Surprised wasn't the word Sesshomaru would use to describe how he was feeling. He was staring at the Tetsuaiga which was pulsing angrily as it was away from its owner. Inuyasha hated him so much he'd give up the Tetsuaiga. Although he couldn't say that with certainty. Servants had reported that he was becoming increasingly volatile. It was to the point he'd been using guards as servants in the royal wing instead. The only servant who hadn't been exposed to his ire was Sakura.

When he wasn't attacking them, he would sit on the balcony, staring off into space. It didn't help that no matter how small the irritation was his youkai would take over and begin attacking. He didn't want to have to lock him up somewhere but that was what it was looking like was needed. An advisor suggested giving the sword back to him to at least ease his state, considering the damage he was doing but he wouldn't. If Inuyasha wanted the sword he knew where it was and what he needed to do to retrieve it.

Sesshomaru looked down at the document he was working on. Was even speaking to him truly so terrible? He thought he was acting like a caged animal before but that was nothing like this. Now he was a cornered and caged animal.

Hiroshi was one of the guards placed on duty with the mate of the lord. Inuyasha would hardly eat, speak, or allow any near him. He knocked on the door, "Milord? Are you awake?" He questioned before opening the door. Inuyasha was sitting outside on the balcony again. He set the food on a table and approached the door. "Milord you should eat something even if you don't feel like it." Inuyasha didn't say anything and continued watching the sky. Hiroshi held a handout to him and Inuyasha looked at it. "I'm sorry milord." Inuyasha scowled looking at him. "It doesn't take a scholar to see or understand the plight your in."

The hanyou glared, "You don't understand shit!"

"You're right. I was fortunate enough to escape the person who attacked me." He said. It wasn't something he ever talked about, but it seemed to surprise the hanyou. Hiroshi could admit that he liked the hanyou's personality when he was acting like himself and not this caged animal. Like when he would pester him during trainings or asked questions. "I do know that I would be the same as you though. I wouldn't have accepted such a thing. Not when my pride and dignity had been stolen away. I would fight with every fiber of my being before I allowed it, so I understand your actions." Inuyasha was quietly looking at him. "I just don't think you should harm yourself in the process. You should try to eat something."

Inuyasha pursed his lips but eventually took the hand the youkai offered to him. That when he started talking more regularly to the hanyou and his mood began to improve a bit. Sesshomaru could feel this change and questioned his staff about what was going on. They informed him that the guard had managed to get him to eat and talk, causing him to be a lot less violent with the staff. The youkai was happy his staff was at least halfway competent.

Inuyasha was sitting on his bed listening to Hiroshi's explanation about the structure of youki society in the west. "It still sounds dumb."

Hiroshi chuckled at his assessment, "Yes, it's complicated and bothersome."

"Is that why you're not mated then?" Inuyasha asked.

"Partially that. Partially what happened in the past. It's a bit difficult for me to trust people when I'm placed in a vulnerable position." He said realizing that maybe he was a bit too comfortable with the mate of the king.

"Yeah. Makes sense." Inuyasha nodded. Hiroshi began asking him about his life before coming to the castle. It was fascinating to hear about his adventures. He could tell from the bright way he talked about many things that this was the hanyou his lord had told them about. He realized their king had really hurt this man.

"She, your lover, died of old age then?"

"Yeah." He smiled sadly, "She was my best friend…and the most amazing person I'd ever met."

Hiroshi smiled softly before frowning a bit, thinking about the king. "…it must have been terrifying…" Inuyasha tilted his head at his statement making the youkai realize he'd spoke his thoughts out loud. "My apologies…when you were attacked…" He expected the hanyou to blow up at him, but he only nodded at his assessment. However, to Inuyasha, Hiroshi's attack was scarier. He was much younger than him, still a child really, not even of age and attacked by a relative over a thousand years his senior because he resembled his mother. He was lucky, the luck Inuyasha wished had saved him that day.

