Servant Boy

Chapter 3: The Servant Boy

He was fifty now, just past his majority, and already extremely irritated with all the obligations that came along with being a ‘Lord-in-training’. His mother, having bared the child of a youkai, as they had found thus far, had been able to retain her youth, her life in longevity so she could care for her offspring longer. However, there would be a time when she would step aside for him to become the Lord of the house, a time he wasn't exactly looking forward to.

Inuyasha sighed, rather bored already with today’s lesson in Land and Property. Who cared about that stuff anyway? Well, granted, he’d HAVE to care about it when he took the title of Lord of the West, but still... this lesson, never mind the sensei's lecturing method, would put even rocks to sleep.

Inuyasha grumbled, rubbing his chin as if in deep, contemplative thought at what his sensei was currently going over, when, really, he was only itching it and thinking up ways to escape. Maybe he could feign a stomach ache? Possibly a scalding need to use the little demon's washroom?

Suddenly Inuyasha's stomach gurgled something mighty agonizing. The hanyou instantly blushed a deep crimson which was a flattering contrast to the midnight blue color of his outfit.

A mumbled cough came from the direction of the boring sensei. Biting his lip in apology, Inuyasha's guilty expression slowly made its way toward the front of the room.

"My Lord?" the old man rose a concerned brow. Inuyasha made an inaudible whine that sounded similar to a 'yes?' He sighed, having already known for a while that his lord's attention on the lesson had waned. "My Lord, we will stop here for today."

Inuyasha could have hugged the man. "Oh, alright. Tomorrow, same time then?" he tried to say as formally as he could.

"Yes, my Lord."

Inuyasha could barely contain himself. YES! Food, food, food! the hanyou chanted happily inside his head.

And with that he hightailed it out of there and sped down the weaving corridors, making a beeline for the kitchens. If he were fast enough, maybe he'd be able to grab a good amount of food to satisfy his insatiable appetite until the evening meal (not to mention avoid getting bludgeoned with large spoons and cutting boards by the staff).

Ah ha! He was right before he even thought of it!

Hmm, it seems like the staff apparently didn't come in for another few minutes and the area was safe for his usual foraging expedition. The hanyou slowed his pace and took his time walking around the large room, picking up a basket and putting a little of this and a little of that, and oh, a lot of that, into what he liked to call his "Panic Box." He called it that because by the time he would go for the imported sweets that were always poorly stashed, the staff would come in and start yelling and throwing things that would only miss him as he zipped around them easily, almost taking the time to dance his "haha" dance as he stole a fourth of the food they had been working on preparing for the noon meal.

It was odd, but Inuyasha only found that the kitchen staff treated him like a common person (regardless if it happened to be as a "common thief"), unlike the rest of the castle and people of the lands, who would bend to his every wish. For whatever reason, this fact was why he took the time to STEAL from what was rightfully, by title and birth, his kitchen, his servants and his food. He felt an odd sort of companionship with these people.

"Inuyasha!" a woman battle cried his name. She hurled a broom in his direction, knowing that it would miss him, but couldn't seem to pass up the chance to vent her frustrations with his constant thieving of her kitchens!

"Wait until we tell your mother of this unsightly behavior! Ooh, you'll be in trouble then, boy!" another woman crowed.

Inuyasha laughed at their toothless threats. It really was endearing.

"Haha! Nice to see you, too, Ran-baachan!" And with that Inuyasha made his great escape out into the gardens, taking a roundabout way to his rooms, just in case the old women of the kitchens decided to run after him in vain.

The half-human had a good chuckle over the old women's tantrums as he made his way through an open window to his room. As he stepped in he noticed four figures inside freeze in place and then bow.

"Oh, I didn't realize you guys would be cleaning... sorry if I scared ya," Inuyasha apologized to the servants, surveying the room for any others that may have had a heart attack. Though since most of the servants in the castle were demons he highly doubted he did take them by surprise. They had incredible, if not monstrous, senses that Inuyasha could only imagine, so of course they'd have realized he was coming to his room when he had passed through the gardens, or at least realized he was heading in this general direction.

Inuyasha went to his newly made bed and sat on it carefully, laying his panic box next to his crossed legs and grabbing some food out to munch on. One of the younger servants, a fox kit, snorted, knowing Inuyasha's habit of stealing food from his own kitchens, and was abruptly scolded by the older bat youkai that seemed to be the... sensei of the group.

