As Death Gives Life

Chapter 23 – Painful Lesson in Truth


Lord Buhito Teriyaki stood passively in the corner of the dungeon chamber as he watched Sesshomaru work his special brand of magic on the captive assassin. As of yet the great taiyoukai had not actually lain a finger on the stubborn kitsune, but he could easily tell that he would soon be changing his tune. Sesshomaru was not one to dally about for long. He wanted answers and he wanted them immediately.

The problem at the moment seemed to be that the kitsune was unaware of the torment that lay ahead of him. Even as helpless as he was at the moment the arrogant dealer of death refused to do so much as state his name. He simply hung against the wall glaring at them with hatred in his emerald eyes.

Sesshomaru had dismissed the guards from the room, leaving them alone to pry the desired information from their captive. While Sesshomaru seemed to have a penchant for such necessary violence, Buhito preferred to leave the unsavory task to others. His distaste for prolonged torment and suffering bore no relevance to his ability as a warrior, for Buhito very much enjoyed a good fight. He had massacred many youkai and human enemies alike beneath his gaffs. The wickedly sharp blades worn over his impressive spurs ripped through his opponents with sinister results. While in his true form, the northern lord was naturally armed with his razor sharp beak as well, giving him a fierce arsenal at his disposal. His ability to fly short distances lent him the ability to use his weapons most effectively. In the battle ring was where he was most at his element, not here in a torture cell.

“You fool. Do you not understand the magnitude of your crime? Do you not see the future that awaits you? Lord Sesshomaru is most skilled in delaying one’s death, kitsune. Your cooperation may mean a quick and merciful death.” Buhito was growing weary of the whole affair. He had much better things to do than stand around in this dingy place with an ignorant kit. There were beautiful women in the levels above, simply waiting for his wondering eyes.

No reaction what-so-ever was given in response to Buhito’s ‘advice’. The fox youkai refused to say a word. “Do you suppose he has lost his tongue in order to insure his silence?” Buhito pondered aloud.

“Hn. I find that doubtful, but you will have your answer when he begins to scream.” Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and cracked his knuckles in warning of the pain to come. “Kitsune, you have one last chance to tell me your name.” The baka would not even speak his own name, even though his name would mean nothing at all. It was simply an opening point in which he could assess the weakness of the prisoner. This one was stubborn indeed. Normally one in his position would reek of fear, but this one did not. He was strangely calm in his refusal to answer even the simplest of questions. This assassin was very well trained.

The time for leniency was past. Sesshomaru would no longer put up with this insolence. He had ways of making the kitsune sing his soul to the fires of hell. He stepped up and slowly raked his claws down the chest of the fox, slicing through the mangled fabric of his haori, through his flesh and into the roped muscles. He made his first mark of pain slowly, enjoying the sudden scent of fear and pain flowing from the assassin in thick heavy waves.

Still no sound escaped the assassins’ mouth. Not even a grunt to reflect the harsh assault on his body. This angered Sesshomaru somewhat, but he maintained a sense of stoic indifference. “Your name, boy.” It was a demand leaving no option. An answer was required immediately. The hate filled emerald eyes only stared back and it became clear to Sesshomaru that this was going to be a long session.

“Kitsune, you have been brought before this Sesshomaru for your crimes against my sworn allies of the North. You will give me the information that I seek, be it now or later. Spare yourself the agony that I will surely bring to you and tell me who hired you.”

The captive did not waver in his silence, and Sesshomaru stepped up to issue another lesson wrought in pain. “Are you aware, kitsune, of the powers that I wield? Have you heard tell of my Dakkasou? Within these claws is a deadly toxin to which there is no equal. With the mere flexing of muscle I can administer enough poison to melt you into a messy puddle of green ooze, or, if I prefer, a miniscule amount. Truthfully, it is the later that I prefer, as it prolongs my victims agony for endless days.” For effect the deadly taiyoukai released a bit of the sweet smelling poison, which accumulated at the tips of his ivory claws, swelling into drops of green opal light. A sickly sweet smell permeated the air.

Again his captive made no move to cooperate; obviously holding great loyalty to the one who orchestrated the attack on Lord Buhito. No matter. Sesshomaru had been forced to extract information from prisoners thousands of times in the past. It was a most unsavory task, but extremely necessary in his position.

