Masquerade

Chapter Eleven- Euphoria

Later that day, after lunch, Kagome had once more grown bored.

“Masao-san?”

“Yes, Kagome-san?”

Kagome looked at him nervously, thinking it would be wrong to intrude. But-but he’d kept so much from her! And now, now he wanted her to save Japan so… so it was acceptable.

“… What happened between you and Leiko?”

He was silent for a very long time, and Kagome’s head was filled with the sound of chirping birds and the sway of leaves. Masao turned to her slowly, his eyes troubled. “Are you sure you want to know, Kagome-san?”

Kagome’s eyes widened at his hurt expression, and she held her hands up, shaking her head. “No, no. I was just wondering, its fine really.”

Masao held up one of his own hands to quiet her and looked down at the path they were roving. “Many years ago, before the current Northern lord was in power - even before the existence of the demon you defeated, Naraku - there lived a boy…”

Nakanunara, koroshiteshimae, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it.)
Nakanunara, nakashitemiseyo, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it.)
Nakanunara, nakumadematou, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, wait for it.)


“Then we are agreed? My son is to wed and mate your daughter when the Northern lands fall under his care.”

“Yes. It bodes well with my family. In return the Western lord, my brother, has approved the alliance with your lands.”

The two demons - one a tall, imposing dog-demon samurai, the other a commanding neko-lord – shook hands and drank to the deal, sealing the fate of their children.

“A dog?! You want me to mate a bitch!” Masao shouted in outrage, his eyes covering more than fifty percent of his face. I don’t think that’s healthy, his father mused.

His father, Tatsuharu, sighed, looking toward his sake bottle longingly. “Masao, it is for the best. This alliance will assure your rule as the Northern lord and you will win all who oppose you with the Western armies fighting along side your own. Leiko is a nice girl, she-”

“Her name means arrogance. Her family is known for their prejudices! And-And she’s a dog!”

Briefly Tatsuharu contemplated slamming his head onto the low table until he was either dead or unconscious, but stopped himself with the knowledge his mate would make him clean it up no matter what his condition was.

Masao was pacing in front of him, his arms swinging wildly while he yelled about the injustice of it all and why do you hate me so?

Come on, Tatsuharu old boy, pay attention! You don’t want your boy to be miserable all his life, do you? Don’t. Get. Distracted. Tatsuharu thought, fixing his eyes on his son as the small boy continued to tread in front of the table. Slowly Tatsuharu’s eyes traveled down to the bottle of sake sitting oh so innocently on the corner of the bench. His fingers twitched, but he clasped his hands together and fixed his gaze once more on his son.

“Father, please, please, you must reconsider! Why, I’m not even of drinking age yet! And-”

Pay attention. Pay attention. Pay attention. Pay attention. Pay- SAKE! Sake, my love, we will be united soon, I promise.

“Are you listening to me? Father? Father!”

“United I tell you!”

“Father!”

Tatsuharu looked up at Masao, blinking vigorously. “I’m sorry, were you making a point just now?” He asked, hugging the sake bottle to his chest protectively.

Masao closed his eyes and sat down in front of his father. “Do you even know where dog-demons originate from?”

Tatsuharu shrugged. “Japan?”

“Spain! They come from Spain! I can’t speak Spanish!”

Tatsuharu looked appropriately confused. “Spain?” He mumbled as his brows drew together.

“Yes! Spain. That country with bulls and horns and toxic food!”

“You’re overreacting. She’s perfectly fluent in Japanese.” I think.

Masao’s eyes popped again and he leaned over the table till he was directly in front of the lord. “Dad,” he whispered, “the Spanish men wear tights.”

“Masao,” Tatsuharu whispered back, “Men in Japan wear kimonos. What do you think they look like to other countries?”

Masao stared at him a couple minutes before sighing and plopping back on his knees. “Fine. I’ll do it. But don’t expect grandchildren!” And with that he stood and ran out the door, swearing quietly.

Tatsuharu watched him go, blinked once, and then looked down at the sake bottle with a goofy, lopsided grin. “Now where was I…?”

“Leiko.”

“The insanity! You’ve all lost your minds! This is unacceptable! How dare-!”

“Leiko.”

“-I would never do this to my children! A cat! A cat?! He’s probably afraid of water! And another thing-”

“Leiko.”

“Oh no! I can’t have children! You can’t breed a dog and a cat! It’s-it’s against the laws of the universe! It’d be a dat! Or-or a cog!”

“Leiko!”

Leiko turned to her father slowly, wincing at his angry look.

