A/N:. Now you'll notice that some of the times in these writings, I use a heavier dose of emphatic bold and italics than at other points. Well, that's mostly because some things I expect might be easier to infer without that extra emphasis, and some things I want to emphasize more carefully for understanding, but I've been guilty of over-use before so I try not to do that all over the place anymore. Again, if anything is difficult to understand because of that, let me know in a review and I'll try to make it better for you. :)
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Sesshoumaru's Mother grew impatient as she watched them land, about twenty steps down from the dias; this was a courtesy her son had been so polite as to extend to her, but she could also tell he was collecting his thoughts, trying to figure out how to speak to her about whatever matter was at hand. And truth be told, she had an inkling of what it was anyways.
"You know, Sesshoumaru, if you keep amusing yourself with these young fox boys, you'll never give me any grandchildren."
"I have been trying, Mother," he said rather honestly, then, because she had already jostled him so before, when she'd first met Kagura and blabbed about all of his past tendencies to stray towards men, "but you know, the clever witty ones always were my weakness."
"Hm, indeed," she snorted, amused by his attempt at humor. "Now I know you love your Mother, but this seems not to be a social call."
"You always knew," Sesshoumaru huffed, then sighed, and sitting on the dias about a foot away from her, he crossed his arms and curled up his Mokomoko-sama about himself absently, composing himself to divulge the issue to her. "Mother, I've been having...nightmares. And would that this were all, I would say nothing. But it has come to my attention that Shippou is able to see these nightmares as well, which Toutousai and Myouga presume to have something to do with Tenseiga calling him for help. But beyond that we know little of how he's supposed to be helping me with it."
"Nightmares?" she asked softly, and he turned his head and huffed, blowing his bangs out of his face and moving his head so she couldn't see into his eyes. It hurt him to watch her react, sometimes, and right now he couldn't bear to see what expressions would cross her face.
"The event is the same for both of us, except Shippou observes it, while I experience it firsthand. A darkness creeps out of the shadows of all the things about, and laughs, and the laughter is that of Sou'unga, and then he pursues me, and he...overtakes me. And drags me back to his torture. As I said before, I had first presumed them to just be...rememberings, shadow sensations, phantom pains. Much as I felt when I had an itch on the arm that was no longer there. But for Shippou to see this too made it significant. It was suggested that you may have some kind of insight that might help us discover why Tenseiga would find Shippou's powers necessary in this situation. Myouga already explained what sort of connection we might have, but had no real theory as to what we're supposed to actually Do."
"Oh, my son..." his Mother paused, and finally he could look at her after a moment, and she was sad of course; but he expected that, and he huffed and let her run her hand along a lock of his hair near his face, presumably to adjust it into proper position.
"You were never so doting when I was a boy," he remarked idly.
"You rarely allowed it when you were a boy," she replied softly, and he acquiesced that with a slight tilt of his head, agreeing silently.
"Do you have some means of deducing or divining the answer to this riddle, Mother?"
"Rest here for a day and a night, and I shall see what I can find in the library," she said decisively, and Sesshoumaru nodded and gestured for Shippou to come with him.
They wandered the castle grounds for a few hours, Sesshoumaru showing Shippou all the different parts of the castle as a way to pass the time and keep his mind busy; he idled on the history of the tapestries in the grand hallways, the origins of the ornate imported Far Western furniture his Mother loved to use, the European tables and chairs in the banquet hall, the architecture of how the stones and beams were hewn. Shippou listened well enough; but what he was paying attention to more than the words, was how Sesshoumaru was acting and feeling, the tones and inflections, the body language, the subtle shifts in his stride or his voice. He was Stressed.
Hours later they ate the dinner Sesshoumaru's Mother had her servants prepare for them, and then they set off down the hall towards a bath that was built around a hot spring, and finally Sesshoumaru stopped recounting dusty old narratives about castle decor.
"Shippou," he finally spoke after a few minutes, very quietly, his voice very troubled, "How many times have you...seen my nightmares?"
"Well, I, I don't know exactly if every time..." Shippou trailed off, then shook his head, "well, that's probably not the case, is it? I want to say...let me think here...the first time I thought I was just...well I thought like you, that I was just remembering. But then it kept happening and I could just Feel it was...well it's been a few, six weeks at least. Maybe two months by now. I didn't want to assume or do anything like, like insult your pride or...it seemed hasty after the first or second one, you know? I wasn't really sure for a while. I had some other normal dreams between them too, I guess now that I think about it, you were probably...avoiding sleep sometimes when I wasn't."