“Very well then,” Sesshomaru said without emotion. His velvet lined baritone echoed softly through the empty chambers deep below the earth. He released a bit of toxin before raking his claws carefully down the kitsune’s side. The gash was shallow, intentionally missing internal organs, while coating the open wound with enough of his poison to induce unimaginable stinging pain. The wound would neither heal nor ease. It would seep infection and bring unending torment. Very few captives held out beyond this step of Sesshomaru’s sessions.

The first of the assassins’ screams wrenched free as the pain became too much to bear. The agonizing cry resounded throughout the lower levels of the castle making Buhito flinch with a semblance of pity for the fox. He stepped up, hoping to end this session. “Fox, you will divulge the information we seek now and end your torment.” It was an order, not a request. Buhito’s voice held the strength and power of one used to being obeyed. Still the fox did not waver in his resolve. It was most disturbing. “You are truly a fool among fools.”

Buhito turned to Sesshomaru. “I leave this to you, Sesshomaru-sama, as I have no stomach for such ignorance. Please send word to me upon your imminent success. I will join you for the results.” Buhito nodded to his ally before exiting the chamber and gracefully ascending the stairs. Behind him the screams began anew.

As soon as Buhito stepped out into the evening air he inhaled deeply of the freshness in an attempt to clear the stench of suffering from his nostrils. His second deep inhalation brought with it a lovely scent mingled with that of his own mate. At once he made his way toward the gardens, where he found his wonderful and able mate sitting with a vision of human loveliness.

“Konbanwa ladies,” Buhito greeted as he stepped up to grasp the hand of his mate. He placed a chaste his there before standing straight. “Kagome, is it not? You look enchanting in that emerald green kimono, my dear... but I do believe that I found the white one that you wore earlier much more to my tastes.” Buhito grinned mischievously while sporting a glint of humor in his eyes as he pulled the miko’s hand up to place a chaste kiss there.

Kagome was mortified! He was teasing her about the embarrassing incident from the fountain, and right in front of his wife! She had no doubt at all that her face was glowing a bright crimson red, and wished for all she was worth that the earth would swallow her up at that very moment. A quick glance to lady Chika proved that the chatty hen had no idea of the humiliation that she suffered earlier at the hands her mate and Lord Sesshomaru. Kagome also decided that it would be a healthy move not to enlighten her further, so she quickly attempted to change the subject. “::Cough:: Ah-um, sorry about that. Um, I hate to bring this up, but did Sesshomaru-sama mention the incident with the bee’s?”

Lord Buhito made a rather grating cluck before replying, “Hai. He did inform me on the matter, and you need not worry. I will have a nice long discussion with the chicks concerning the incident.”

Lady Chika looked from Kagome to Buhito in confusion. “Why? What happened?” She almost did not want to know. Those little rascals of hers were continuously getting into some sort of mischief or other.

Buhito shook his regal head in exasperation. Those boys were sure to be the death of him one day. “From what I understand the boys have ‘acquired’ a honey bee potion from Kami knows where, and used it to terrorize Kagome’s young fox friend.”

Lady Chika sat back on her haunches, clucking her aggravation at her chick’s bad behavior. She looked to the nice young miko. “Dear, I do hope that you can forgive them. I will make certain that they are punished and make an apology to your young kitsune. Those children of ours are quite a handful at times. They really are not such bad kernels, though I can imagine that you find that hard to believe.”

Kagome held back the giggle at the strange terms used by the chicken youkai. It was just so odd to hear her use the term ‘bad kernels’. She could hardly wait to tell Sango and Miroku about these two. They were going to laugh their butt’s off. Quickly she recovered her composure and managed to hold a straight face. She put her hand comfortingly on the mother hen’s shoulder. “I am sure that you are right, Lady Chika. They are simply rambunctious young boys. There was no real harm done. I have faith that they will grow up to make you both proud.”

“Arigato, Lady Kagome. That is very kind of you, Lord Buhito supplied with an immaculate smile.

