prefer dishonesty?
As carefully as he could, he laid Rin down on his bed. That was the moment she chose to yawn and open her eyes. Contrary to his worries, she wasn't scared and she didn't scream or try to cling to him, frightened by her experience and new surroundings. Instead, she just looked at him patiently, contentedly. Sesshomaru took it as an opening.
"You proved yourself a worthy servant during my time in the forest." Something told him it was not appropriate to talk to a child like they were an adult, but he could not address her any other way. He hadn't interacted with children since Inuyasha was one, and then they were always fighting. This was not an area where he intuitively knew how to proceed. But she didn't appear to mind.
"How long will I be staying here?"
"Until I decide you're ready to leave."
Rin nodded. "Will we be together every day? Like before?"
Unable to stop himself, he smoothed her hair. "Yes."
On his way out, he flagged down a servant and ordered her to see to Rin's care, to treat her as though she were him, sparing no expense.
For the first time in his life, he was happy.
But time marched on and Rin grew. She went from an endearing child to an enchanting woman. Sesshomaru was aware of how his attention towards her grew from attentive to obsessive, but he was powerless to stop it. This was not some enemy he could slay. There were no apparent physical changes from one day to the next, but she had certainly reached maturity, as evidenced by the smell of her blood that drove him into a frenzy, so much so that it was impossible for him to be in her vicinity for days. Had Jaken not been with him on that first day, he surely would have defiled her, himself no better than those that had killed her in what she believed to be a long-forgotten dream.
It was madness. The small buds on her chest he had paid no attention to before haunted his every waking thought. He'd tried pleasuring himself, but the feel of his large clawed hand was too far from how his sweet Rin would feel that he could not reach completion. Seeking to rid himself of his unwanted desires, he even paid a visit to his wife's chambers, something he had mostly avoided since their honeymoon.
Her door was unlocked, a custom within the palace Sesshomaru had never once followed, unless it was the door that connected his rooms to Rin's. Since he couldn't hear evidence of her having any guests, he thought it perfectly permissible for him to just walk right in. They were married, after all. It was his right as her husband to take her body whenever and wherever he wished. When he got a whiff of the room, however, he began to have second thoughts. The earthy, flowery smell that barely covered up the scent of sex and unwashed bodies urged him to go back the way he had come and suffer for the rest of his life.
"Sesshomaru!"
Kagura tried to rouse herself from her prone position on the bed. A robe draped across her otherwise nude body, hardly covering the parts women by and large kept confined. With the state he was in, seeing the bare skin of her ribs had his cock jumping in his trousers.
"You should hab tol' me you were comin'," Kagura slurred. Her pupils were tiny black pinpricks in a sea of red and suddenly everything made sense.
Opium.
Nevertheless, he was a man on a mission, and he needed a willing and convenient body. Disliking whores as he did, Kagura was the only option, not that there was much difference. There were certainly other women at the court who would have been honored to receive his attention, but he absolutely hated being the subject of gossip, and him laying with a noblewoman would be the talk of the palace for months.
Too eager to be inside her warm wetness to exchange pleasantries, Sesshomaru turned his wife over. The wind witch's disheveled locks were about the length of Rin's, though wavy, and so he pretended his young servant had just undone her braids for him, knowing he liked her hair unbound. Without bothering to perform foreplay, since Rin had received ample foreplay already in his mind, he plunged his aching staff inside her.
"My lord," she gasped. "Oh, how long I've waited..."
Yes. Yes. Rin would say something like that. Her pink little lips would form the words, whimpering, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. Tears of joy and pain at their union. She was so small, and he was so big. Gentle. He had to go gently, be careful with Rin. She was only human, after all, and still so young. It wasn't yet the time to reveal the fullness of his desires. That would have to wait.
"Fuck me! Ram that thick cock in my pussy." Kagura groaned with want, bringing him out of the moment. "Cum inside me, Sesshomaru. Fill my womb with your hot, sticky cum!" Reaching between her legs, she gently massaged his ball sack.
Gods damn it. Everything was ruined. Kagura had ripped apart his beautiful illusion.
Not knowing what he had expected, Sesshomaru pulled out his rapidly deflating cock from his wife. Had she not just ruined everything, he thought that there was a chance that they could have started over and become something close to a real husband and wife. But she was just too much the opposite of Rin. Bold, voluptuous, experienced.
Fixing his clothing, he looked at her with obvious disdain.
"Bathe. You reek of men and poppy."
Her mouth was agape in shock. "Are you leaving? After all that?"
Weren't his actions obvious? He was half out the door already. Why did women always ask such damned stupid questions?