The hanyou was surprised the youkai still entertained relationships with men. In his mind he told himself he wouldn't mind having a lover that was male, but he really didn't think he could after he escaped his current situation. He voiced his thoughts causing the youkai to laugh. It made him smile and chuckled along with him. "Milord, have you ever had wine?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha confirmed.

"Wanna drink with me?" He realized he liked Hiroshi's smiling face.

"Sure."

"That's what I'm talking about!" He grinned, standing and rushing off to the kitchens. He also grabbed food and they shared a few bottles and chatted for longer. Inuyasha was similar to his friends, so it felt easy. If he wasn't the mate of their lord, then he would be happy to have him as a comrade in arms. "No but it's entirely different. That can't even be compared. Trust me. When you feel comfortable enough, it'll feel scary at first, but it does feel good when done right."

"That's hard to believe." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Give it 50 years you might want to try it by then. Lord Sesshomaru is terrifying, but he is attractive."

This made Inuyasha stiffen. "I'm never going to sleep with him. I'm going to remove this mark and kill him." This made Hiroshi freeze. "And if I can't, I'd rather die." The youkai kept his mouth shut. There wasn't a way to remove a mating mark. He nodded and apologized for his insensitive words. Inuyasha said nothing and focused on the cup in his hand. Hiroshi was looking at him and taking in his features. The tanned skin, bright eyes, and white hair that glowed even under the fading moonlight.

"I'll never understand why he didn't just court you."

Inuyasha looked at him with a raised brow, "What are you even talking about?"

"I'm also inu y'know. Your features are very attractive. As well as your strength. I know many inu that'd fight tooth and claw just to have you look at them. If it were I, I'd want you to look at me as fondly as you look when talking about your late wife. You are honest and genuine. Traits that all youkai want in their mates. I wouldn't want you to hate or avoid me in the hopes that time would ease things. I would court you until you said yes, even if just to stop my pestering." Hiroshi laughed. However, he felt a bit startled when he saw Inuyasha's scarlet face. The hanyou had never had a youkai compliment him so much before. Not on his appearance, his abilities, strength, or personality. It was embarrassing. His stomach was tight, and he couldn't even look at the youkai.

"…you're annoying…" he mumbled. His ears trying to hide in his short hair. He looked up at the sky, happy that he hadn't missed his window. In 4 days, he'd escape. He looked at the youkai, he wouldn't mind being with Hiroshi. He liked him enough and found him attractive. They drank a while longer before Hiroshi left all the while swaying as he made his way down the hallway. Inuyasha thought it was funny and locked the door before going to bed.

Many of the staff at the castle realized that Masane, Sakura, and Hiroshi got a completely different version of Inuyasha than anyone else. Some were bothered by it. Sesshomaru had released Masane because he needed her and only punished her as a formality for causing Inuyasha to rampage. She still didn't understand what the powder had done but the hanyou did look better and was eating without a lot of fuss. The guard and servant he was spending time with were good for his mental health. They even got the hanyou to walk around a bit instead of staying cooped up in his rooms. He'd been through more in 3 weeks than most their entire lives.

However, none would have ever guessed the change that would happen. Infidelity was an impossibility in the youkai world. A youkai wouldn't allow it, but Hiroshi was currently kissing the mate of his lord. Whom he'd sworn to serve. It'd happened so suddenly but instead of allowing Inuyasha to pull away he pulled him closer. Who wouldn't want him in their arms?

The hanyou had only been proving a point about how he could act against his youkai with no issue. It was the only thing he could really do to prove it. His youkai protested but it couldn't stop him from doing it. It was afraid of Sesshomaru and didn't want the youkai to be provoked to attacking him again. However, it felt good. Especially when Hiroshi's strong hands pulled him closer and his pulsing youki. It'd been years since he kissed someone like this. Inuyasha eventually pulled away to say one thing which riled Hiroshi's beast up entirely, "I think trying it with you would be okay."

