CLAIMING KIN by Salome and Talon

Gift

By Talon and Salome タロン and サロメ

Warning: Shouta. Smut. Kinks of many varieties. Don’t read it if you don’t want to.

Author's Note: Sorry it took us so long to get this chapter up. Lots more coming very soon!

Sesshoumaru sighs with what is as near to contentment as the young lord has felt in many weeks, if he can be said ever to have attained such a peaceful state at all. The harness is in his hands at last. The leopard youkai artisan, Akemi, has worked with agonizing slowness, it seems, though he forces himself to accept Jaken's word that it has been a far shorter time than could be expected for such exquisite craftsmanship. Artistry, thinks Sesshoumaru, fingering the soft but sturdy leather straps, the dark tanning work so even and rich, and the tiny, shining buckles. How beautiful it will look against Kin's pink flesh.

He traces a claw gently over the tooling of his royal seal. It sits at the thick center cross-strap and will be poised directly over Kin's heart. The work is bold yet ornate, and when he looks carefully—which he has been doing for at least an hour as he waits for Kin to come out of his bath and be presented to him—he can see the way Akemi has worked the character for Kin into the elaborate border surrounding the seal. The gesture was presumptuous, overstepping his orders, but perfect. Absolutely perfect.

That he remembers the leopard's name is perhaps the greatest compliment Sesshoumaru can offer her, though she will not know of it. She will receive ample pay and a reputation to earn both future commissions and unprecedented renown for so young a creature and a woman in so patriarchal a kingdom. Of course, she will also make the future harnesses for Kin as his hanyou ward grows beyond the last hole in each precious buckle. That goes without saying. Any other work will be put on hold when such a time comes.

He puts the harness down and begins pacing the floor in his soft, embroidered white boots. How may he best ensure what he requires? Looking out his far window into the bright sky, he makes a mental note to have Jaken ensure Akemi's quarters are ample, that her food is nutritious, that her access to a decent healer (is there such a thing?) is ensured, that she takes regular exercise in the grounds (but not beyond), and does not get pregnant and run off with some unworthy servant or peasant or, worst yet, some imbecile lord enamored (as he must confess he is) of her handiwork. In short, access to a healthy, contented Akemi must be unfettered and, equally importantly, he must not be bothered about it once he commands it be made so.

Kin wriggles as he sits in the shallow end of the big tub. He has to be ALL clean and dressed nicely and be presented to Onii. The word, "presented" makes him a little anxious at first, but..."Yumi," he says again, even as she rubs the oil into his hair that helps make it sleek and shiny and easier to care for...more like Onii's, except there is no doubt that Kin's hair is much more white than silver, and Onii's hair is silver. "Onii has a secret in his smell lately. He smells excited." He eyes the bristled brush that he knows will be used to scrub the bottoms of his calloused feet and his toe claws before the bath is done, and then his finger claws before they are all trimmed. It will tickle. "Don't you think so? Why do I have to have a bath in the middle of the day?" he asks for at least the fifth time in the past three minutes. "And be ALL clean everywhere?"

"Don't you like being clean everywhere?" Yumi asks with a conspiratorial smile. She does not know the specifics, but she has been told that Lord Sesshoumaru has a gift for his pup, a particularly special gift like no other. It will help Kin to feel safe, and that will help Lord Sesshoumaru to feel safe, too. Her thoughts are presumptuous, but she cannot miss the difference in the proud Lord since the "Incident." Even now, when Kin is so very much back to his former happy, curious self, Sesshoumaru is still distant—or more distant than usual. He is hesitant. And that is distressing to all the servants who attend him or Kin. Not to mention his Lordship and her Ladyship, his parents. She says a little silent prayer that this gift, whatever it is, will make everything well again for them all as she continues to oil Kin's thick white mane of hair.

"Well, yes...Kin likes being clean everywhere, but he usually gets baths in the morning or at night. Not in the daytime. And I don't have my lessons now either." He wiggles his bottom again against Yumi. "AND Onii isn't here to clean my ears," he points out.

"You certainly are full of questions and thoughts today, little one. I guess you will just have to wait to find out your Oniisama's reasons. He always has good reasons, doesn't he?" She smiles and picks him up to sit him at the edge of the tub so they can tackle those feet. The claws seem to grow by the minute!

"Yes," he sighs. "Kin will have to wait. Kin does not like waiting, Yumi." He smells of soap and water and Yumi, and the second the brush touches the bottom of his foot, he giggles and tries to pull it away.