Kagura's face crumpled and tears began to fall. Even so, she was laughing. "You bastard. You bastard. You bastard!"
With her last shriek, she sent blades of air his way. Preoccupied as he was with wondering how he would temporarily sate his lust, he did not dodge quickly enough and ended up with shallow cuts scattered across his body. Closing the door on his wife's embarrassing drug-fueled raving, he walked back to his garden to look at his most precious flower, his little Rin. A complete picture of tranquility, she sat with her legs crossed beneath her, heedless of his eyes on her bared thighs, braiding a dainty rope of flowers across her lap.
Without meaning to, he knelt beside her. Concentrating on a difficult knot, it took his ward a few seconds to look up at him. When she did, she let out a small cry of distress. Pressing a too-long sleeve to his cheekbone, she mopped up the rivulet of blood from an already healed wound. Allowing himself to relax, he breathed her scent in, concentrating on the sound of her voice and filtering out the words. Sesshomaru was glad she had not touched him with her bare skin. In his state, that would have made everything so much worse and he feared he would not have been able to control himself. Her virgin blood would stain the delicately fragrant work of her hands, and finally, finally he would at long last be satisfied.
It was his turn for concern. The more he studied her appearance, the more he lamented he had not dressed her appropriately for her age. She was a woman now. A short and thin style of garment appropriate for a child was what she wore. The seamstresses had been making the same thing for her for years. True, her clothes were fine, more than befitting someone of her dubious station, for he never once neglected her, but they were not age-appropriate and hadn't been for some time now. It was about time she graduated to more mature gowns. But he was not quite able to give up the sight of her bare legs and so delayed speaking with them.
Everything he would ever want was right there in front of him. Everything he would never have.
She hesitantly stroked the soft leather of his shoe, wanting his attention. "Your eyes are asking me something, my lord, but your lips do not move."
Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "Would you like new clothes?"
Surprised, she met his gaze. "Oh no, my lord! I already have too much."
"There is no such thing as 'too much' in the palace, Rin. Now tell me."
"Whatever pleases my lord."
He thought about what would please him most of all. A shudder ran down his spine.
"Sesshomaru!" His mother's voice prevented what would have been a regrettable and excruciatingly sweet experience.
InuKimi, a dozen maidservants trailing behind her, entered his garden looking like the empress she was. Rings glittered on every hand, a bejeweled choker wrapped around her throat, heavy earrings hung from both pointed ears and went down almost to her shoulders. Competing with what must have been an extraordinary weight of jewelry was her ostentatious dress. Heavy skirts of every shade and kind of fabric were layered over on another, stopping just above the ground, perfect to show her golden slippers. In contrast, her bodice was so sheer it served less as clothing and more as a window through which to view her breasts. She stepped past Rin, ignoring her like she was one of the many flowers. Just seeing the dog demoness made his lips twist in disgust.
"Mother," was all he said, making his voice as respectful as possible.
"I smelled your blood on my way to luncheon with Queen Izayoi and became quite disturbed. Did you and Inuyasha get into another spat?" Instead of concern, there was a sparkle of amusement in her eyes as she stared at the space where his left arm had been. As of yet, there were no signs of it ever regenerating.
Flicking a strand of hair over his shoulder, he noted with mild upset that there was blood on his clothes and many lacerations as well, enough to make them beyond repair. Just like him.
"I went to visit my lady wife, but it appears she is in a bad mood. An evening supper with a page boy or three should bring her spirits back up to her usual merely surly temperament."
To his surprise, Rin's face colored and she smelled of embarrassment. Was she old enough now to understand the meaning behind his words? At least she had been made into the kind of lady who shied away from talk like that. This new depth of maidenly modesty she was exhibiting made him grateful for the eyes that watched his every move.
Unwilling to trust himself in Rin's company any longer, he escorted his mother to lunch and beat a hasty retreat to his rooms. Opening the door that connected him to his servant girl, he went to her wardrobe and pulled out the bag of clothing that had yet to be washed. At the very bottom lay what he was searching for. Like the criminal he was, he absconded with his treasure back to his bed. This was necessary, he told himself. If he didn't do this, he would surely carry out a regrettable deed. In his clawed hand he cradled Rin's undergarments. And not just any of her undergarments. He'd taken the ones she'd reddened during her recent time of the month.
Pressing them to his face, he inhaled until his lungs were completely full of her and could expand no further. This proof of her womanhood had his cock aching. Lying on his stomach, he kept the cloth on his face. Her scent filled his nose and mouth and her small, nubile body filled his thoughts. His throbbing length was pinned between the weight of his body and his downy mattress. Her skin would be softer than these sheets, he was certain. Fisting the fabric, he bit down on the crotch of her underclothes. His pelvis hammered into the bed with a tempo he could not control. With each thrust, her name rang out in his mind.