Inuyasha didn't feel anxious with Hiroshi's hands exploring his body. In fact, he was pretty curious. He'd never slept with a man before. He wasn't sure what he was doing at first but the lips and tongue on his chest felt tingly.

Calloused hands dragged down his torso as they finally reached his waistline. When his clothing was removed, he was only semi-hard. His youkai still apprehensive about angering Sesshomaru. However, those thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind as Hiroshi took him into his mouth. Inuyasha groaned loudly, and under Hiroshi's skilled mouth he was full mast. He jolted in fright when fingers touched his entrance. Hiroshi stopped and looked up at him. "I'm not going to hurt you milord."

Inuyasha tried to relax but his mind kept remembering Sesshomaru, and it was killing his arousal. Hiroshi brought him back to the present, kissing him deeply. He was able to relax but when the fingers entered him, he…didn't know how he felt about it. However, Hiroshi touched something that sent a jolt through him, causing him to shiver. "What..?" He questioned, feeling his cock straining as Hiroshi engulfed it once more.

He only smiled around the cock in his mouth as he continued to touch that spot, feeling his natural lubricant beginning to really drip from his working fingers. Inuyasha was gripping his hair and his moaning sounded so sweet. The guard wanted to be a good experience, so the hanyou understood what that felt like. It was clear that he was having a hard time fully relaxing and thus a difficult time reaching his end. Hiroshi kept at it in tandem with his youki to help him relax further and trust him with his body. His efforts weren't in vain and soon his mouth was being filled. He swallowed it down before pulling away and looking down at him. He was rosy and panting. "Shall we continue?"

Inuyasha seemed surprised but shyly nodded. He was hard once more, and Hiroshi was between his legs. "Milord, if you want to stop simply tell me and we will be done."

"…okay.." Inuyasha sighed, bracing himself. He wasn't scared though. Hiroshi wasn't holding him down and that helped. He kissed him as he toyed with his chest again, sliding down and stroking his cock again. Then he felt it, the pressure of the youkai's cock. It was scary and his grip on him tightened. It hurt. He tried his best to keep from panicking, and Hiroshi's gentle kissing helped. When he was fully seated inside of him, he continued to kiss him while caressing his body.

Inuyasha could feel his body throbbing around the length inside of him. This was…easier. It felt good. When he gave the go ahead, Hiroshi began with slow, deep thrusts. The hanyou was seeing stars. It felt good. The mouth on his neck, hand on his cock, and thick cock touching everything inside of him made his mind go blank. He could only moan as he relaxed further.

Hiroshi still couldn't believe what he was doing. Part of him knew he could and would be killed if Lord Sesshomaru learned of this, but the other half was excited. Excited to have the king's mate in this way. He sped up a bit and could tell the hanyou under him liked it from the noises coming from him. His youki was soothing and inviting and Inuyasha relaxed further.

Soon Inuyasha was coating his chest in his seed. Hiroshi could only smile at the sight he made as he sped up to finish as well. Inuyasha was panting. His ears flat against his head looking up at him with those clear, bright eyes. Had he not been marked; he would have marked him as his. He liked the lord, his energy, his defiance. It was so different and refreshing compared to what he was used to. Seeing him like this, vulnerable and quiet, he wanted him. "Are you okay Milord?"

Inuyasha looked away from him, "Y-yeah…" He hadn't expected it to feel as good as it did. "Wanna go again?"

Hiroshi smiled, "Of course." A different position. His kissed his shoulders, stroking his cock and playing with his chest joyfully. Inuyasha had never felt something like this before, it was new, different, it felt good. His mind was going blank as he finally came again. This wasn't scary, it was easy to let go with Hiroshi and so different from when he was attacked. While he didn't really recall the second time in detail because of how quickly his youkai took over, the first was a very vivid memory that he hated. He remembered the pain and the shame of both times though. He tried to clear his mind, taking in Hiroshi's scent and remembering that he wasn't trying to hurt him. They continued for a few more hours before Hiroshi left him. Inuyasha was lying in his bed staring up at the ceiling. He was clean and warm after the bath he took, satisfied and sleepy. He locked his door but didn't bother with the window Hiroshi had opened. In fact, he was enjoying the sounds of the birds outside and fell asleep to their chirping.