The familiar labor pleases Yumi. She adores the precious child, and it is so good to return to regular rituals. Though frightened and lost, he never yielded to despair. That helped her and the other servants—and most likely Lord Sesshoumaru, truth be told—to keep their faith. Well, that and an incredible beating by his father…but she is not supposed to know of that. She struggles to keep the foot in her hand as she scrubs at the ground-in dirt and roughness, remembering the night she was first permitted to see Kin again and how good it felt to just see that he was alive and would be well again. Mizao held her so tight in bed that night as she cried out her grief as well as her relief.

He does his best to hold still, he really does, but his shrieks of laughter and ticklish echo around the chamber. But Yumi is good at keeping a hold of his foot, and he can see the dirt in the suds that the soap and the bristles make as she scrubs. "What are you thinking of Yumi," he asks curiously when she pauses. "Yumi is quiet and has her thinking face on."

She releases his foot into the warm water and answers before picking up the other one. "I am thinking of how very happy I am to be your servant, Kin-san. And how glad I am that you are well." She looks at the little silver slivers of scars—one through his little flat nipple, a little sealed hole through his foreskin, and a few lash marks here and there on his chest. There are several more on his back. Most should be entirely gone as he grows, thanks to his incredible healing ability. She hopes the memories will fade as fully as the scars, for him and Lord Sesshoumaru. She takes up his left foot and gets to scrubbing.

He watches her scrub and giggles now and again, but he is thinking. "Yumi means Kin is well after he got hurt by the bull, yes?"

"Yes," she says quietly, working hard to make those dirty feet clean again…for the few moments they will stay that way. Perhaps she will carry him to Lord Sesshoumaru's chambers, just to be sure. Soberly, she adds, "I was very frightened when I learned you had been injured, Kin-san. Everyone was."

"Onii was very scary," he says, misunderstanding why she was frightened. "He made scary warning smells everywhere, and didn't let anyone near Ken or Kin."

She nods and releases his foot to pick up the special paring-style knife for trimming his toe claws. "He loves Kin-san so much that he did, indeed, smell terrifying and fierce." She clips them deftly and without ever nicking the precious pup. "But Yumi was not afraid. I knew—we all knew—he was just wanting to protect you. We stayed away until he invited us in." Talking about it this way seems to help Kin process it all. Or maybe it just helps her. Or perhaps they just can't help talking about it, helpful or not. The "gift," however, she is certain will help.

"But...Yumi said she was frightened. If she was not frightened of Onii, why was Yumi frightened?" He holds very still as his claws are trimmed. He is very good about being still for that. They don't tickle so much.

Switching feet, she contemplates a response. Surely it's obvious why she was frightened? Why anyone who cared about Kin, or about Kin and Lord Sesshoumaru, would be scared? "Because Kin-san was terribly hurt, of course."

"Oh." He watches her trim two claws before he says anything else. "Kin didn't know that was scary."

She finishes the last toeclaw and leans in to take the pup in her arms. "I didn't mean it that way, little one," she says, the easy familiarity between them something she treasures deeply. "I was worried you were very, very hurt and might not get well. Do you see?" She presses a kiss to his cheek.

He wraps his legs and arms around her slender, familiar form. "I guess so. But Ken is strong," he explains. "Kin didn't realize that it was scary to other people. Kin was never scared." The wetness and the warmth of their naked skin together makes his little prick half hard, and instead of getting excited and making it harder, like he might with Kini, he just giggles a bit and points it out to Yumi. "Kin's cock doesn't know that Yumi only likes girls," he says, his mirth clear.

Yumi laughs. "I like Kin very much, and Kin knows that well. And so does his cock. But Yumi would rather wash Kin's little cock than have sex with it, if that is acceptable to my young master?" She smiles at him, pondering what he has just said. He was never scared. He has his youkai side. And his brother. Never scared. Such an amazing child.

"Yes," he crows happily. "Yumi washes it, and Kin will fuck others with it. Am I clean now? Are you going to brush my teeth," he says suspiciously he examines his hands to see if they're clean. "Kin wants back in the water please, Yumi!!"

She releases the boy into the tub and goes to get the little brush for his teeth. She had almost forgotten, so lost was she in talking about such weighty matters. "Let's get this bath finished, pup. Your Oniisama is waiting. And then you can find out why he smells of secrets!"