Rin, Rin, Rin, sweet little Rin…
Rin putting flowers in her hair. Rin singing in the meadow. Rin dancing in the halls. Rin licking cream off her dessert spoon. Rin swallowing his cock whole.
His bed was a mess.
His mind was a mess.
His life was a mess.
Present-day Sesshomaru willed his erection away. All the practice he'd had so far made it almost easy. Savoring the sunlight in his pet's hair, he wished they could stay as they were for all of eternity. Perhaps that would be enough time for him to discover a way to have her and everything else as well. Unfortunately, they lived in the real world and not one of Rin's fairytales and he had to leave her to talk politics with his father and Naraku. Finally feeling his gaze on her, Rin looked up at him and beamed, giving him a charming, carefree wave that he barely acknowledged with a nod.
"Jaken!"
His servant rushed closer to his side.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Tell Rin I will see her at dinner."
O\o/O
Once her husband was out of sight, Kagura made her presence known, striding out into the garden. A breeze made by her ruffled the ends of Rin's hair, tickling the girl's skin. It was her customary greeting. Immediately, the child's shoulders tensed and she looked up, eyes wide, heart beating quick and hard.
"Follow me. We need to discuss what we're to wear at the prince's courting dances."
"Must we?" Her voice was small and quavering. "It's still so very far away yet."
Jaken scowled and inserted himself into the conversation. "Obey your mistress, human! Lord Sesshomaru will be most displeased when he hears of your disrespect towards his lady wife."
Kagura put a hand on Rin's and helped her to her feet, not letting go even when on the familiar way to her chambers. When she closed and locked the door behind them, the girl turned pale.
"Undress me. Then yourself."
Meekly, always so meek, Rin did as commanded, eyes watering not just from the smokiness of the opium that pervaded the rooms. Lowering herself into the tub her maidservants had prepared before she'd left, Kagura sighed at the perfect temperature of the water and closed her eyes. She liked her baths just below boiling. It had cooled some, but still hit the spot. When she found herself drifting away into dreams, she forced one eye open. Rin still stood right by the tub, as naked as could be. One thin arm covered her tiny breasts while her other hand covered her mons. Her posture was stiff and there were goosebumps all over her skin. It made her nervous to be left waiting. Good.
"Get in the tub."
Jumping to obey, she made water splash outside and hit the wood floors. Glaring at the puddles, Kagura watched them spread to the expensive rugs that decorated the room. Fixing a smile on her face, she turned to Rin, the smile becoming more real when she saw how soon the girl's skin had turned pink and would soon turn red.
"Hold your breath until I cum."
Considering that a proper warning, Kagura grabbed Rin by the hair and dunked her under the water, keeping her under when she tried to struggle. She really should have been more prepared. It wasn't like this was the first time. The bitch was lucky she was already more than halfway there since her partner from before had proved capable only of turning her on and not getting her off. Pinching one of her long, hard nipples, she watched Rin struggle between foamy peaks of bubbles. Several times in the past this game had caused her to lose consciousness. Just thinking about it had Kagura closer. And Rin knew what she was doing by now, knew her mistress' body as well as her own. Not allowed to use her hands, Rin worked her tongue past the point of exhaustion, stabbing it inside Kagura's cunt, the tip of her button nose repeatedly bumping against her clit.
How long had it been since she'd first hit upon the reason why Sesshomaru wouldn't give her an heir?
Years.
Rin was the only daughter she would ever have. And so she hated her. Hated her for taking away the life she'd always wanted. Hated her because Sesshomaru loved her.
Loved her because Sesshomaru loved her.
Sesshomaru would never be able to have Rin. No, he cared about what people thought too much. Kagura had decided a long time ago that she didn't. The only one she ever cared about was Sesshomaru, and he had rejected her in painful, humiliating ways. And what he was to her, Rin was to him. To the demon who would one day be emperor, the once feral human girl was his heir and the queen of his heart all at once. She'd taken away all the space in Sesshomaru's heart that once could have been hers. If he had not gone on campaign so soon after they had been married, Kagura just knew he would have come to love her eventually…
Tears rolled down her cheeks as her orgasm washed over her.
Rin burst through the water gasping for breath. Cradling the girl to her, Kagura soothed her as she cried, kissing her brow. Rin was the only daughter she'd ever have, and times like these were the only ones when she could be a mother.
"Thank you. You're a good girl, Rin. Such a good girl."