The dynamics his mother set up for the demon servants was sort of odd, though he did understand the logistics of it somewhat. There were a total of 5 demon servants to a group, one of them being the supervisor, and one human trainer.

The supervising demon would have had to have worked in the palace for some time, more than likely being the oldest in the bunch, and would thus have an extensive knowledge of the castle’s layout, proper etiquette and above all else, know the rules of the House. So naturally the supervising youkai would instruct the younger ones what to do, how to act, et cetera.

The human trainer was there in case any one of the youkai got out of hand; these humans were usually of the lowest class, or had debts to pay to the Family. While the demon supervisor would train his young youkai wards with physical restraint if they got out of line, the human trainer would use the Kotodama, or rather, the Beads of Subjugation. The beads had been invented during the reign of demons. It was a nasty process but in time the ningen had figured out that those skilled few with spiritual power could bless objects, in this case, a necklace or bracelet of beads, in order to subdue a demon’s youki. This was over a century ago, and the beginning of The Age of Ningen, a couple of decades before The Age of Hanyou.

In any case, whether it be physical restraint or the Kotodama, neither was a favorite of any demon.

However, it seemed there were two people missing from this group, the Trainer and another demon... Everyone else seemed to be accounted for; three youkai wards and the supervising demon were present…in fact, the small fox kit was snorting at Inuyasha and his antics of stealing his own stash of food.

The supervising demon quickly scolded the youngling with a harsh growl.

Inuyasha laughed, trying to lighten the mood and let the Supervisor know there was no ill will on the kit’s part. "It's okay, Maku; let the kit laugh. I did when I whizzed through the kitchens and tore into Ran-baachan's pantry, haha."

The kit's ears twitched at the Lord defending him which pleased the half-demon. However, a moment later an uncomfortable silence fell upon all of them in the room as the servants just stayed in place while Inuyasha continued munching on his food awkwardly.

Oh. He had forgotten that the demon servants rarely continued on with their duties unless told to...

"Erm... continue?" And they did.

Watching as they worked and went about their daily routines, Inuyasha couldn't help but think that he really had no problem with youkai. He actually found them very interesting and had befriended many, much to his mother's dismay.

That was usually his goal though; annoying his mother with his pleasantries. She was an amazing woman and a great ruler, but she really needed to relax a little and get to know the servants of the castle. While they may look a little different, have insane supernatural powers and had the ability to crush a person’s bones to dust, they were still somewhat human. Inuyasha could tell. They all had feelings, regardless if some were more hate filled than others.

But in any case, if the demons ever decided they'd had enough of being servants to humans and revolted there wouldn't be enough humans to use the Kotodama on. Many would die before one would be put in his place...

A knock sounded at the sliding door and Inuyasha called for whoever it was to enter. A human and a demon walked in. The human he recognized as the Trainer, Ranan, but the young demon wasn't familiar to him at all. They had come into the room with laundry, moving swiftly to put it away.

A few minutes passed as Inuyasha curiously watched all the servants work, but something kept drawing his attention back to the younger male demon that he didn't recognize. It was almost as if he knew him... yet...

Inuyasha cleared his throat of some stray bread crumbs and every single person in the room froze. And bowed.

Ugh, Inuyasha thought. This would become tedious soon.

"Sorry, continue."

And they did. And that stranger-servant still bugged him...

Inuyasha sat up and looked over to the new demon. He took in everything about him. Long white hair that had been pulled back into a top knot, the preferred hairstyle for servants with long hair. Berry colored stripes on his wrists and cheeks. Pale, moonlight skin. Lightly wine colored lips. A deep burgundy colored crescent on his forehead...

Inuyasha exhaled, taken aback by the beauty of this... boy...

And then, as if the demon knew he was being watched, he did the unthinkable and met Inuyasha’s eyes.

Gold.

His eyes were the exact same as Inuyasha's.

The next moment multiple things happened all at once. A prickling sensation filtered through the air catching all the other servants' attentions. When they looked to see what it was their eyes widened at what they saw, horrified. Inuyasha didn’t quite understand what was going on but by the looks his servants made at the gold-eyed demon he’d venture to guess it was the young demon’s youki. It felt like a thousand tons of water crushing on top of him; it was hard to breathe, let alone maintain consciousness. Good thing he was sitting on his bed still otherwise he’d have collapsed from the sheer force of it all.

The Supervisor moved with speed that far surpassed Inuyasha's and backhanded the younger gold-eyed youkai, breaking the eye contact between servant and master.