Kagome smiled in return. The rooster youkai seemed like a good and fair lord. Her senses told her that she could trust these two. The Northern lord was a ruggedly handsome being, especially when he turned that devilish smile up. The black patch strapped carefully over his eye gave him a dangerously sexy appeal. It was also rather obvious that he was well aware of his effect on the female race. Were all handsome youkai lords so arrogant and cocky?

‘No more than handsome Egyptian Gods are,’ Kagome silently grumbled. Her smile quickly fell into a thoughtful frown as her mind wondered to Anubis. How could she have been so naive? Looking back now it was so obvious that he was using her for his own purposes. It was stupid of her to think that someone like him could ever fall in love with someone like her. She then wondered if he even knew how to feel love for another. Did his capacity to feel include emotions from the heart? ‘Seriously doubt it,’ she inwardly mumbled.

Chika noticed the sudden melancholy that engulfed the young human miko and it bothered her for some reason. She attempted to brush it off as motherly concern overflowing, but the feeling that she should comfort the small girl stood out strongly. They had been enjoying a nice cheerful talk before Buhito had joined them, and she had taken a great liking to the miko, which was an oddity in itself. Most miko’s were sworn to destroy youkai, yet this human girl actually lived among them holding no prejudices at all. Her aura was clear and white with goodness engraved upon her soul, and it was most pleasant to have made her acquaintance.

Things had been so hectic since the assassination attempt that she had barely had time to breathe, so after the evening meal she had come to the gardens for a bit of peace. That was when she found young Kagome sitting out here staring up at the stars glistening high above. At first she had been hesitant to approach a powerful miko, but the girls warm smile pushed her fears completely aside.

It took only moments to catch the scent of her unborn child growing strong inside of her womb. In the brief time that she had spent sitting next to Kagome, it became more and more evident that even at this early stage in the child’s development it held tremendous power. Her curiosity was getting the better of her to be sure as she found herself wondering who the sire was. Lord Sesshomaru was an obvious guess, since he was a very powerful youkai, as was his father before him. It seemed strange however that Lord Sesshomaru would be the sire. He did not show the normal youkai symptoms of pending fatherhood. It would be near impossible to separate the inuyoukai from his expectant mate if he were the father. Still, she refused to rule him out.

If Sesshomaru was not the sire, then who was the male who had planted the powerful seed inside this young female’s womb? A male of such power would be a formidable foe, and she feared her Buhito never had to face such a youkai in battle.

Kagome’s solemn expression did not change, and Chika could simply not hold her tongue any longer. She glanced up, catching the eye of her mate, with a clearly readable ‘go away’ look. After his rather flirty departure, Chika settled down and prepared to offer solace to this sad little soul. “Kagome dear, would you like to tell me what troubles you so?”

Kagome glanced up to the gentle motherly youkai sitting beside of her. Something about Lady Chika made her really miss her mom. She missed her smile and comforting voice. She missed the reassuring hugs that cleared away the doubts and eased the pain. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and Kagome attempted to dab it before Chika noticed, but the hen was too quick.

“My dear, it is apparent to me that you carry a heavy weight upon your young shoulders. I know that we have only just met, and I know that we are from opposite ends of the barnyard, but if it will help, I will gladly lend a shoulder to cry upon.” Chika held out a soft arm, and was actually surprised when Kagome scooted near to her and began to cry softly.

“Arigato, Lady Chika. I really miss my mom right now. Things have gotten so crazy here, and now I can’t go home. I would give anything to see my mom’s smiling face,” Kagome couldn’t hold back the sorrow that had suddenly swamped over her. She really had no idea why she suddenly felt so sad. Just minutes ago she was sitting here content and feeling at peace with the world. She attempted to pull herself together, making a half-hearted attempt to smile and brush off her silly tears, but the mother hen refused to let her go so quickly, and Kagome just didn’t mind enough to fight the comfort so freely offered to her. “I’m really sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

Chika clucked and rocked the girl a bit in her arms. “I know exactly what came over you girl. It’s the babe you carry in your womb. Kami knows that I was a mess of emotions while I was carrying my eggs. I almost drove poor Buhito to an early grave with the mood swings.”

Kagome managed a soft giggle, but that was the extent of it. She just felt really rotten all of a sudden. It just wasn’t fair.

“Does the babe belong to Lord Sesshomaru?” Chika felt Kagome stiffen in her embrace. She had debated on asking such a personal question, but her curiosity got the better of her. It always did.

