UnBound Memories

Chapter 29

Yasashiku

“Cousin, I need you to follow me,” Katsuro said, offering Sesshomaru his clawed hand to step down from the bat. Ignoring him, the demon lord leapt down to the ground, hiding how shaky he was feeling. He needed more of Kagome’s tea, and it was a pretty good guess he wasn’t about to get any here. “Saruwatari has guaranteed me your safety here. And you will remain here. That is an absolute command, one that would seriously endanger your pup if you try to disobey it.”

“That is assuming there is a pup to endanger,” Sesshomaru said. “You must remember, when I mated with Miroku he was human. I could still be suffering the aftereffects of his blood.” With a smile of his days before regaining his memory, Sesshomaru added. “For your sake, you should hope that I am pregnant. Because if I am not, it is only a matter of time before I am capable of shredding this collar and ripping you limb from limb.”

Katsuro was greeted by a flock of female courtesans, seeming to please the inu demon to no end. When the ancient monkey demon stepped forward, Katsuro gestured toward Sesshomaru.

“You will ensure that he is taken care of while I distract his mate.”

“Of course, Lord Katsuro.” The short old demon bowed. “I am merely glad to see that my collar was effective on so powerful a demon.”

With that, Sesshomaru watched his cousin leap out of the training compound, leaving him with all of the courtesans and the old monkey.

“Come, let us get you into something more suitable,” Saruwatari said.

“And what do you mean by that?” Sesshomaru said, eyebrow raised.

“I mean that collar was created by me, and obeys me even more so than it does Katsuro. You will come and get out of your clothing and into something that does not carry the scent of your mate and is far more befitting what will become your new station.”

Sesshomaru remained frozen in his spot.

“I said come!”

As though pulled by unseen hands, Sesshomaru moved forward, wanting to gut this little beast even more so than his cousin.

********

Miroku knelt on the ground next to the hanyou named Takara. Her pointed ears twitched as she focused on a map of Japan, scrying for any sign of Sesshomaru. Hovering over him, the eldest one, Manami, occasionally asked him if he needed anything, and was, of the bunch, the one he felt most comfortable around. Takara was nothing new to deal with, after years of being around InuYasha and Kouga, her grating comments seemed almost as natural as Manami’s kindness.

But disturbing him most was Yasashiku, who at one moment seemed kind and understanding, and at another his tone would remain unchanged yet he was able to evoke such feelings of fear and doubt in the former monk that he nearly asked the other hanyou to leave.

“All right, we’ve got all the prissy little dogs locked away in the palace,” Miroku could hear Kouga’s voice say, “now will someone let us know what the hell is going on?” Miroku looked up at him, not even guessing at the lost expression in his eyes. “What’s happened to Lord Sesshomaru?”

“He was kidnapped,” InuYasha answered as he stood nearby, waiting for Takara to finish her work.

“We will find him,” Miroku said, more to himself than anyone else. “I know we will. We know he’s okay in Kagome’s time. He set us up to be together then. He wouldn’t have been allowed to if Katsuro becomes his mate.” This thought remained what Miroku’s hope clung to, one he had to repeat over and over, despite the fact that it was a risk to mention it around these strange hanyous.

“Of course not,” a kind, somewhat raspy voice said. Miroku looked up at Yasashiku. “Because it is of absolutely no benefit to Katsuro if the two of you mate and you get him pregnant.”

Kami, he was right. Mating when they had played directly into Katsuro’s hands. It gave him more than enough reason to force Sesshomaru to write those letter, send out the packages. Before he could focus any longer on the other hanyou’s words, he was distracted by Takara.

“Damn it you mangy wolf!” she said as she pushed Kouga off of her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“You smell… familiar. Good.” Kouga all but looked entranced. At the same time, he saw Shippo leaping up onto Manami, easily making a friend with the kind demoness.

“Well lay off,” Takara said. She pulled at the collar of her leather sleeveless shirt, forcing open the top few buttons to reveal a bite mark at the meeting of her neck and shoulder. “I have a mate.”

“Some mate. Let’s his woman wander off without him.”

Before Kouga knew what he’d said, Takara had toppled him to the ground with a swift punch to his gut. “I’m no one’s woman.”

“Oh,” Kouga said with a roll of his eyes. “You’re one of those types. You’re the one with a woman.”

“First of all, don't say that with such disgust, wolf breath. No. I just have a mate who knows his place.” She said that so similarly to an order that Miroku couldn’t help but notice as Kouga’s tail quickly shot between his legs. This woman was frightening, but it was rather entertaining to watch.