He immediately ducks under the water and swims doggy style once he comes back up for air, his ears to his head to keep the water out. "Don't wanna brush my teeth," he complains.

"I'm sure you don't," Yumi says, calmly, holding out the brush. "Now come do it anyway."

He sulks, in the water, but obeys. He pouts as only a puppy can, but is considerate when he shakes, from the tips of his ears to his wiggly butt to his toes...he does it away from Yumi, even though she is as naked and wet as he is.

Sesshoumaru stretches, back arched, arms up, fur fluffing. He looks away from the harness, sitting on the bed, then looks back at it again. He cannot seem to keep his hands off it. He walks back and grips it by the centerpiece, lifting it high and enjoying the thought that he can use it as a handle to hold Kin up by. He imagines the dangling legs and wriggling body, squealing with delight as he devours those irresistible genitals, hard for his Onii.

With a little effort, Yumi gets Kin to brush his own teeth, then helps him to ensure they truly are all nicely polished. She skips the little licorice seeds for good breath because neither Kin-san nor Lord Sesshoumaru favor them. And puppy breath truly is so rarely rank. At last she gets him into the big fluffy drying cloth and rubs him all over with it to dry him. Soon he will be presentable to his brother. And perhaps she will get a peek at whatever surprise awaits the boy.

Kin, finally cleaned, brushed, both teeth and hair, and dressed in brand new, handmade kimono and hakama, his obi tied in a pretty but functional knot is riding high in Yumi's arms. Or rather on her back, as he begs for her to lug him around that way after she makes the most passing mention of keeping his feet clean for a few more minutes.

Yumi arrives at the doors to Lord Sesshoumaru's chambers and puts her little charge down on the floor before the guards. "Does our little one not look the very picture of fresh-cleaned perfection?" she asks the stoic-faced men.

One thick-chested guard clears his throat and blushes, though he would deny it vehemently if called on it. The other reacts with equal awkwardness, answering "Yes, Ma'am" with stiff formality. He turns and raps twice upon the door he stands before, knowing this is Lord Sesshoumaru's order this day. Usually, he simply opens the door and lets the child scamper in. But not today.

Sesshoumaru hears the knock and stashes the harness behind the screen that sits beside his desk. "Come," he says, his tone formal and official.

Now that the moment has arrived, Kin finds himself hesitant, and he looks up at Yumi who nods encouragingly at him. He feels very small as he walks between the guards into Onii's room. His rooms too. But they're almost strange to him now. Not for long though. Once he catches a glimpse of Onii he can't help but smile all over his face.

Sesshoumaru grins inside. "Where has my puppy gone? I can't smell a trace of Kin anywhere on that little body of yours." He crouches down and holds out his arms. "Come kiss me and let me make sure this clean-footed, neatly dressed, oiled-haired boy is really my Kin."

Kin trots over at once to fling himself at Onii and to offer his mouth up. Mokosama rubs his bottom as Onii's arms go around him. "Kin is all clean," he says. "Just like Onii said to be. Even in the middle of the day."

"You are indeed clean and beautiful, and your taste is unmistakably my precious pup's." He licks his mouth again for good measure. "Now, I want you to take off your new kimono and close your eyes after you're done. You may leave your hakama on…for now. Onii has a gift for you."

"A gift?" He claps his hands, and looks down at his carefully tied obi and kimono. "Does my gift make come?" he asks as he pulls the knot apart and lets the silk slide from his small frame, eyes closed obediently.

Sesshoumaru rises and shakes his head. "The thought of it does arouse me, though. Do as Onii says now." He walks over to the folding screen and turns back to watch Kin clamber onto the bed and close his eyes.

He kneels on the bed and waits, listening for Onii's movements and smelling his smells. Onii smells excited. "Kin is being good," he informs his brother.

He lifts the precious harness again into his hands, fingers moving reverently over its every curve and edge. The tiny buckles jingle as he carries it to the bed. "Indeed he is." He gently slips the leatherwork over Kin's shoulders and makes the deep, rough sound in his chest of great pleasure and dominant affection. Of course it fits perfectly, at every curve. He lifts Kin's hair up gently around it and pauses to look at it a moment before doing up the buckles.

His eyes stay closed even as Onii does things. Leather and metal and it's ON HIM. But Onii did not say to open his eyes...so they stay closed. He does his best to stay still too, and feels the effect the sound Onii is making, inside of him and all over. He begins to pant slightly, like the pup he is, and his ears flick and twitch with each breath that flutters the flickery little hairs that line the perfect translucent edges of the fuzzy triangles.