"I see," Sesshoumaru replied, pursing his lips in quiet contemplation.
"I'm sorry, I should have said something sooner," Shippou apologized sincerely, but Sesshoumaru waved one hand dismissively.
"Had it been one time, we'd have both written it off as coincidence. You acted as any sane person would have. Don't trouble yourself with those kind of thoughts."
"Do yours always end when...right after he catches up?" Shippou asked uneasily, suddenly, not sure why he wanted to know the answer.
Sesshoumaru paused.
"Do yours?"
"Usually," Shippou said.
Sesshoumaru paused again.
"Mine last longer than that more often than I like to think about," he said quietly, then started to tackle the task of cleaning his hair.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not for you to apologize for."
Shippou stayed quiet for another awkward ten minutes before trying to be less awkward.
"So, uh..."
Sensing the fox's awkwardness, and feeling a bit of his own, Sesshoumaru gestured for the kitsune to draw closer.
"You know that one spot on the back that's hard to reach in these human forms?"
"Got it," Shippou sighed, relieved to be able to help in an easy, simple way. He scooped up the soapsand and scrubbed at that spot, hearing the soft whoosh of air that was almost a sigh of relief.
"Perfect," Sesshoumaru sighed, and then absently, "it's like you know just where to touch to make me happy."
Shippou snorted, suppressing a laugh, but by the time Sesshoumaru's ears caught up with his mouth, it was already too late to take it back.
"Just because I let you kiss me once, doesn't mean I'm going to touch you all over," he snickered, and Sesshoumaru blushed.
Undeterred, however, the dog taiyoukai decided to tease along with the fox, because hell, it was fun and often funny when he did this odd homo-erotic teasing with his male friends and his brother and his adopted fox brother male friend. And it felt more Normal than avoiding any kind of teasing at all, if he were to be honest.
"But what if I touched you all over first?" Sesshoumaru asked coyly, and it was Shippou's turn to blush furious scarlet.
"Uh, w-well, I, that is, i-if you were to touch me all over," Shippou fumbled and coughed, frantic for words, and then suddenly, devious as his trickster mind was, he recovered swiftly and grinned with mischief, "then that would just prove how irresistible you find me."
"Irresistible?" Sesshoumaru lifted his lips in a coy retort, playing with the words in his own mind, "Yes, perhaps you are right, I cannot resist the thought of putting my hands all over you. Especially with closed fists."
"Closed fists? But I thought you always disciplined with an open palm. It's in the Gentleman's Handbook, you know."
Sesshoumaru snorted, caught slightly off-center with that tease. Not that there was a Gentleman's Handbook to speak of-this was one of the old jokes that had started at Miroku's house after a night of revelry whilst they all discussed things in innuendoes.
"And do you desire discipline, Shippou?"
"Do you desire to discipline me, Sesshoumaru?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Sesshoumaru answered with a casual sideways wink, and Shippou grinned fiendishly at him.
"Oh, but I would like to know, I really Would," he insisted with a chuckle.
"Well, if you Must know...your current form does seem to beg for punishment," Sesshoumaru smirked at him, daringly, naughtily.
Shippou blushed even more red, but not backing down, he leaned into scrubbing at the taiyoukai's back just a little harder, and as he did so, he dropped his voice to a whisper near Sesshoumaru's ear.
"I only beg for the right Master," he teased, and Sesshoumaru chuckled darkly at him, daring to continue despite the challenge.
"And am I not fit to be your Master, Shippou?"
"Fit to? Of course. But you haven't made yourself such," Shippou replied with casual coolness.
"Is that a challenge?" Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow, as if highly intrigued.
"A challenge? Well. Do you think it would be challenging to conquer me, Sesshoumaru?"
"Not at all. I'd have you begging in no time."
"Begging you to do what, exactly?" Shippou dared venture into that adult area he skirted and flirted; many of the others still thought of him in the light of his previous size and naivete, but ever since he'd grown into an older form, he had of course...insinuated.
Sesshoumaru turned full round to look at Shippou now, and seeing the delight and mischief in the fox's eyes, he grinned wide himself before he started to answer the question.