“You will mate the heir of the North and you will like it.”

Leiko opened her mouth to protest but met the golden eyes of her father and quieted. “Yes sir.”

Jouichirou nodded and turned back to his map, dismissing Leiko with a wave of his hand.

“We are meeting your future mate today, are you excited Masao?”

“Yes.”

Tatsuharu looked down at his son in surprise. “Really?”

Masao turned his head away and smirked evilly, “Yes. Really.”

“Leiko, are you prepared?”

Leiko eyed her ‘supplies’ critically, and then broke out into a devious smile. “Yes. Ready.”


“What did you two do?” Kagome asked, tugging on Masao’s sleeve.

Masao looked down on her, smiling warmly. “I’ll tell you tomorrow. It is time for us to camp now.”

Kagome looked around, realizing it was indeed evening. “Oh.”

Masao chuckled and patted her hand, leaning his naginata against a tree.

Before her eyes his from knotted and changed. The pale hair turned sooty, the warm eyes hardening.

“You are doing well.” He said.

She looked away, her eyes clouding.

His hand reached out and he ran a thumb down her ruddy cheek tenderly. “You remember what I told you? About the hanyou and the priestess?”

Her muscles tensed, the water in her veins boiling. “Yes.” She whispered.

“You have a job to do, it’s your obligation.”

Her mind flashed, a crumbled piece of her brain falling into place.

He remained unaware, smoothing her hair away from her eyes tenderly. “You will listen to me, right? You will obey?”

“A puppet can do nothing else.” She murmured, her hand curling and uncurling.

A proud smile came over his pale features, and he withdrew his hand, placing it in on the frozen water surrounding her island. The water turned liquid and rolled over his flesh, and the icy walls around them began cracking before her eyes.

He chuckled, deep and mysterious and so very familiar, and turned fully to her. “I rule your life, you know. You will never escape me.”

Her gaze shot to his crimson eyes. “Duty is only worth so much.” She said, another piece falling into place.

His eyes turned a little cooler, but the smile remained. “It is not purified. It can never be purified.”

Her hands dug into the sand beneath her, the burning ground sifting through her fingers like a stream. “I-I can try. I trained and-”

His hand, the hand that had been submerged in the icy water, shot up and grabbed her face. She screamed at the feel of his skin, thrashing at him. He chuckled again, more menacing and more familiar than before. “You stupid little girl.” His voice was comforting and warm and scornful. She stilled as more of the crushed bits of her mind formed. “Duty will always come before the rest of your life. You will slave over this duty until you die and the next of your kind takes over.”

Her eyes - clouded and white – filled with the water around them, swirling and darkening with her sudden awareness. He continued on his tirade, ignorant of the change happening before him.

Her eyes hardened.

Duty, her mind whispered, will not win.

Kagome woke, but kept her eyes closed.

Something, something had changed in her.

The Shikon no Tama had cooled in her side. Her brows furrowed and she rolled onto her back, lifting the hem of her shirt to poke at her side. What the-? The scar had all but vanished on her skin. The once white skin was now darkening to the same tanned tone of the rest of her waist and stomach. She sat up, ignoring how the cool air hit her exposed abdomen, and parted the lower hem of her shirt, running her hand over the healed texture. It was still there, but it was so faint that if she didn’t know where to look she wouldn’t have noticed the difference. “Wow…” She mumbled.

A throat cleared in front of her and her head shot up, her hair flying and neck cracking. Sesshoumaru was sitting in front of her, his eyes trained on her face.

Or so she thought.

When the girl had woken up, he’d ignored her. When she’d sat up, he’d ignored her. When her shirt had opened and a portion of tanned, toned, tanned skin had been exposed, he’d-

Well, he’d taken his time in ogling-

Criticizing! Criticizing her. Cause she was human and unworthy and skin.

Sesshoumaru glued his eyes to her face, doing his best to give a displeased glare.

She returned the look with wide eyes. Her hair was mussed, her shirt still parted and her mouth set in a tiny, perfect little circle. Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, one of his eyebrows rising.

Kagome blinked once and looked down at herself. She blushed profusely and tugged her shirt back in place, smoothing out the white cloth. She giggled timidly, scratching the back of her head and, getting no real response from Sesshoumaru, lay back down.

When he was sure she was asleep Sesshoumaru slammed his head back against the tree.

Damn.

Sesshoumaru: … So, the dream was-

Kagome: Uh-uh. No. You are not changing the subject.

Sesshoumaru: … Damn.