UnBound Memories

A/N: nette, yeah, last chapter was a last bit of fluff before this one, and I wish I could say that the smug new relative wasn't perceptive, but he is. TenshiYoukai, thanks, unfortunately, Miroku loses a bit of control this chapter. InuyashasGypsyGirl, Thank you.

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I was tyring to finish up another fic, and this one is kid of a transition. (This story more or less has three parts, InuYasha finding out about his father, Sesshomaru and Miroku mating, and the part to follow). I know where I'm going from here, but this one was a bitch to get written out. I'm still not completely satisfied with it, but I'll never get to proceed on with the story if I don't get something up and move on. (I can always edit later).

Chapter 27

Katsuro's Little Stunt

After completing their dinner, the crowd of inuyoukai, as well as the lord’s personal guests, left the palace to stand at the base of a nearby mountain. “I rather pity these mountain demons,” Sesshomaru said, looking down at Miroku, who remained latched onto his right arm, those clawed fingers occasionally running along the underside of the daiyoukai’s forearm as an attempt to comfort the agitated demon lord.

Beneath his placid demeanor, Sesshomaru was fuming. Katsuro was always an arrogant ass. The lord had expected his cousin to find a subtle way of making his disgust at Sesshomaru’s mate and son known to the clan, but to blatantly insult them that this with no words of reproach from any of the elder members of the clan meant that the entire family had given the slightly younger inuyoukai permission to egg the two marked inus into a demonstration of power.

Drawing out some of his youkai, Sesshomaru knelt to the ground, right hand glowing before it was driven into the earth, shaking the mountain. When he heard the noise from the demons being released from the mountaintop, Miroku turned, as though realizing the sheer quantity about to charge at them.

“I believe there may be a few more here this time.”

“Overdid it a bit, old man,” InuYasha said over his shoulder.

“The last time I called forth demons, I was considerably less powerful.” Though Sesshomaru didn’t dare add that he was feeling considerably weakened now. The root’s effect on the lord’s youkai were fading and the amount of effort he’d put into calling forth the demons left him feeling somewhat vulnerable.

Sensing that, apparently, Miroku’s own flared a bit. The dark hanyou growled at the demons in front of him. Trying to calm his mate, Sesshomaru placed a hand on the shoulder in front of him. Miroku appeared to use some of his breathing techniques to calm himself. Sesshomaru released Miroku as the demon headed toward them. InuYasha pulled his sword out. Miroku held his right hand out, left hand wrapped around his right wrist.

“Wind Scar!”

“Wind Tunnel!”

InuYasha brought down his sword, disintegrating nearly half of the demons in front of them. The rest were captured in Miroku’s wind tunnel. Closing his right hand into a fist, the hanyou looked over at Katsuro, a smug smile on his face.

“Cousin,” Sesshomaru said, placing a hand on both his son and Miroku’s shoulders. “I hope you are satisfied.” Sesshomaru could feel Miroku clutch onto his hand.

“Sesshomaru,” Miroku said, “may we go inside?” Grabbing onto Sesshomaru’s arm to support the pregnant demon, but giving the impression it was Miroku who needed it, the hanyou smiled up at his mate. “I am feeling a bit woozy.”

With Miroku’s aid, a somewhat light-headed Sesshomaru made his way back to the palace, walking to the family’s wing, where he and his mate would change into their specially designed haoiris, which would be able to have the back pull away in order to reveal their mating mark. Following behind the patriarch were InuYasha and Kagome, exchanging worried glances as they exited to their own room for the same reason. Once inside their chambers, Miroku guided Sesshomaru to the bed, placed a kiss on the demon’s lips, hand stroking down long white hair.

“Are you certain you can get through this ceremony?” Miroku saw how exhausted Sesshomaru was, color somewhat drained.

“I used too much of my youkai when I called forth those demons.” On a tiny table beside the bed, Miroku grabbed a knife and the remaining portion of the root, cutting a small square off, clasping it between his finger and thumb. Holding it out to his mate, Miroku watched as Sesshomaru eyed him warily. “I am quite capable of feeding myself.”

With a smirk, Miroku placed the piece of root between his lips, leaned forward, and pressed their lips together, pushing the root into the demon’s mouth with his tongue. Ending the kiss while Sesshomaru swallowed the thing whole, Mirkou turned to the task of removing the demon lord’s haori, kissing at the salty skin as he revealed each inch.

“Though I do appreciate your attentions, Miroku, we should not start something we cannot finish.” In response, Miroku kissed Sesshomaru on his cheek, sliding off the haori from the demon’s shoulders. Still seated, Sesshomaru began doing the same to Miroku.

“Are you certain you are feeling well enough to go out there?”

“I will be better soon.” Miroku ran his hand down his mate’s cheek, growing a little concerned by the still-arrogant expression on Katsuro’s face when they had returned to the palace and the fact that Sesshomaru seemed weak still.