"Begging me to touch you all over, of course. To punish you for your naughty, naughty tricks."
"And that's all? Well, that doesn't sound like me. I usually avoid punishment. Tell me...how would you make me beg for that?"
"By making you want it, of course. Making it enjoyable. Sensual. Provocative," Sesshoumaru flipped his hair slightly, letting it settle better after having brushed out the daily nips of tangles and snags.
"That sounds intriguing. You'd make me Enjoy being Punished?" Shippou chuckled, but hesitating, he slowed his teasing and just started gently scrubbing again, "I bet you'd win that bet, Sesshoumaru. I might just rather leave all those things for Kagura instead, lest your Mother kill me for taking away your chances of making pups with her."
"A wise decision," Sesshoumaru snorted, amused, and having had their fun little tease, they resumed their bath in relative silence for a while yet, each tending their own hair and fur and nails and such.
Finally both cleaned and dressed and ready for bed, Sesshoumaru showed Shippou to one of many spare bedrooms, and then took off for his own favorite old bedroom that he'd had since childhood, one which had been updated with newer decor since the last time he'd visited, it would be worth noting.
Neither of them missed the glance they had given each other as they parted down the hallway...tonight they would finally sleep.
Would they both have the same nightmare again?
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Sesshoumaru had trouble falling asleep at first, but looking out his window at the moon, he slowly began to relax himself with deep breaths and a quiet filter in his mind.
If he would have to suffer these nightmares, best he do it while investigating their cause at his Mother's castle, under a more watchful eye. If any magic was involved, she would sense it. She would not be sleeping tonight of course, and she knew all that occurred within her mystical keep.
Lulling himself almost forcefully into an uncomfortable sleep, Sesshoumaru braced himself for what terrors might come...
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Shippou sighed and flopped onto the comfortable bed, flipping, flopping, curling, rolling, and finally turning into his true form and curling up in the corner, anxious and discontent, but knowing that figuring out what was going on now, was of utmost importance. Surely Sesshoumaru's Mother would be able to detect something if there was a curse upon them or something was afoot, conscious as she was just down and around the hall so to speak. In her own castle she could be across the other end and here in a moment, already aware of what was happening, he was sure.
So huffing and puffing and sighing once more, he curled his nose into his tail-fur and rested with his back into a corner, his flank guarded by the wall in a way, and fell into an uneasy slumber.
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Sesshoumaru's Mother paused as she looked up from her scrolls; the two youkai were asleep now, and she waited for a few moments as they went deeper into their inner selves, predicting that if indeed this was caused by Sou'unga, her Meidou-Seiki should have the powers to see what was going on, for it would undoubtedly have to then be linked to the Netherworld.
Her prediction did not fail her, and as they began to dream, she too saw the vision of what transpired...
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Sesshoumaru peered into the darkness, watching shadows twist and contort, watching the background become the foreground, the light fade away swiftly, the forest become a blur as the clouds and the dark roiled together...
A deepening boom of laughter thundered around him, and he shivered, and reached for Tenseiga-but Tenseiga wasn't there, nor Bakusaiga; he had nothing to protect himself with, he realized even his armor was gone now.
"Sesshoumaru, you pitiful hound," the voice was everywhere and nowhere, all around, inside and outside and thrumming in his ears, crackling in the clouds above and vibrating from the ground below, "I will find you, and I will have you back. Thanh Long cannot save you. Tenseiga is not your salvation, it is your doom! Cast it away and I will spare you, Sesshoumaru," Sou'unga teased, finally materializing from the sky above and landing before him swiftly and with a powerful thud.
Sesshoumaru leaped backwards, and suddenly, Tenseiga flew to his right hand, from whence he knew not, only that it was there suddenly, glowing soft blue before settling in his tightened palm.
And then it shook, and he heard it's voice.
=If you cast me away, Sesshoumaru, he will lose interest in you.=
~I would never cast you aside, Tenseiga. Thanh Long,~ he corrected himself mid-thought, still unfamiliar with the idea though he had been recently told about that fact and a few others, and it had all of course made sense, he supposed.
=You know he will come for me, and if you keep me at your side, you will be in danger for all of your life. And your afterlife.=
~You chose to stay by me when you could have freed yourself. Why should I not do the same?~
=My reasons are different.=
~I don't think that matters.~
"Sesshoumaru, surrender your sword and I shall loose you from this terror," Sou'unga offered, and Sesshoumaru scowled.