O\o/O
Still covered in sweat from practice, Inuyasha pounded into Sango from behind in his personal weapons storeroom. Tetsusaiga watched from above in its place of honor on the wall. His shadow's performance was more than a little lackluster, but he didn't blame her. For the past three days, ever since he'd brought the slaves back, he hadn't gone easy on her in neither training nor sex. The excitement of pretty new pets combined with the dread of being forced to take a bride had him barely ever sleeping. He'd replaced times of rest with more training and fucking. How much longer would his time be his to do with as he pleased? Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the task at hand. Really, by fucking Sango as much as he was the past few days, he was doing his new slaves a service. It had been months since he was able to sate himself, and if he had loosed his passions on them immediately, they could have ended up injured by his eagerness.
The smell of Sango's blood reached his nose and he wanted to stop but didn't. Couldn't. His hips kept moving as he chased his orgasm, thinking of the things he'd have his new slaves doing before long. He'd drive into the little one's pussy while her sister straddled her face, and then they'd switch, their lowly Higurashi bodies finally put to good use. Focusing on the image of his dick plunging into the younger sister while she struggled beneath him and her older sibling, he was finally able to shoot his load.
Sango stayed on her knees a few seconds more after he pulled out from her and rolled onto his back. At first, she had loved the ferocious fucking he'd been giving her. Her heart was crying out for him at the mere thought that they were soon to separate forever, and his sudden wild passion seemed to be proof he was feeling the same way. But all he talked about were his slaves. Plans and opinions and schemes. Her prince was truly putting his all into this last pair of girls.
"Best two out of three?" Her voice was ragged.
He laughed. "I don't think you can handle me right now."
Sango scowled and began cleaning off. "I hope you know none of these sparring sessions these past few days have been fair considering how sore I am."
Yawning, he scratched his thigh. "You know I always win unless I let you."
"Sure, sure."
As always, they bathed separately, thoroughly scrubbing away all evidence of their union. Once they were presentable, the next thing on the agenda was paying a visit to his girls in the dungeon. But first, he wanted to go to the observation room.
The observation room was located within the dungeon itself. Orbs were present in the ceiling of every room in the dungeon, and they provided light in addition to their main function, which was to record and transmit everything inside the room to a remote location. Rarely did he ever have a person inside the observation room to monitor the screens, but now was one of those times. The demon inside was old and just months away from retirement. He had a human wife back home and four half-demon children. He was a good guy and knew when to intervene and when to simply watch. Since Inuyasha hadn't received any reports, he wasn't at all worried about his latest acquisitions.
"Prince Inuyasha!" The demon shot to his feet and saluted when the half-demon entered the room. "Is today the day?"
He nodded. "How have they been?"
"Neither of them are…normal."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" He didn't know why he was feeling defensive of the sisters, but he was.
"Well, the older one just stares off into space. It's kind of creepy. I mean, just look at her."
Inuyasha did. Kikyo was staring at the door. Anticipation, fear, sorrow, anger, hatred; none of the usual emotions were present on her face. Nothing could be seen in her face. Her eyes were open, but as cold as a winter storm, blank as the snow.
"And the other one is a demon. Not like us, but an actual demon from hell." The old man's voice was earnest. "She destroyed the cot on the first day and used the wood from that to carve curses in the walls. Wood. On stone."
Curious now, he focused on Kagome's screen. Huddled in the very center of her room, surrounded by broken bits of the cot, she shivered and hugged her knees to her chest. Disappointment flashed through him. He had been hoping to spy on her in an intimate moment, to see her vulnerable sleeping face, or maybe even see her taking care of an important need and touching herself, thinking she had complete privacy, unaware of her voyeur master.
"She'll be punished for that," he assured the man, privately impressed. "I'll leave her in her mess for a couple more days." He chuckled. "Wonder how long the chamber pot'll last 'er."
Sango wrinkled her nose in disgust. Ugh, that was just cruel.
"Thank you for your work," Inuyasha continued, handing the man a small bag of coins. "I'll be taking the older slave upstairs. The younger one will join us in two days."
"Yes, your highness." The demon had already spilled the contents of the purse onto his palm, counting his newly acquired treasure.
Kikyo's cell was a stark contrast to her sister's. Though most of the food and drink was untouched, she kept the trays neatly stacked in a far corner of the room. To Inuyasha's approval, she had drained every mug of tea she'd been given.
"You know what's in the tea?" he asked, unsure of and not quite caring whether she'd answer him or not.
Kikyo eyed him warily and nodded once.
Inuyasha observed how prominent her ribs were and how the bumps of her spine showed. This particular piece of property was dirty and smelly and starving, but still he couldn't see anything but a desirable woman. Freeing himself from his trousers, he gave her a beckoning look.
