Behind Closed Doors

The lump that had risen in the wolf's throat was proving very hard to force back down. He wanted to clear his throat, but he was scared such a noise would piss the Western Lord off even more.

The wolf tried to move back a bit, to gain some more personal space, but he bumped into the side of the tub with a yelp. The yelp was cut off as Sesshoumaru's hand snapped forward, closing almost gently around Koga's throat, the claws resting lightly against his tanned neck.

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything; he merely stared at the wolf, his saffron eyes unfeeling. The hiss of poison sounded, and Koga winced as his neck began to burn, but he kept still, not resisting in the slightest. Growing up in a pack, he knew full well when one male bowed down to the other in contests, if they wanted to live, anyway.

After a while, Sesshoumaru let go, Koga's, if temporary, obedience satisfying the rage that had built up inside him.

"The better you behave while here, the less painful your death will be once you are healed." He reminded, turning to exit the bath, grabbing the towel the servant had left for Koga, drying off and leaving. Only once the warlord's scent faded did Koga let his legs buckle, catching himself on the edge before he slid under all the way.

"That was NOT what I would call a relaxing bath..." He muttered, rubbing at his face for a moment before hauling himself out as well.

~~~~

The next morning found Koga standing outside, just at the door, with Rin, staring at a long stretch of mud that covered the entire yard. This did not bode well for the wolf; he could tell already.

Rin had begged Sesshoumaru to let her go outside, but the silver demon had denied her permission, explaining that this was the only clean outfit she had left, and until the others were finished, she was going to have to 'refrain from romping through the mud like a wild animal', as he had put it.

At the saddened look on the child's face, Koga had been unable to resist. Once he was sure Sesshoumaru was occupied, he had let the excited child outside, who, while hesitant to disobey her lord, wanted to dearly to go explore the garden for shiny stones to add to the bowl of fish she had gathered from a stream.

Unfortunately, within a few minutes of being on the damp grass, Rin had darted forward, slipped, and landed backside first into the mud. Both of them had just stared at her outfit for a few seconds, knowing that the Western Lord wouldn't take this well at all.

Sighing gently, Koga walked over, holding out a hand to help her up. "Maybe we can get it cleaned off before he-" Rin had pulled on his hand to lift herself from the mud, but slipped again, and the fact that Koga stood on the treacherous mud as well meant that he was going down with her. Lifting his hand out of the muck, he stared for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Rin joined in after a moment, and when the wolf managed to calm himself down, she took the opportunity to hurl a ball of mud at him as hard as she could, smacking him straight in the face. Cleaning off his eyes, he took one look at the innocent eyes she was giving him, and then an all out mud war started.

It carried on for at least ten minutes, Jaken becoming a casualty when he ran over to scold them, and got a mouthful, courtesy of Koga. Said wolf ducked under a missile launched by the child, and instantly wished he hadn't.

For the same second he ducked, he caught the presence of an all too familiar demon, and turned just in time to see the dark ooze splatter all over Sesshoumaru's pants. All three of them watched the mud drip off of the pristine white fabric, Rin looking like she was going to cry from guilt. Knowing this was all his fault in the first place, Koga acted fast.

He gathered up as much mud as he could hold in his hands, and whipped it hard at Sesshoumaru, which slapped him in the side of the head, since he was too preoccupied with his pants. The golden gaze lifted to regard the wolf, who was standing before Sesshoumaru, cocky grin in place, tossing mud from hand to hand.

"Aw, is the doggy scared of some dirt?" He taunted, whipping the mud once more at Sesshoumaru. This attack was easily dodged, but revealed to be just a distraction, as Koga kicked in the whirlwinds around his feet, coating the silver demon from head to toe in the muck.

Rin covered her mouth as she gasped, staring wide eyed at the mess Sesshoumaru was left as. The eyes glared at the wolf, though they carried no want for blood, which relieved Koga to no end. Quick as could be, Sesshoumaru's fur whipped out, curling around the wolf's entire body, cushioning his leg the most, then the demon proceeded to spin about, dragging Koga face first through the mud.

Once he had turned 5 full times, he dropped the wolf prince into the mud, watching as he hacked up dirt, ooze and other things best left unmentioned. Looking up at Sesshoumaru, Koga wisely held his hands up, a weak grin in place. "You win."

Without a word, Sesshoumaru turned and headed back for the building, the other two catching on and following close behind, Jaken left somewhere in the mess.