"I would never cast Tenseiga aside for the likes of you," he snarled, and Sou'unga snarled, and the darkness howled, and all nine eyes began to glow, and despite himself, Sesshoumaru grew afraid and took a step backwards-
But before he could get away, huge vines shot up from the ground and wrapped around his wrists and legs and slowed his escape; just in time for Sou'unga to wrap two necks around his body and smile at him with the third mouth, squeezing tight like a snake, constricting him...
"You can never defeat me, Sesshoumaru. I could own your soul if I wanted to. I can break you again and again, dog. I can crush your mind into dust at my whim. Submit to my will, Sesshoumaru, and be swift at it. I grow impatient with your resistance, you see," and in his claws the Soul-Flayer was poised, and Sesshoumaru flinched and a low whine of fear began to rise in his chest...
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Shippou gasped and woke up. Normally, he'd have just shaken his head and tried to calm down. But tonight, his instincts flooded him, close to Sesshoumaru this time. He bolted upright, scrabbling out of the room scarcely before he was even awake enough to think of what he was doing, turning down the hallway, past the one painting, through the other doorway, past the next set of servant's stairs, and in a mad hurry, through the taiyoukai's slightly ajar bedroom door and onto his bed...
Mere seconds before his own Mother arrived, and she paused just outside the door as she saw the kitsune transform out of his true form he'd been asleep in and into his humanlike form, surprised enough to stall herself.
"Sesshoumaru," Shippou jostled his shoulder worriedly, "Sesshoumaru! Wake up! Hey, HEY!"
Snarling, Sesshoumaru woke up, swinging his claws wide-
Shippou turned his upper body just in time to duck to the left of the swing, letting out a squeak and then a noise of relief; I should have prepared for that, he noted to himself wryly.
"Shi-Shippou," Sesshoumaru took in a small breath, then glancing beyond him as his Mother entered the room, ignorant of the tiny blush on the kitsune's face as he hastily dismounted, having caught himself literally sitting on the taiyoukai's lap, "Mother," he greeted quietly now, understanding as his thoughts caught up, "you both saw that, didn't you?"
"He's intent on fighting Thanh Long," Sesshoumaru's Mother said, an edge to her voice that was both furious and sad, biting and soft. She was tempering her outrage with the knowledge of the obvious; it wasn't going to be Her Son that would just give up a sword to spare himself from this dragon's wrath, not Tenseiga, not after all this time bonding with it's very soul, with Thanh Long.
"Sou'unga will not have his fight on his terms," Sesshoumaru snarled, rising to his feet and pointedly gesturing to the door, "out, out, I have to change. I can't leave in pajamas," he tried to sound dignified as he said this.
"Oh no, you're not leaving yet," his Mother said firmly, and though he wanted to growl in protest, Sesshoumaru merely huffed and crossed his arms at her, lifting his nose to sniff with just a twinge of the old arrogance.
After all, he was still Sesshoumaru.
"And just Why Not?"
"Because I've yet to conclude my research into the matter, and I'm sure you'll want to have as much a clue as you can before you head off to wage your wars again. Now stay for a while yet, my son, and if it pleases you to pass the time, you know what accomodations there are."
"Hn," Sesshoumaru snorted, but not arguing her logic, as it was not one of the times that he could call it insanity, he spun on his heel and gestured for Shippou to follow him, and they went to a study down the way, leaving his Mother to research in her mystical private library full of dark, dangerous spellbooks and divination tools.
Shippou was a bit surprised when the dog taiyoukai led them to the far corner of this second study. Rather than spellbooks, this one was full of war stories and poetry; Sesshoumaru's separate study, Shippou felt, where a Shougi board and many pieces were set on one table, and where that table was, the outer wall locked and unlocked, to slide heavily like a door onto a grand patio. Sesshoumaru opened this door slightly, to let in the moonlight which cast perfectly upon the game board.
"I want to try something," Sesshoumaru said, gesturing for the kitsune to take a seat, "a thought that occurred to me, if you will."
"You think you can predict my moves better if our minds are this closely connected now?"