"Suck it." His voice was husky; he couldn't help it when he thought of her mouth around him. "Sucking my cock earns you privileges. Like clothes and a proper room."
It seemed like she wasn't going to obey. She was looking nowhere near him, hands folded in her lap. But slowly, ever so slowly, she came towards him. Avoiding even glancing at his penis, she knelt down, eyes dull, and opened her mouth, giving him a lackluster blowjob. In fact, it was the worst he'd ever received. There was no suction, her tongue didn't move, she made no noise. It was what he'd imagine fucking a corpse's throat would feel like. Pushing away such eerie thoughts, he did his best to enjoy this first intimate encounter of theirs. Later, he would instruct her. After he'd popped her cherry. Hopefully she'd put up some resistance after this, though, or else it wouldn't be fun.
What would it be like to have her sister's—to have Kagome's—mouth around him?
The mere thought had his thrusts becoming irregular.
That girl, that bratty little bitch, would be glaring defiantly up at him the entire time. She'd quickly master every trick in the book just to have something with which to control him. Every encounter with her would be a battle even though he'd already won the war.
Holding Kikyo underneath her jaw, caressing her smooth skin, he thought of her sister's sharp tongue and what wicked things it would do to him soon.
The former Queen turned her gaze inward the moment her captor's intentions became clear. She no longer cared what happened to her. She was already dead and it was only her body that was living. The Inu could have her body. It didn't matter.
Her captor was wealthy, that much was obvious, and a noble. From what she had glimpsed of her location before her confinement, they were most likely at a palace. Perhaps they were at the main palace. The heart of enemy territory, the very center of command. At this point, she didn't even feel fear. There was nothing left inside her. She'd tried to summon concern for Kagome, but even that was muted at best. When her captor released his seed into her throat, she swallowed all she could, spitting the rest out when he withdrew from her mouth. It tasted like nothing.
"Guard!" Inuyasha was surprised he had been able to get off at all. Fuck, he would have had a better time masturbating. "Take the new slave to a clean room in the harem and give her over to the maids. Tell them to get her ready to be broken in by the end of the week." Hopefully her cunt was better than her mouth.
The guard bowed and took her away. She didn't resist.
Inuyasha sighed and fixed his clothing. Frustrated, he turned to his shadow.
"That bitch looked like she was perfect!" he complained. "But she had absolutely no technique. Even worse, no spirit."
Sango shrugged, forcing herself to sound undisturbed, forcing her jealousy to go way down deep inside where it usually hid.
"She is from Higurashi, my prince. You must keep that in mind. Their kingdom fell and her family's most likely been completely wiped out, apart from her sister. They ran away to find a better life only to fall prey to slavers and end up your whores."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "That's the past! They should be grateful and move on. This is the best possible life they could be living right now."
His shadow didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his response. It had been a long day. In the end, as she usually did, she decided the best thing to say was nothing at all.
O\o/O
Two days passed by painfully slowly for Inuyasha.
Deciding an early hour would be more torturous than making her wait even longer, he bounded down to the dungeon as soon as his morning correspondence was finished. Sango was at his heels, holding back a yawn and already looking pissed off. He'd woken up hours earlier than usual after keeping her up hours later than usual and at this point she just wanted to get away on a vacation. Unfortunately, that was impossible with her job. But maybe she could go to the village and take part in training the new guards like her father suggested… Not even for a whole day, just a few hours.
Bypassing the observation room, Inuyasha schooled his face into a passive mask, not wanting to let on how excited he was to start training her hot and wicked little mouth. Then he'd move her to the harem and the real fun stuff would begin. Every single thing he'd ever done and wanted to do, he'd do to her and her luscious, though frigid, sister. As he opened the door to her cell, his mind was bombarded with images of the two of them bound and gagged, obedient and willing and eager. Then, when they were completely under his thumb, he'd get his revenge for the shit she pulled at the shop and for what their people had done to his army. First he'd—
The door came flying wide open and hit him in the face, right on the nose where the bitch had kicked him the second time. Inuyasha's watery vision could just barely make out the blur of pale skin and black hair that flew at him, clawing and biting.
"Stand down!" he yelled to his shadow. It was about time he had some fun without her butting in.