Manami allowed Shippo to rest on her shoulder as she looked over at the map. “Perhaps we are doing this wrong. Perhaps Lord Sesshomaru is not the one we need to be looking for. Could it be that we need to find Katsuro instead.”

“I will personally gut Katsuro when I have the opportunity, but my concern is with my mate.”

Yasashiku inched closer to him. “Really? Then why did you leave him alone? He was in a weak condition. He would never admit it, but you can sense him. You knew his demonic powers were dwindling. Yet you allowed him to walk the palace without supervision.”

Miroku’s brows furrowed. He wanted to argue, but this hanyou’s words cut through him like a knife. It was true. He had done this to Sesshomaru. He had left his mate alone. It was his fault.

********

When Saruwatari re-entered the tent, he found a very nearly nude Sesshomaru standing before him.

“I told you to put on the kimono.”

With his head cocked to the side, Sesshomaru’s features remained blank as he answered, “And I did as you instructed. You said nothing of leaving it on. And I have no intention of wearing a woman’s kimono.” His lips turned up in disgust. “It was troublesome enough that I had to put it on at all.”

“Put it on and leave it on,” Saruwatari said, watching as the inu lord obeyed, only to remove the kimono again.

“I have also found that if I at least obey half of your command, I can still have my own way with the rest. So, though I am none too pleased about being practically naked at the moment. I think the kimono will stay off.”

“Leave the kimono on or remove your last shred of modesty.” The demon lord looked hesitantly at Saruwatari, who saw that somehow, there was a weakness here. “But understand that if you are naked on my compound, I cannot guarantee what the behavior of my people or my clients will be. You are a rather attractive full demon. Very rare as a courtesan, and wearing a collar that forces you to obey.”

The muscles in the lord’s jaw tensed, breath coming in short, quick bursts. He was afraid. Saruwatari knew this fear, had seen it in his prostitutes before, and an experienced businessman such as himself knew how to exploit it.

“Yes. That’s right. I am giving you two options. Walk around nude or put on the kimono. You must make your decision soon. I have clients out there who are growing anxious at waiting. I would hate to have them break my word to Katsuro to ensure nothing happened to you. As a matter of fact, there is one out there who prefers his sexual partners be closer to demonic blood, gets off on the rush of power in dominating one. I wonder how far he would go if he knew I had a demon lord in the midst?”

“You wish me to wear a kimono, fine, I will wear a kimono, but I do not care what this collar is capable of. If you or any of your so-called clients come near me, I will kill you and them.”

“Very well, I will have two of my very best courtesans train you, since you are so repelled by my presence. It is not often they get to serve a lord in a manner other than pleasure.”

With that, the little monkey hobbled out. Seeing he was alone, Sesshomaru ran a hand over his stomach, hoping the pup he carried appreciated this.

*******

That night at camp, Takara was still trying to get Kouga away from her. He kept asking her where her mate was, that he wished to challenge him. Yasashiku merely rolled his eyes. The idiot wolf was a driven beast. InuYasha and Kagome sat side by side beneath a tree, Kagome slowly nodding off while InuYasha denied himself sleep. It was a sweet image, and it made the human-like hanyou smile. Manami was sitting with Shippo, running a hand through the kitsune’s red hair, which seemed to be lulling the little fox into a slumber. The two other wolves had fallen asleep side-by-side, making the hanyou wonder how long it would be before they mated to one another, their affection for one another obviously hidden below the surface. The demon slayer and her soon to be husband were together, preparing for the next day’s battle alongside her brother and Sesshomaru’s adopted daughter.

Miroku was up to something, there was no questioning it. Though Takara had managed to locate the demon kidnapper, Miroku didn’t want to be chasing Katsuro, only finding Sesshomaru and his unborn pup. He was filled with fear and doubt that rolled off of him, for which Yasashiku felt immensely guilty. Whether the partial demon liked it or not, he grew more powerful feeding off of these emotions and was currently inciting them in the worried hanyou to temporarily increase his own power.

Slowly, Yasashiku rose, walking his way up a small hill where Kirara sat, keeping guard in her large neko form. The instant she saw him come close, she growled at him.

“I know you don’t like me, but I need your help Kirara.” Again a growl. “You saw me feeding off of Miroku’s fear. I know you can see that.” She snarled at him. Before he ended up losing a limb, Yasashiku reached behind his ear and removed the tiny seashell, placing it carefully on the ground. “Use your nose, Kirara. Do you understand why I did what I did, or why I need your help?”