As he reaches graceful fingers to fasten tiny buckles, he licks a furred ear and whispers, "Who do you belong to?"
"Kin belongs to Oniisama," he whispers back.

There. He steps back. Damned if it does not feel right. So entirely right. His boy. Precious, perfect, and as safe as he can make him. He moves forward again and scoops Kin into his arms and takes him before the painted, reflective glass in his wardrobe room. "You may open your eyes, Kin who belongs to Oniisama."

He obeys and opens his eyes...and they get really really wide. He can feel the leather, so soft against his skin already, but to see it...it's dark. Very dark and soft and light on his shoulders. And the buckles shine like gold. And his fingers trail across the flowers that are in Onii's seal, that is engraved for everyone to see. He looks up, and back at Onii, speechless.

Sesshoumaru's eyes moisten, despite his best efforts otherwise. He watches his boy explore the harness. "Now all in the castle will know what we know, my Kin. You belong to me. You have my protection as child of the Young Lord and Heir of the Western Lands. You are my brother, my ward, my most precious pet—and more. I had this harness made for you and only you, Kin, to make the uniqueness of your status in this kingdom plain to anyone who sees it. You are not in line to the throne but you are our father's son and my brother. You are not the child of my body but you are child of my heart. You are neither servant nor slave. It is no collar I give you this day, Kin; know that well. You will wear it always and be proud of it and of your status. You are mine. Now and always. And any who attempts to harm you will know my wrath."

He listens, not just to his brother's words, which brand themselves into him, but to the tone of his voice, the scent of his body, the way Onii touches him. He smells the smell of the leather and of the person who made it, and Papa and Onii and Jaken-sama. He feels how soft and light the harness is, and his fingers touch the seal of the Heir to the Great Dog Lord of the Western Lands. Under his hair, he can feel the straps crisscross each other, around a small ring in the middle. The dark leather glows against his skin. It is not a collar, or a brand or a marking. No one else has a harness. Only Kin. "Only Kin belongs to Oniisama," he whispers.

"Only Kin." He moves Kin's fingers to touch the ornate border pattern where his name is worked into the seal. "And there is 'Kin.' Can you feel it? The artisan crafted the character for your name right into the edge of seal. She understood well that you are a part of me, little one, and always will be. In future, all renderings of my seal will be made with this border, with your name, little golden Inuyasha, as a part of it."

His mouth opens slightly. "Truly Onii?" Onii is changing his seal...and...and..."Kin can wear this always? Not take it off? Not cover it?" He feels the straps, the way they wrap around him, and the way the tiny buckles are padded and how the leather warms to his body. "Kin is NOT a slave." It is said to his reflection, but also to a memory. "Kin does not lie," he also informs the memory. The memory does not change. He doesn't expect it to. But it feels good to say. "No one may touch Kin except who Onii says," he finishes softly.

"I will always do all I can to keep you safe, pup. Always." He walks Kin back to his bed and slips onto it with Kin tight in his arms. "Do you like your gift, my Kin?"

He can't stop touching it. The strap that goes across his chest is broad. There is a smaller strap beneath it that goes around the bottom of his ribcage. The buckles are in places so that he can lay down and never feel uncomfortable. "Onii...it is the best gift ever," he says as he wraps his arms around Onii's neck.

"Kin is the best gift ever," he murmurs into a clean, soft puppy ear.

"Kin is the best gift ever," he repeats and snuggles closer, trying be as physically close to Onii as he possibly can be. He looks up. "Onii? Can there be one more gift today?"

"Have you one in mind, my pet?" he asks, stroking Kin's soft, untangled hair with devoted claws.

"Yes," he says as he leans into Onii's stroking pets. "Onii's fuck, please?"

Sesshoumaru stops a moment. He cannot say he has not been thinking of just that in recent weeks, but he has pushed it away, needing to focus on making and keeping Kin safe, and on ridding himself of debilitating guilt. But Kin is well now, better healed than he thought his boy could be, and there is not a trace of fear in him. So trusting. So brave. And he will have to be brave to take his cock as Ken has. He can smell the earnest desire in Kin's words. And how better to "break in" the harness than this. "If that is the gift my child most wishes, then he shall have it." His cock hardens along with his resolve.

~