A quick hand to her throat stopped her attack and he laughed, pinning her to the stone floor, being as rough as he could be without giving her a concussion. Though she had been all fight before, her big eyes were frightened and pleading with him now. The girl reeked of fear, like she really thought he was going to kill her after all the money he'd spent just to bring her here. Growling down at her as viciously as he could, his perusal of her features was disguised as an intimidating stare. More than five days without bathing and she had yet to become completely disgusting. Some of the girls he brought back were a mess within a day or two. He fought the urge to give her hair a test sniff. Instead, he leaned close to her until they were eye to eye. She didn't try to look away or avoid him by shutting her eyes, a sign of the fun times to come.
"Did you really think you could possibly fight your way out of here?"
She suddenly tried to buck him off of her, obviously using all her pitiable strength. Her head was turned to the side, pearly whites exposed as she tried to bite at his wrist. Growing tired of the game, he grabbed her jaw hard with the hand that was not on her throat.
"Fucking stop that already," he said, his annoyance obvious. "You have absolutely no chance of fighting your way out of this cell, but you had the right idea when you thought your mouth could get you out of it." His cock twitched between them, seeking out the warmth of her soft skin. "All you gotta do is suck me until I cum, okay? That earns you privileges. You get a nice warm room, good food, and—"
And the bitch hocked one in his face.
Honestly, what had he expected from her after everything she'd done so far? Staring down at her in astonishment, he wiped her spit away when the thought flashed through his mind that his purchase was a dud and she could be mentally ill. Who in their right mind wouldn't listen to a simple request after five days of isolation, privation, and humiliation? She should have been begging for him!
"You dare ask for my favors after ignoring me for five days!?" she screeched.
He winced, remembering why he had kept her gagged before. "I don't recall asking—"
"You shut up when I'm talking!" Her face was screwed up in anger which quickly mixed with revulsion. "You disgusting dog. Would any woman be that desperate?"
His hands tightened on their own, one in her hair and one on her throat as he rose to his feet, bringing her with him. When Sango quietly hissed his name, it made him realize what he was doing and he took a deep breath, loosening his grip but keeping a hold on her.
"Believe it or not, some women do find me attractive," he said, striving to keep his voice light and sarcastic. "Especially in circumstances such as yours. Now do you want your own room or what?" Despite her atrocious personality, he couldn't stop his eyes from roving over her naked body, mapping out exactly how he was going to touch her when she finally stopped being a bitch.
Kagome just turned her head to the side, nose in the air.
Was she seriously giving him the cold shoulder? Rolling his eyes, he figured her little princess act had about played out. His cock was semi-hard from their play already and so he pulled it out, stroking it, showing it off. He knew the effect the sight of it had on women, especially untouched ones. They liked to pretend their thoughts were as pure as their bodies, but he knew better. He could smell their desire.
The slave shrieked and slapped his dick with the back of her hand like it was a mosquito come too close.
"Get that thing away from me, you rapist dog!"
Though there was a lot for him to take in, at first all he noticed was the true repugnance and abhorrence in her scent. There was hardly any fear. For the first time, a woman genuinely didn't want him. The stench filled the room like the accusation it was and he saw red. Grabbing her wrist, he forced her hand around him, his own over hers, making her touch him, stroke him. Her face drained of color the moment their skin came into contact and tears gathered in her eyes.
"You think you're too good for me? You think you're too good for a half-demon?" he spat. "An inbred idiot Higurashi peasant whore like you thinks she's too good for the prince of Inu?"
"P-please," she whispered in agony. "Please stop! I don't— I don't want this!"
"No, you do. You do want it," he whispered in her ear, drawing her closer. She was in shock and didn't make a move to stop him. "This is what you were made for. This is the highest thing you can aspire to. This is better than you deserve." When she whimpered, his tongue couldn't help but to peek out and taste the drop of fear sweat at her temple. "For every countryman I lost in the war your people started, I will fuck you. I will fuck you until I ruin you."
"Stop it!" she sobbed, chest heaving with great big breaths. "Let me go let me go let me go oh gods let me go!"
With great effort, he released her and stepped away.
"Restrain her. It's about time I activated her collar."
Sango held Kagome's arms, ignoring her mindless, panicked struggling. As he approached her, he felt a degree of disappointment. This was supposed to be one last hurrah, the greatest yet, before his life was no longer his own. It felt meant to be, the way he'd found those girls. She was the surprise, the cherry on top, the gift for all the toil and strain he'd experienced in that war that just dragged on and on and on. But she was ruining everything.
With just the tips of his claws held to the leather collar, he put all his feelings and frustrations into a single word imbued with his demonic power and said…
"Bitch."
Kagome fell to her knees hard and her mouth popped open.
To drive home the point that he was her master, he rubbed the tip of his cock on the tears that wet her face. She was so shocked that she didn't even notice at first.
"You call me a dog again," he murmured, pleased beyond saying at her forced submission, "and I'll say the word, and guess what you're going to do?"