The neko sniffed him, the scent block completely gone. Realizing that he didn’t have long before his uncovered scent wafted down the hillside, he knelt back down at picked up the shell, replacing it behind his ear. “Please, I know you want answers, but we have several demons down there with relatively good hearing, and I simply cannot risk it. I need to get herbs. Finding Sesshomaru will do us no good if we cannot mask his pregnancy scent. Please, Kirara, you know where you need to take me, and you know that I cannot do it on my own.”

The neko knelt low enough to allow Yasashiku to climb onto her back. She glanced back down at the others. “I will explain everything to you once we are on our way.”

********

Feeling he could finally get away, Miroku darted off to the well. He might not know where Sesshomaru was and these new hanyous might not either, but there was someone who would, someone Miroku was desperate to see. They weren’t far from the well, it would take only a few minutes to get there. He tried to remember the streets of Tokyo, the large home he’d discovered on its outskirts that was supposedly the home of Sesshomaru Taisho. He could find it. And once he found it, he could ask the inu lord what had happened.

********

In surprise, Jinenji watched as the neko who traveled with InuYasha and Kagome landed in front of his farm and a creature of un believable perfection delicately slid off of the cat’s back. Jinenji was fairly sure this was a male approaching him, and the horse hanyou couldn’t shake the feeling that there was, or at least should be, something familiar about him. He felt the brown and gold eyes analyzing every inch of his ugly frame before he suddenly felt a long, thin hand touch his arm without fear, those eyes now looking up into his own.

“Jinenji, am I right?”

At first, the horse hanyou forgot how to speak, taking a great deal of effort to manage a choked, “Hai.”

“Jinenji, I need to ask you a favor for Lord Sesshomaru.”

“The lord of the west? Why does he need my help?”

“He needs these herbs.” The man pulled a piece of parchment from inside his haori and held it out. Still, the hand remained on Jinenji’s arm, even rubbing gently as it did. “How old are you?”

“Pardon?”

“How old are you?”

“Forty-five summers have passed since I was born.”

“You are the same age as that kitsune Shippo, or very nearly that.” Jenenji wished those large eyes would stop staring at him. “Your mother, you wanted to protect her, didn’t you?”

“Hai.”

“So you grew up too fast.” The hand moved down to Jinenji’s. “Forced your body to age to an adult far sooner than it should. I’m less than half demon, and I didn’t look like an adult until I was nearly 150.” Smoothly, this inu gave Jinenji the list, wrapping his hands around the horse hanyou’s. “You know what the nicest part is? Eventually, your body will make up for what you forced it to do.”

With a warm smile, the shorter hanyou looked up at the larger one. “Will you do this for me?”

Jinenji nodded shakily, his stunned expression cut short by his mother’s voice. “Who is this, Jinenji?”

The inu turned toward her, releasing his grip on Jinenji. “My name is Yasashiku. I am here asking for a favor for Lord Sesshomaru. I merely need some herbs.”

“Well, if you don’t mind staying inside my humble home, you’re welcome to come inside and wait. I’m sure Jinenji can find ‘em for you.”

Still stunned, Jinenji set to work finding the herbs this Yasashiku had requested of him. It hadn’t taken long to find them, and he had a suspicion what they were for, but wondered if this inu had any idea that it was impossible.

“So what you’re looking for is a way to cover a pregnancy?” Jinenji heard his mother asking the inu.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do you know it can’t be done. There’s no binding agent to make all of those herbs work.”

“But I have one right here. It just doesn’t grow in this country.”

“So how far along are you?”

The inu chuckled. “I am not here for myself.”

“I watched you get off of that neko’s back. How far along are you?”

Jinenji wanted to stop his mother from insulting Yasashiku. It wasn’t her business, and besides, he was the last person since Kagome and her friends to be so nice to him. He entered their hut to find Yasashiku transforming himself. His face and appearance remained almost unchanged, but it shocked the horse hanyou nearly to the point of dropping the herbs to witness, particularly as he looked down at a very large, very round stomach.

“Unfortunately for me, I carry as long as a human. Let’s see, to put this into easily understood terms, I’ve been through nearly eight full cycles of the moon.”

“But how can you transform?” Jinenji’s mother asked.

“As long as I find a source of maintaining my strength, in my case, that by drawing on others’ fear, I can change shape.”

“But such a creature…”

“I know.” With that Yasashiku transformed back. “But that is the life of a demi-god. We are not all born with pleasing abilities.”