Kagome sat up and shook her head slowly. “No.” She rubbed her open hand over her abdomen in a soft caress. “My baby is not by Sesshomaru. He would probably bust a vein just hearing that.” She made an attempt to laugh snidely, but it wasn’t worth the effort. She knew that she was being careless confiding in this youkai that she had only just met, but she needed to talk to someone right now. Someone older and experienced with things like this. It just felt... right.

Kagome took a long deep breath, and pushed the tears away. “It happened so suddenly. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, and he certainly had no intentions of telling me.” She gave a little growl of annoyance at her own stupidity. “I was such a complete baka. I actually believed that he was falling in love with me, just like I was with him. Nothing mattered to me except being with him. My friends, who I trust my life with, tried to warn me, but I could not see past his handsome face and beautiful crystal blue eyes.”

Chika leaned back, placed both hands on her knees, and rocked herself with a knowing frown. “That is the way of those handsome males. They flash the young women a charming smile and all sense leaves their minds.”

Kagome looked up and nodded. “You got that right. I was just too caught up in the romance and sweet words to realize that he was using me.”

Chika reached beside her and patted Kagome’s knee reassuringly. “It happens to the best of them my dear. The men simply want a quick rut and then they are off on their merry way, never even knowing of the miracle and heartache that they have wrought.”

Kagome huffed. “If only it were that simple. No. Anubis searched the world for his idea of the perfect female to bear his child. Lucky me. I fit the bill perfectly.”

Chika sat up; her interest further peaked. This was not what she expected at all. What youkai would go to such lengths to sire a child and abandon the mother when they needed him the most?

“Was he killed Kagome?” Chika asked softly, afraid that she had hit the truth of it.

Again Kagome huffed. “I’d like to kill him, but no that isn’t what happened. You see Anubis is not from these lands. He revealed himself to be an ancient InuGod from a foreign land called Egypt.” She ignored Lady Chika’s obvious shock, and continued, “Anubis felt desolate after serving as a revered God of the Dead for so many centuries. He made up his mind that he wanted to know what it was like to create a life since his own life revolved around endless death. To put it in a nice neat package, he found me, charmed himself into my arms and intentionally impregnated me. Then he casually broke the news that he couldn’t stick around. Had to get back to work, you know, so he made arrangements to shove me off on Sesshomaru, went back to Egypt, and here I am.”

Lady Chika took some time to digest the flood of information. It was almost too fantastic to believe, but there was nothing to suggest that the miko was telling an untruth. Her heart rate remained steady and true during the whole tale, and the sadness in her voice could not betray her. The young miko was carrying the spawn of a God. How utterly amazing! It was no wonder that the babe reeked of growing power. It was almost frightening to know that the tiny new life force could already contain such raw power. Even now she could feel it dancing about her skin. This pup would be a being of tremendous potential.

The hens eyes grew large with the knowledge as deeper understanding set in. The one who could obtain the loyalty of this future demi-god could rule over Japan without contest. A shiver crawled slowly up her spine as she took in the magnitude of it all. Lord Sesshomaru would forever be invincible.

Thank the Fates that they were allies instead of enemies.

Chika pushed aside her rolling thoughts for later study. At the moment the innocent young girl sitting here needed a little motherly comfort. Kami only knows how she will handle such a heavy burden in the months and years to come. It was just like an arrogant God to selfishly usurp the lives of those considered beneath him without so much as a thought.

Without another thought Lady Chika pulled Kagome’s small frame close within the shelter of her arms. She wasn’t the girl’s real mother, but she would be happy to guide this young woman through her pregnancy months, and then some. “Kagome. You listen to Chika, you hear? Things are not always as bad as they seem. Sometimes what we deem as a tragedy is only the Fates bringing to us a hidden blessing. This unborn child you carry will love you like no other, and you will know true untainted love when you hold that child in your arms. The sadness you feel now will wash away when you touch the soft skin of your newborn babe. It is a joy like no other.”

Kagome listened to the comforting words of assurance and actually felt much better. She hoped with all of her heart that Lady Chika was right. Maybe what she thought was a curse upon her was actually a blessing in disguise.