"If this connection imbues any sense of that, it means we may be able to develop a form of simple psychic communication. That would be a useful tactic for many reasons," Sesshoumaru insisted, and Shippou chuckled.
"You just wanna try and beat me at Shougi!"
"Play, Shippou," Sesshoumaru smiled, and the fox obliged.
After five games, it was getting near to dawn, and Shippou grinned at the dog taiyoukai.
"Well, either you're having a lucky streak, or you're reading my mind. Four to one in your favor, Sesshoumaru. You've never been this good at beating me before," the fox teased, "and I'm not Letting you win this time, honest!"
"I know. I don't really, I can't Read your Mind," Sesshoumaru described, "but I catch the sensation of your, your Direction. When you want to be aggressive, or use guile, or defense, or when you have a nervous reaction to missing something you overlooked...I see that much easier now. It makes the game easier to read when you are easier to read," and with an apologetic but slightly pleased blush, he added, "I'm sure your own skills haven't deteriorated in the slightest, you would have probably won had I not-"
"No, it was a good test," Shippou shook his head, "actually one of the best ideas, because it proved something. This connection isn't just when we're asleep, that's what it means. We can use that to our advantage like you said, develop some secret battle signals and combo techniques and stuff like that. We can practice using our skills together. You'd be surprised how helpful kitsune magic can be."
"Indeed," Sesshoumaru smiled, sure that Shippou was going to be quite the formidable teammate. He was already making waves and becoming a bit of a legend among the Fox Tribe in his own right; one day he'd be a powerful taiyoukai kitsune.
Pausing to glance at the rising sun, Sesshoumaru's eyes reflected the fiery red of the morning sky, and Shippou studied those orbs with a quiet sort of wonder. So many things were hidden in those eyes, things he couldn't describe but felt now...
Oh, this connection is pretty strong, actually. Shippou could feel a stirring in the taiyoukai's chest so strong it was stirring his own.
"Mother will tell us when she finds something conclusive of worth," Sesshoumaru said quietly, "but for now, I grow restless with this sitting game of Shougi. Shall we go to the practice area? You have yet to show me your new techniques, Shippou."
"Certainly," Shippou agreed easily, willing to have the perfect excuse to take some time flexing and practicing with the taiyoukai.
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Ooooohhhhhh, Spicy, right? Well, I've got a Little Secret for you. Kagura is a Freak in the Head. She Likes how effeminate her Lord Sesshoumaru can be. Did I mention that already? Yes? No? Perhaps? In any case, culturally it wasn't uncommon in the slightest for higher caste marriages in Japan to include side dishes of either or both genders, nor was it very strange for people to be openly attracted to either or both genders. Thus flirting among guy friends was sort of a pretty normal thing, at least from the things I can gather from my own research into the matter. Now maybe that's just a bunch of rabid hentai otaku freaks running around the internet making up exaggerated stories, but...I really honestly think the historical references to it make it pretty obvious from further back than that, so. Yeah. Now as for Shippou, well, like I said before, He's Plenty Old Enough in this story to do whatever he wants with himself. And so if what he wants to do is flirt with-
"I like how you feel the need to justify your thoughts to the audience you're parading them in front of. It demonstrates the fact that you're aware of how shameful you really are."
"Eh, that is...probably true. But you see, the shame is really in that, well not in the fact that I imagine what I do, more in that, the way most people see..."
"Go on."
"Well most people still think of Shippou as a little kid, and...so...I keep feeling like I have to Remind them all the time that here, Here, he's Not a Little Kid anymore..."
"Mm-hm."
"And so to put him in these kind of situations shouldn't be Too Weird for everyone who's reading, but I just Feel like they're gonna think I'm a..."
"Pervert?"
"Yeah."
"That's because you Are."
"I protest!
"On what grounds?"
"Uhm. Because I'm not picturing him as a little kid?"
"Yet what you Are picturing is not what you'd call a bit of a perversion itself?"
"Uhhhmmmm. Define perversion?"
"Precisely."
"I can't help it!"
"Nobody can."
"Oh that's So True!"
"However, in my experience, it is likely less abnormal than it first appears."
"Oh?"
"Well, in a way. Perhaps my experience is not suited to this assessment."
"No, no, I think I see what you mean, especially because of all the dog brother pairings out there."
"Mm-hm."
"You have no flinch for that?"
"I have grown accustomed to it."