Inuyasha was in shock. What the hell had just happened?

A growl came from the white-haired demon that was now on the ground holding his face in a clawed hand. However, it quickly dissipated at the look that he was given by both the Supervisor and the Trainer.

"My Lord, my apologies for how he has acted! We thought he was ready to serve within the household but we were clearly wrong to allow him to step foot in-" the Trainer began, the Supervisor, Maku, nodding fiercely beside him.

The hanyou got up from where he had been sitting, walking slowly over to the group of servants. He paused and blinked once before-

"Leave," was all Inuyasha said, his eyes trained on the pale demon on the floor before him. With perfect hair and perfect skin and perfect eyes and-

"M-My Lord?" the Trainer, Ranan, stammered, bowing.

"I want all of you out of here," Inuyasha said with finality. They all bowed and moved to leave the room. "Everyone except you."

Everyone froze and turned to see who their lord was referring to.

Inuyasha's eyes were trained on the gold-eyed servant.

"But my Lord-" Maku tried again.

"LEAVE!" Inuyasha demanded, making the servants cringe involuntarily. The unwanted bowed, and all but that one left the room.

Inuyasha calmed himself for a few moments before looking back at the demon on the ground who was staring at the floor, his bangs covering his eyes and any expression his face might have held.

What was it about this demon that held his interest so? Why did that long white hair and those pale limbs nag at the back of his mind? Why were those berry colored markings and wine colored lips imprinted on his brain, as if he'd seen them bef-

Inuyasha stopped in mid-thought. Blinking once he made a move toward his closet, walking inside and unhinging a floorboard there, taking out an old box. He set the box down, slowly opening it and looking for that which he sought. At the very bottom of the box he found a piece of parchment with an ink drawing on it of two boys, one with ears and another with stripes and a moon on his face. The names Inuyasha and Sessru were printed in kanji in the corner.

Inuyasha dropped the box, picture still firmly in his grasp as his eyes widened. Slowly getting to his feet he walked back into his room in a daze, only stopping when he was directly in front of the demon hunched over on the floor.

A moment passed before the demon made a sound. "My lord?"

Inuyasha tried to shake his head clear of the thoughts that were running rampant through his usually carefree mind and blinked a few more times before a slow, wondrous smile etched across his face.

“S...? Sesshomaru?" But no response came... though it could also have had something to do with the fact that Inuyasha wasn't really saying the words as much as thinking them. Then suddenly that old nickname came to his head and his mouth was moving on its own. "Sess...ru?"

The youkai's head abruptly snapped up to look at him, eyes slightly wide in surprise at the name, before quickly snapping back down to look dully at the floor awaiting any instruction the lord may have for him.

"Oh kami! It is you! Sesshomaru! It’s me! It’s Inuyasha! I mean, geez, I know we haven’t seen each other in a long time but surely you recogni-“

“Can I get you anything, my lord?”

At that statement Inuyasha was taken aback, and hurt that his friend didn't seem to recognize him, or at least wouldn’t call him by his name. The hanyou's brows furrowed in stubbornness.

“Sesshomaru-“ Inuyasha said again, getting on his own knees and grabbing the youkai's shoulders.

“My lord, I do not mean to be out of line but I have other duties I need to fulfill,” Sesshomaru said in a very monotone voice.

Inuyasha's hackles rose, his frustration getting the best of him as he stood up, pulling Sesshomaru with him.

“My Lord!” Sesshomaru said, surprised.

“Don’t call me that! Sesshomaru! We used to play every day together! We used to get in so much trouble when we ran around and trampled about in the gardens! Don’t you remember me?”

“My-“ at Inuyasha’s harsh glare Sesshomaru paused. “I... cannot speak so familiarly with or about you. You are my lord, you have been and always will be until I die,” came what sounded more like a recited speech or "code for demons" than anything else.

“That’s shit!” Inuyasha yelled, his infamous temper flaring. “We used to wrestle and play hide and seek and- and I thought of you like my best friend, my brother even! How can you be so casual about it, like it didn’t even happen!!”

“I am youkai. You are hanyou. Our roles, our lives and our destinies are vastly different. There... can be nothing more.” Though this seemed to be said more to himself than to Inuyasha.

“And companionship means nothing to you!?” Inuyasha's anger finally got the best of him. Growling, he pushed Sesshomaru backwards, throwing him onto the bed fiercely.

At that point the servant had a very angry looking master climbing on top of him.


~ * ~


Chapter end.