~~~~

Letting out a delighted sigh once he was clean and his bandage changed, Koga stepped into his room to find a new outfit laid out for him. It was a rather fancy looking kimono, nothing compared to Sesshoumaru's, but still fancier than he usually wore. It was a rather dark shade of blue, with tasteful shades of black and brown.

Confused as to why they gave it to him when he explained after first arriving that he preferred his own, he looked up as a servant came in.

"Miss Rin has requested that you accompany her and Lord Sesshoumaru to the festival being held in the youkai village." She explained. "It requires more formal dress codes. Will you need help?" Fighting back a blush, he assured her he could do it himself, gathering up the fabric.

It was only after 20 minutes of fighting with the heavy clothing that he agreed to let her dress him.

Stepping out of the room once dressed, he nearly bumped into Rin, who was clad in an adorable orange and yellow kimono, similar to her normal clothes, but more formal. She smiled brightly and seized his hand, pulling him along, being mindful of his leg, which he could now walk on, though only slowly, and with an obvious limp, chattering about how much she was looking forward to the festival.

Sesshoumaru joined in at the doors, looking apathetic about the fact that Koga was tagging along, though the wolf knew he did NOT want Koga with them. His own kimono was rather impressive, dressed in black rather than white, with red and blue highlights still along the collar and sleeves. His hair was also tied back, giving him a far more regal look, one the wolf found didn't suit him as much as usual. He said nothing however, tightening his own hair tie.

Once at the festival, Koga was unable to keep up with Rin, so he let go of her hand, Sesshoumaru and he walking behind her as she darted ahead, running back now and then to check on them or ask a question. Once or twice, she would ask one of them for an item she saw at a booth.

Within ten minutes, she had 4 more fish to add to her bowl, two balloons and a meat bun. She ended up giving the fish to Koga, and the balloon to Sesshoumaru, so she wouldn't drop them as she ran about, feasting on the food in her hands.

Koga couldn't help but notice the stares they were getting from the other youkai. He was just thankful this wasn't a human's festival. If Sesshoumaru got this many stares from demons, he couldn't imagine the attention they would get with the humans, especially since Sesshoumaru would most likely be killing them.

Glancing up at the silver demon, he noted that Sesshoumaru looked much more masculine with his hair pulled back, and once more disapproved of it, preferring the more feminine look he had with his hair down. Of course, that was only because it was easier to imagine the demon lord actually WAS female.

Shaking his head before that train of thought continued, he looked down to see Rin holding a sweet bean roll out to him. Smiling, he shook his head, thanking her, but assuring he was fine.

She darted off once more, letting out a small noise as she bumped into a youkai boy. Before she had time to apologize, he started yelling at her, snatching the roll she'd intended for Koga.

The wolf started forward, intending to defend the child, but the black form beside him beat the wolf to it. Within a second, Sesshoumaru was standing next to Rin, holding the youkai child off the ground by his ear, the child too frightened to yell.

"Oh.... is that my Rin's roll you have found there?" He asked, to which the child nodded rapidly. "Were you planning on returning it, or eating it?" Rather than say anything, he held it out to her, tears forming in his eyes. Rin took it gratefully, then when Sesshoumaru set the child down, broke it in half and offered the kid part of it, which he cautiously took.

Koga shook his head, grinning as he caught up to the two of them, watching Rin and the child discussing the bean roll. He was DEFINATELY glad this wasn't a human village...