The spell let up and she scrambled into a corner, big blue eyes finally seeming to comprehend that he held more than her life in his clawed hands. Inuyasha held her will. Not just her body was enslaved to him.
Approaching her, he ground the heel of his bare foot into her pussy, the calloused skin rubbing against her clit. Fuck, but he could smell how that excited her, how he aroused her even if she hated him. Though she didn't know it, she wanted him, and she wanted him to be rough. A hushed gasp of pleasure left her lips that no one heard but him and her.
"This is what I want." It was almost a struggle to keep his voice as dark as it had been before. "And I'm going to get it. You'll come to me on hands and knees and offer it."
Taking his foot away, he gave the room a quick glance. To his dismay, she was the exact opposite of her sister. All the food had been eaten and the water had been downed, but the tea was still in every mug. Not even a sip had been taken. Holding back a groan of exasperation, he glared at her.
"Drink the tea if you want to keep on living. Sango, tell the guards not to give her anything else to drink but the tea."
His shadow nodded and dutifully left the room to fetch the guards.
"But it's disgusting!" Kagome complained.
Inuyasha was surprised she could still whine. "Either drink it or grow heavy with my child."
A deeper fear entered her scent and mixed with hatred. "I'd sooner starve myself to death than birth your hideous dog child."
Weary now, he was glad when Sango returned with a guard, their presence stopping him from doing things he shouldn't.
"Well, then, bitch," he began, feeling a little cheered up at the horror in her face when she rose to her knees and opened her mouth as wide as she could, "you better start practicing just in case." Turning to the guard, he said, "Give her only one meal a day. She could stand to lose some weight."
Without a look back, he left.
Kagome stewed in anger. By the time the spell wore off, her knees were aching. Growling, unaware of where she'd picked it up, she threw a full mug of tea at the door. Gods, she wished she had been more vicious in her attack. If she were only trained like Kikyo, she knew she could have beaten him and made her escape.
Worried, she wondered how her sister was doing and where she was being held. No doubt she was putting up an even greater and more heroic resistance than she could imagine. Kagome vowed to do her proud and never give in, not even in death, if it came to that. But she was beginning to doubt it would.
Their captor, who claimed to be a prince even though he acted like nothing more than a common soldier, was obviously a weak man. While he called her a slave, it was him who was a slave to his own desires. The dog had tried to tempt her, but she had resisted. Not like it was hard. True, he had an almost ethereal beauty that was balanced by his rugged muscular masculinity, but weren't all demons like that? He was nothing special. Soon she'd grow used to his appearance and it would no longer make her tongue twist and her heart beat faster. And he used a woman who didn't even have spiritual power as his enforcer! She laughed just remembering. He was good at scaring her with his words, she'd give him that, but nothing more. Next time he came at her, she'd fight him off properly and run away, find Kikyo, and go build up a resistance to take back their kingdom.
O\o/O
Kikyo was having her fourth bath in two days.
Even as a woman who had once been a Queen, she was surrounded by things nicer than anything she'd ever seen before, let alone owned. The tub was porcelain and massive, filled with luxuriant soaps and oils. Her maids chose the scents for her, knowing what the man who had purchased her liked and what paired with what. One maid worked at conditioning her newly trimmed hair while another scrubbed her skin. They weren't just pampering her, they were trying to wash the soldier out of her. Trying to wash the Higurashi out of her.
At most, she had expected a marginally better room than the elegant one in the "dungeon", which was still nicer than the rooms in the Higurashi castle she'd grown up in. Rather than sharing a common bathroom, she had her own attached to her private sleeping chamber. Though they were a little smaller and certainly fewer than her rooms at the castle, they were far more beautiful. But such things had ceased to interest her. Kikyo was only existing now. Seeing the room and knowing it was hers was like waking from a troubled sleep only to fall right back into nightmares. It didn't matter.
"You'll like it here," the younger of the maids said. "Prince Inuyasha is very kind and generous."
Prince.
Was he the one who had led the slaughter of her people?
Of Suikotsu?
The opening of her bathroom door stopped her from pursuing her thoughts. There stood the demon that had purchased her. The prince. His brow was lined and he seemed angry. A nod at the maids dismissed them, and they bowed their way out, never turning their backs to him. His female bodyguard stood in the doorway, watching her with eyes that both pitied and resented her.
Silence.
"Are you pleased with the room?"
She nodded.
"Did you know your sister was trouble when you asked me to buy her?"
Had Kagome thrown one of her tantrums? Gods, but she'd thought her sister had grown up by now.