********

Finally emerging from their chambers, the two new couples left the family wing to re-join the clan and their guests to present their mating marks. Jaken very gratingly, though respectful all the same, announced their entrance.

“Presenting Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands, Inu No Taisho, wielder of the Tenseiga, and his mate Lord Miroku, commander of the kazaana.” Exchanging looks that held so many unspoken words, the two entered the room, InuYasha and Kagome waiting behind them. “Presenting Prince InuYasha, heir to the Western Lands, wielder of the Tessaiga, and his mate Princess Kagome, miko and goddess of wind.”

Sesshomaru looked back at his son, who was tightly squeezing Kagome’s hand. They had discovered that she held the power of wind, though the natural force did nothing to reflect her own sweet nature. Had Sesshomaru been a betting demon, he would have assumed she would be a goddess of the earth, she was so stable and welcoming, never would he have anticipates something as free and inconstant as the wind. However, her powers had already increased the accuracy of her archery and she was able to use techniques almost instantly that she had learned by observing Kagura. It seemed the power developed in such a way out of necessity than personality.

Though the parted gathering of inus, humans and wolves, the two pairs walked into the great room, standing before them all. The two in line for the western land, as the supposed alphas--though Sesshomaru had made it quite clear to his family he was not and if anyone knew Kagome, they would have known she would never take orders from InuYasha--affectionately placed their hands on their mates shoulders, turning them to face away from the crowd. Pulling at the strings that held the back in place at the top, Kagome’s kimono and Miroku’s haori revealed the whole of their back. There were comments in the crowd at the beauty of the two marks revealed to them, something which Sesshomaru had thought to himself when he’d seen his own and InuYasha’s marks.

Then, Miroku and Kagome took the hands of their mates, a symbolic gesture that they were to suggest, guide, but never order or command their alphas into action. They turned their mates, pulling at the strings at the shoulders, revealing the matching marks on their mates. There were gasps from the crowd. Shock that not only were there true mates, but two sets. The demon lord knew how unheard of this was in demon society, but glancing over his shoulder at Katsuro, he wondered at the suspicious smile on the inuyoukai’s chiseled face.

There were a series of congratulations and the completion of the ceremony followed, with the presentation of the gifts ending the evening. All of which were nearly useless things, like the ring Sesshomaru had first given Miroku, an item that he would never wear and was kept in storage for guests. Katsuro seemed to be holding his own gift until last.

“I am pleased to see that your youkai and your son’s have managed to find such ideal mates for you. I believe that my gift should be prepared out in the courtyard, if you will all join me.”

Miroku followed Sesshomaru, tying up the haori as they went, not wanting his mate to catch cold. In return, Sesshomaru pulled Miroku ahead of him, doing the same to the hanyou.

He could see that a traveling group had set up a sort of little make-shift theater, and a tiny old monkey demon stepped out behind a screen.

“To honor Lord Sesshomaru and his mate on their day of their ceremony, Lord Katsuro has hired the services of my troop to honor you. I hope that you will be pleased.”

Realizing he was still standing in front of Sesshomaru, Miroku felt he needed to be protective of the demon lord at this moment without seeming so and grabbed the large clawed hands of the demon behind him, wrapping them around himself at his midsection. The former monk never anticipated he’d have to be such a talented actor, but here he was, playing the part of the needy, pregnant mate with what he felt was relative success.

Miroku watched as a group of demons walked out from beyond the screen. He was impressed. In all of his years mooching off of supposed exorcisms and flattering the ladies, he had not seen geisha performances that were as good and organized as this traveling one seemed to be. However, he could tell that Sesshomaru was not impressed as he heard the lord growling deep in his throat. Miroku’s large violet eyes looked up at his mate.

“Sesshomaru?” he whispered. It was not uncommon for demons to reward a mating with a performing group of some kind.

“They are hanyous and mixed breeds, Miroku. All of them. And use your nose. They are collared courtesans. The scent of sex hovers in the air around them.” Sesshomaru growled again. “This is my cousin’s message to us. This is his way of expressing what he thinks of you and InuYasha.” He grabbed hold of Miroku’s arm. “We are leaving.”
As they walked back into the palace, InuYasha and Kagome followed, as did their friends, all understanding there was an insult in this demonstration, though some didn’t understand exactly what it was.

“I had to endure his insults earlier because they came from the clan. I have no need to watch this.”

********

Following the mating ceremony and the halted performance, Katsuro stood outside of the palace by a carriage, enjoying a moment as a very affectionate kitsune hanyou kissed his neck, running her human-like hands over his chest, occasionally dipping them within his haori. It was all the inu could do to remain focused.

“I am surprised that we were not executed for performing here,” the ancient monkey demon said.

“Saruwatari, I assured you that I would protect you, and I will.” Katsuro closed his green eyes for a minute as the courtesan began licking over his jugular.

“Are you certain of this?” the ancient money demon said to katsuro.

“As close to certain as I can get,” the inu said. “The scent is coming from both of them, but the fresh smell of sex makes me question if they are hiding something. And my cousin may not be of a particularly dark complexion, but he is looking unusually pale.”