He woke at night and realized it was cold. He closed the window and ignored his hunger. Drinking water he returned to his bed, thinking about Hiroshi. He wanted to do it again. Even though he was trying to ignore it, he could always feel Sesshomaru's attention on how he was feeling. He couldn't discern his emotions clearly, but he could tell when the youkai was paying attention to him. His own youkai was silent on the matter.

There was knocking at his door, and he ignored it. "Milord, sir Hiroshi asked that we deliver this to you."

Inuyasha scowled before standing and opening the door. He was given a woven basket before they bowed and left. Closing the door behind him he began to look inside of it. It was various food items. It smelled like him. He looked at it before picking something up. He took a bite. It was tasty. He continued to eat quietly. He'd been regaining some strength from his long bout of starvation after what Sesshomaru had done. He felt the pain stop as he filled his stomach and sighed. He felt like he'd overeaten. It was making him feel a bit nauseous.

He left the basket on the ground and returned to bed. He thought about his night with Hiroshi again and felt his cock twitch. He'd never felt the need to masturbate, nor did he have the luxury of alone time before but there was nothing else for him to do right now while he waited. He reached down his body and began to stroke. He moaned as he thought about Hiroshi's hands and body. He shuddered as he finally came and sighed. Inuyasha cleaned up and returned to bed, dozing off once more.

When next he opened his eyes, he felt Sesshomaru moving towards him. He bolted up, his anxiety getting the best of him and went to his balcony quickly. His heart was racing, and his body shuddered. He was dizzy from getting up so quickly. He could feel the youkai's annoyance burning. He jumped when he got closer. That was one person he refused to deal with. He kept moving but could sense that Sesshomaru hadn't followed him. His youkai was anxious to the point of annoying him. What did he care about sleeping with someone else? He never wanted to be mated in the first place and so he would do as he pleased. That was his right. However, it remained nervous and tightly wound. It wanted to apologize and beg for forgiveness, Inuyasha and his human half practically screamed at it until it quieted. He would never apologize for anything he did while prisoner.

2 more days and he would be free. Kilala had been doing an amazing job hiding from those in the fortress. He'd explained his plan to her, and she would help him retrieve his sword as well. Inuyasha had a general idea about where his sword was. When he finally broke the mating the first thing, he would do was kill Sesshomaru. Then, he would destroy the fortress entirely. He also wanted to kill most of the inhabitants. Then he could go back to his peaceful life of wandering.

He darted off quickly even though the youkai had stopped moving. Since he'd been eating correctly, he felt more like himself again. He made it across the fortress quickly and sighed heavily, sitting on the roof he landed on. He felt better out in the open because it was easy to see what was coming after him. He'd been feeling a lot more anxious because of his youkai. He thought about Hiroshi again. He wanted to see him and forget about his problems again. He could at least enjoy himself before he left.

He looked down at his hands, flexing them. He wondered when or if he'd discover the next trait he'd developed. He looked over in the direction he sensed Sesshomaru. He really hated him. He thought about Masane, he wanted his hands to stop shaking. He made his way down and to her, she gave him something that helped a lot as he thought. The sky palace was likely still in the west, and he planned to search mountainous areas. He'd question Ayame's tribe since they'd probably know more. How many floating castles could there realistically be?

"Milord!?" He blinked looking up at her. "You were so silent I thought you might've fallen into that state again."

"I'm fine." She said nothing and began asking her usual questions. Although she was a bit surprised by his easy answers, she didn't comment on it and wrote things down.

"When was your last heat cycle?"

Inuyasha scowled at her. "Why?"

