A Sister's Gift

Chapter 6 – The Preparations Begin

Sango lay awake in the quiet dark of her home, settled comfortably in her warm futon. Pondering the unusual turn of events between the taiyoukai, called Sesshomaru, and her sister Kagome. If she had known of this sooner the taiyoukai would have been nearly trained by now. He clearly held affection for her sister, and utilizing that fact would make this whole affair much easier.

For the first time in weeks she felt a little more at ease. The problem with the tayoukai’s rebellious behavior had been a simply perplexing one. Never had a new acquisition lasted this long in the receiving cell. The small space with little natural moon or sunlight, worked on their basic instincts to be free. Driving them to agree to anything just to be released from the cell. A taiyoukai, in particular, is a creature of honor, and all she had to do was to get Sesshomaru to agree to be conformed. That action would bind the seal and release the magic of the necklace. Sango smiled in triumph before rolling over to drift off to sleep.

The following morning Sango headed straight for the holding cells. “Ohayou Sesshomaru,” Sango called. She waited for an answer. Receiving none, she decided to get to the point. “You were chosen to be the Protector of the miko Kagome. It would greatly honor me for you to provide this much needed service, and to put it bluntly, the miko will die during her journey if you refuse.” Sango stood and patiently waited for his answer.

Sesshomaru listened to what the ‘Mistress’ had to say, even though he had already made his decision during the middle of the night. He had to be free of this wretched cage, and what better way than to be near the miko, protecting her, as he had been all along. The little miko was a kind hearted, pure soul, and he was sure that she would never treat him like the slave his actually was. Sesshomaru turned around swiftly in a spiral of long ivory hair. Speaking as if the idea had been all his, he said, “I have decided to Protect the miko Kagome. Be you not under the delusion that I do this to honor you, slayer. This Sesshomaru only agrees to this for the protection of the miko.”

Sango brushed off his harsh words directed towards her. Instead, she sighed in relief. “Great. I will call for Kagome, and we can get started as soon as she arrives.”

Sango turned to leave, she hoped breakfast was ready, because her stomach was growling. On the way to the main house she passed Sirme. “Ohayou Sirme. I hope you had a nice rest last night.”

Sirme stopped and bowed to his mistress. “Hai, Mistress Sango, arigato. Can I be of assistance this fine morning?”

“Hai Sirme. It seems that our stubborn taiyoukai has agreed to become conformed. Please inform FiChun and begin the preparations for the first phase. After breakfast I will be sending Kohaku to fetch Lady Kagome, and once she arrives we will begin.” Sango dismissed Sirme.

Sirme was a loyal servant, who had been in Sango’s family since she was a child. His conformation was passed to her at her father’s death. Sirme was fiercely protective of her and Kohaku. He could be a fierce opponent for any youkai, with razor sharp talons and long sharp fangs. The tiger’s humanoid form was a very handsome one, with a regal countenance. He moved swiftly and silently at all times. His features were indicative of his true nature. His ebony peppered, auburn hair, hung in a long braid down his back. He had black stripes on either side of his face and a red diamond on his forehead. His piercing eyes were a striking yellow with tiny black flecks. She wasn’t sure about his true age. He appeared in his late twenties, but Sango figured him to be around 90 years old.

Closer to the main house she could smell the delectable aroma of her breakfast wafting through the air. Finally rounding the corner to the dining room Sango greeted her household servant, Sheora. “Ohayou. Breakfast smells wonderful! Has Kokaku eaten?”

Sheora who was Sirme’s mate, greeted her Mistress, “Ohayou Mistress Sango. I will fetch your breakfast at once, and Master Kohaku has eaten and left for the dojo.”

“Arigato Sheora,” Sango replied as she seated herself on a cushion. She watched the pretty young tigress as she departed. She had been an excellent addition to the staff. She fondly remembered the day she bought the girl. Her Master was an elderly gentleman who had become financially distressed. Forced to sell off most of his belongings, including his slaves. Sirme immediately took notice of the girl, who kept glancing shyly in his direction. Sango was a little surprised when Sirme asked permission to speak to the girl. Just before the girl came up for bid, Sirme further surprised her by asking that she purchase the young tigress. Since Sirme had, to her knowledge, never asked anything in return for his loyalty to her family, Sango felt compelled to grant his request. It was a close bid, as a lecherous young lord from a neighboring land, had his eye set on the girl, but when the bidding became a bit pricey the lord finally relented. Within a two week period Sirme and Sheora were happily mated. Sirme almost drove Sango crazy for several months, in his appreciation for her generosity, but Sango finally convinced the tiger, that seeing him so happy was more than enough thanks.

Sheora returned with her breakfast and Sango asked the tigress to send her cub out to fetch Kohaku. “Yes, Mistress Sango. You know how Paylae loves to help!”

In mere minutes Sango seen the eager child fly past the dining room heading for the back door. Sango turned her attention back to her meal. Sheora had proven to be an excellent cook and she was a scrupulous housekeeper. She had more than paid for her worth as far a Sango was concerned.

In no time Kohaku and Paylae returned. The young tiger youkai bowed respectfully to Sango. “Arigato Paylae, you are the best helper I have.” Sango smiled warmly at the cub. She had to hold in the giggle as the young tigers’ chest popped out proudly. “You may go Paylae.”

Sango turned her attention back to Kohaku, “Ohayou Kohaku. Please go in to town and fetch Kagome from Lady Kaede’s home. We will begin the first conformance phase when she arrives.”

Kohaku smiled, “Sure sis. So the inuyoukai has come to his senses?”

Sango smiled back, “It appears that Kagome’s kind nature has compelled him to agree to the conformation, and I have to admit, it’s been a load off of my mind. I was seriously dreading that I would have to put an end to his life. That would have been such a waste.”

“Instead of killing him, we could have sold him right, or even set him free?” Kohaku asked.

“No Kohaku. It’s unfortunately not that simple and that is the reason that I do not harvest intelligent youkai very often. You see, youkai are instinctual creatures. Humans are creatures of habit and tend to become lax in their daily routines. I trust myself in my duties to ensure our safety, as well as those innocents depending on me to do so. I do not trust anyone else. If I were to sell him, and he were to one day escape, his instincts would bring him back to his homeland. This forest. Where he could possibly exact his revenge on myself and my kin. Many a collector has allowed greed to cloud their good judgement, and later fallen victim to the very creature that made them wealthy. He has threatened my life and I can’t take the chance that he would not follow through with his threat if set free.” Sango frowned a little at her brother. “This is a hard trade, Kohaku. I will not lie to you. There are aspects of it that I really don’t care for, but there are many rewards as well.”

Kohaku smiled at her in understanding and waved to her with a silly grin as he headed out the door.