“But what of his mate?”

“His mate is strong,” with an added smirk as he ran his hand down the red hair of the kit hanyou, Katsuro said, “too strong to be pregnant. He has no control over his youkai, proving it is not weakened at all by pregnancy. It flared unmistakably before battle. It was too strong a demonic aura for a pregnant hanyou to remain standing upright, but it made perfect sense for it to happen if he was trying to protect a pregnant mate.”

“And you think Lord Sesshomaru would submit to this hanyou?” The monkey-demon’s face wrinkled at the thought.
“You saw that hanyou, even I’m tempted by his looks, and I have no interest in males.”

“But Lord Sesshomaru…”

“Looks more like a woman and always has.” Katsuro curled his lip a bit at the realization that feminine in face or not, the plumbing would still be male and mating required at least one act of sex. “Besides, it would be about solidifying myself as lord. Nothing more.” Looking down at the curvaceous kit focused only on pleasing him, he added. “Believe me.”

Katsuro huffed. He didn’t want to be obligated to bring honor to the clan, but Sesshomaru simply wasn’t fit to lead. Not only had he certainly submitted to his mate--how could he not? True mates were infamous for being equals and exchanging positions and roles--but Sesshomaru’s parents had already disgraced the clan more than enough to warrant evicting the lord from his position. Touga being with that human was insult enough to demonic tradition, but Sesshomaru’s mother was no better. She had run off from Lord Touga, her mate, and was gone from him a mere twenty years before she found a new mate, Ryuukotsei. She had taken up with a dragon over an inu lord, and the dragon attacked the human wife in order to get revenge on Touga and finally bring about the Inu No Taisho’s death. No one from such flawed blood could be a true leader.

“You are absolutely certain that Lord Sesshomaru has submitted to this hanyou?”

“This is the Lord Sesshomaru I knew in my childhood, not the assassin that has garnered fear throughout Japan. This Sesshomaru would submit for love, especially the love of a true mate.” Katsuro laced a finger beneath the collar around the neck of the kit hanyou still sucking at his neck. “Which is why our plans have changed. This would work rather nicely on my cousin. He is fond of red, if you should have one.”

********

Despite the protests of his mate, Sesshomaru was still furious and had opted for a walk, a fuming pacing through his own palace, walking by the rooms of the family members he wanted to toss out of his home personally. He and Miroku had been practically inseparable all night, so no one would suspect, but he honestly just needed to be alone, just for a few minutes before he took out his anger at his family on Miroku. The former monk might have gotten him pregnant, but he certainly didn’t deserve the anger and disgust that was building within the daiyoukai directed at him.

Sesshomaru had managed to walk through the whole of the palace three times before he’d even managed to lessen his anger even slightly. Katsuro’s little stunt with the courtesans was to be expected, even if the specifics of the insult hadn’t been entirely anticipated, but the fact that Katsuro was given express permission by the clan to challenge Sesshomaru’s choice and to openly degrade both his mate and son was too much, and angered him at more than just his prejudiced cousin.

Returning back to his bed chambers, feeling more than a little drained, he saw two of the mixed-breed courtesans standing outside of his bedroom door.

“What is it that you want?” Sesshomaru asked, not amused.

“Why, you of course. Masters Saruwatari and Katsuro wish for us to extend their apologies to you,” the male half dragon said, attempting to get closer to Sesshomaru.

“I would prefer it if your two masters left my property and never set foot here again,” Sesshomaru said, brushing aside the female wolf hanyou who tried to attach herself to his neck and open his haori.

“But we are trained in many skills, Master Sesshomaru,” she said.

“I am not your master. I am a lord and I demand you leave me alone.”

“Of course, Lord Sesshomaru, but Master Katsuro wants to see you outside, and you should go now,” the female said.

“What makes him think I will obey?”

“That collar around your neck.” There was someone else with them. Sesshomaru was cursing this pregnancy more and more as it was slowly robbing him of his higher senses.

Sesshomaru made a grab for the item he had hardly felt encircling his throat, shocking himself so fiercely he nearly fell to his knees from the demonic spell that had been placed on it.

“That collar reacts to anyone who has submitted themselves, cousin,” Katsuro said, stepping toward the demon lord. “Now, you will obey me, you will follow, and you will not contact your mate under any circumstances, do you understand?”

“You cannot make me obey,” Sesshomaru said, struggling against the damned thing the hanyou had placed on him.

“But I can. Even though you have submitted yourself, you see, you would be able to rip that thing to shreds if you were not weakened somehow. And the more you resist, the stronger the collar ‘persuades’ you to obey. Though I doubt it would kill you, even in this weakened state, but if there were, by some small chance, a tiny, less powerful force within you, well…”

Sesshomaru stood stock still, looking at his shorter cousin in disbelief and disgust.

“You will follow me.”

Against his own will, Sesshomaru’s body obeyed, desperate to at least protect the life of its baby.