"I'm just trying to make sense of your physiology. How youkai and how human you are. Humans don't truly have a heat cycle and can become pregnant at anytime."

This made Inuyasha's stomach tighten as his youkai's anxiety got to him. "Like 9 months ago…"

"Do you typically suppress it?"

"…yeah…" She nodded and wrote his answer down.

Inuyasha's head snapped towards where he sensed Sesshomaru, and he quickly darted from the room. Moments later and Sesshomaru entered, looking at her. "Why was he here?"

She sat down, putting her notes away, "He asked for something to calm his youkai." Sesshomaru said nothing. "Were you searching for him?"

"Yes."

"Might I ask why?" Sesshomaru said nothing and left. He was getting extremely tired of Inuyasha avoiding him. The council was overstepping as well making it harder and harder for him to not start cutting heads off.

Inuyasha found himself on a roof, overlooking the training grounds. He blinked a few times when he noticed Hiroshi looking at him. He looked at the training recruits who seemed to flinch under his gaze. Hiroshi smiled and waved him over, a gesture that was technically extremely disrespectful and could get him beheaded.

Inuyasha scowled and jumped down. "What?"

"Milord again, you are making them nervous."

"I don't really get why. It's not like I care whether or not they get hired or fired." Inuyasha mumbled, looking at them. He really hated that they all saw him as Sesshomaru's mate.

"It's why Lord Sesshomaru never comes to their training. Your scrutiny is enough." Hiroshi explained, noting that the hanyou was barely paying attention to him. "Are you avoiding the king again?"

"Yeah." He mumbled.

Hiroshi couldn't help his thoughts. Inuyasha looked very focused, and he found it attractive. Even his mind continued to wander to the night they spent together. He'd never understand the king's actions against him. Many saw the fond way Hiroshi was looking at the king's mate and found it distasteful. "Even still Milord, I do not mind when it comes to my own training or the established warriors, but they are new and the pressure you cause is immense."

"Are you telling me to piss off again?"

Hiroshi couldn't help his snort of laughter, "Again, no milord, I wouldn't ever be so callous."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and turned around waving him off. "Whatever." The youkai watched him leave before turning back to his duties.

Sesshomaru was annoyed. He was annoyed by his youkai, he was annoyed by Inuyasha, and he was annoyed by everyone else too. He hated sly bastards that tried to make gains by tearing down others. "Milord, I am certainly not mistaken by what I've seen. The way he looked at Lord Inuyasha was completely distasteful."

"What are you saying then? He has designs for my mate?" He glared, making the group stiffen.

"It is simply, the way he behaves around his lordship is entirely inappropriate. Even Sakura isn't so familiar."

Sesshomaru didn't understand why this should matter to him. Infidelity was an impossibility. Even though the way they came together was tragic, Inuyasha's youkai…wouldn't…allow….it. He froze, thinking about when Inuyasha had ignored the command he put in place. But…Inuyasha wouldn't…do such a thing…right? Surely the guard wasn't so foolish.

Sesshomaru's youkai started freaking out a bit. It didn't like what the servants were saying and wanted them to stop. His mate wouldn't do such a thing, his mate couldn't do such a thing. He started paying attention to Inuyasha's emotions again. There was anger and anxiety. He wasn't feeling that roller coast of emotions like usual. He thought about the feelings he'd sensed from him the other day. It wasn't unusual for a man to feel aroused at times. The emotions were fear, anxiety, curiosity, nervousness, and comfort.

His own thoughts were upsetting him. His youkai whining within him. His mate couldn't, wouldn't go out of their mating. He ordered them from his office, but his leg was bouncing. It was upsetting and he was trying to keep control of his youkai. To keep it from tearing through the castle and demanding answers from his mate. He looked at the pulsing Tetsuaiga again. Inuyasha wouldn't do that. He wouldn't. He wasn't foolish enough to. He hated how Inuyasha made him feel. He wished he'd just been able to complete his goal and end him that night. Everything was supposed to end with him. Everything.