Noticing the expression on her face, he continued, "She's being punished. Don't worry, I won't take my anger out on you."
As if she cared.
"Your bath is finished, correct?"
She supposed it was.
His arms helped her stand, supporting her. His eyes assaulted her, so different from the way she would sometimes catch Suikotsu looking at her. But no one had ever looked at her like he had, and no one ever would again.
Numb, she allowed him to take her hand and lead her, still dripping wet, to her bedchamber, like a husband on a wedding night. Like her own would have been.
In his lust, he didn't care that the sheets were expensive. The demon shoved her face down on the bed, his claws catching and tearing the pillowcase. Kikyo hid her face there unmoving as he undressed behind her. Hard hands bent her knees and lifted her bottom up. She stiffened, mentally preparing herself for the penetration she knew would be torturously painful. Instead, she was met with a soft brush of wetness on her slit. She sucked in a quick breath in reaction. Was that…?
He grew bolder and changed from teasing to probing, circling her opening. Thick fingers joined his tongue and delved deep inside of her, where she squeezed them tight in an automatic reflex. His other hand massaged one of the globes of her bottom, grabbing the flesh and caressing it. It was… He was almost…
Before she could form a thought, he stopped playing with her. Something hot and hard rubbed against her womanhood, coating itself in the juices she only just realized she'd produced. Slowly, it entered her, filling her up effortlessly inch by inch, the way made slick by her excitement. Rather than hurt, it was merely uncomfortable. But the more he filled her, the more she realized how empty she had been, and she wanted more. When he was fully sheathed inside her, she could feel him in her stomach. Gently, he began to move, sawing back and forth in a rhythm that increased in tempo the wetter she became. Her hands gripped the pillow and she burrowed her face further into it. The sensation of her hardened nipples scraping the sheets had her mouth opening and she stuffed the pillow into it to avoid making noise.
One of his hands traveled from the possessive hold on her hip to between her legs, where he rubbed the spot he had been licking just moments before.
Today was her twenty-fifth birthday.
Kikyo cried when the orgasm ripped through her with uncontrollable force, making her every limb twitch and her hips buck. Why? Why had the numbness stopped now, of all times? Why could she feel everything she thought had killed her now? She'd thought the worst thing that could ever happen had happened, but gods, she had been wrong. So, so wrong. A bloody rape would have been preferable over this seduction. At least that way a part of herself could always belong to Suikotsu. But now they could never be together, even after she died. She was no longer worthy of his love.
"How old is your sister?" he asked as he pulled out.
"Eighteen," she choked out automatically.
"That explains some of it."
All she could think about now was how she had missed Kagome's last birthday as a princess. Missed her sister's happiness while battling the very demon that had taken more than her virginity. Through Kaede, she had given Kagome a kitten. The girl had named him Buyo and spoke about him in all her letters. Kikyo had never gotten to meet Buyo.
The demon left her.
The former Queen's sobs could not be heard even in the silence of the room. She wished she had Kagome beside her, but now she seemed as far away as Suikotsu. As far away as Higurashi. As far away as the rest of her soul.
Note: Just so you know, this is gonna get darker before the Disneyesque stuff kicks in.
I am so sorry this took so freaking long! As you may have heard, I'm super dupes busy right now, and in addition to that, Sesshomaru is SO HARD for me to write and it SHOWS. Which is why I never do it. Like ever. At all. You may have noticed that trend. But I'm tryna spread my wings a little, so I'm giving this a shot. This story is also different from my others in that I have almost no outline or plans, I'm just letting the characters do all the work, and it's surprisingly fun and doesn't feel as much like a chore, but that makes it a bit slower to write in some places.
Also, next semester I'm doing a crazy amount of work and possibly writing my thesis (everything's so up in the air at this point because I'm attempting to graduate a semester early and junk), so I may update very little or maybe even not at all. But I'm always writing my ideas and working on my stories, even if I'm not posting. Everything will get finished. Even Forget the Storm, abortion that it is and H2H (and my creepyass ongoing one shot series Sweetest Taboo for those of us with the "daddy" chokers and black clothes and big glasses and bad bangs).
I'm also toying with the idea of writing a Halloween Shot Week series. What do you guys think of that? For those of you who don't know/remember, I have a lot of ideas that are shallow and wouldn't make good stories or even proper one shots, and instead of deleting them I bundle them into a Shot Week, where I post a new crappy reject one shot every day of the week. This time I want to do a spooky-themed one! Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Girl talk? Weeb talk? I'm always looking for fic recommendations. Here's one for you: Lead Me Down the Garden Path by princesspvmpernickel. SO GOOD. Review or PM me (or both)!