Yuudai no Keikoku

Yuudai No Keikoku Chapter Six

 

After the uncomfortable midday meal, Inuyasha wandered off to make the most of what would probably be his last ‘free day’ while he was at Yuudai. And to escape the piercing gaze of the old woman. He didn’t know how he figured she was old, because she didn’t look old. He just felt like she was.

 

In any case, she made him uncomfortable. Like she could see right through to his soul. His soul was private, dammit, and he didn’t want some ancient bitch looking at it. It was bad enough that he had to look at it.

 

There was also his brother, who was just confusing the hell out of him. Sometimes he still acted like a bastard…but other times he was almost, dare he say it, nice. It was just too weird, and Inuyasha kept expecting himself to wake up, or to find out it was all some plot so Sesshoumaru could kill him, or something.

But it was…well it was kind of okay too, because one of Inuyasha’s dirtiest, most carefully guarded secrets was his admiration for his brother. Oh, he hated Sesshoumaru, make no mistake—it was impossible to fake that level of antipathy. But there was a deeply buried part of him that yearned for the acceptance of his older sibling, which years of mutual hostility had not been able to quash. To his chagrin.

 

Now, to finally have that acceptance after two hundred years was…well, frankly he didn’t know what it was. There was a distinct feeling of ‘too little, too late’-ness, but Inuyasha also got the idea that Sesshoumaru was genuinely trying. Maybe not to change, but he was definitely making some sort of effort at civility. And he was making Inuyasha his heir, which was something the hanyou had never expected, not even in his wildest imaginings. He was beginning to hope—for what, he didn’t know, but the hope existed, as a tiny white spark.



 

It was one of the most frightening things Inuyasha had ever experienced. And he didn’t know how to stop it before he got hurt, as any kind of expectations involving his older brother were sure to be painful when they were disappointed.

 

Such thoughts were both depressing and irritating, so when Inuyasha entered the dining hall that evening (on time) he was in one of his conspicuously foul moods. Heavy silence accompanied his progress as he knelt at the table with perhaps more force than was strictly necessary. Nothing happened, and no one spoke a word. Inuyasha didn’t even notice.



 

Even absorbed in his own thoughts, he managed to recognize two unfamiliar scents and placed them with the faces he didn’t know. They were obviously the twins Sesshoumaru had spoken of earlier. Other than hair color they were identical. The female, who carried the unmistakable scent of a pregnant Inuyoukai, had hair so white it was tinted blue while the male’s was pure black.



 

And they were both giving him identical looks of distaste. Looks that more or less matched the ones on Seiichiro’s, Hanoka’s, and Sesshoumaru’s faces. It was too much to take on top of what had already been an incomparably stressful day. He exploded.



“What the hell are you looking at?” he shouted. “I’m here on time, ain’t I? I haven’t done a goddamn thing today so you can all stop looking at me like I’m something nasty you got on your feet!” He stood from the table, sick and tired of people he didn’t even know making him feel like misbehaving child.

At least, he intended to stand. His arm was caught in a vice like grip that didn’t even bother to be careful of its claws, and he was yanked downward. He jerked his head in Sesshoumaru’s direction, and was about to say something scathing when he caught the blazing fury in the golden eyes the exact color of his own. The words died on his lips as something in his gut clenched.



Yes, there was fury in those eyes, but Inuyasha was used to seeing that when his brother looked at him. It was the disappointment—disappointment in him—lurking behind the wrath that gave Inuyasha pause.

 “Apologize to your guests,” the daiyoukai ordered icily, his mild voice in direct contrast to the rage that literally poured off him.



Still in shock, Inuyasha stared into the youkai lord’s eyes for a while longer, before glancing at the rest of the table’s inhabitants. Shinmaru looked as if he were holding his breath. Seiichiro’s face was completely blank, as were the twins’, and Hanoka appeared to be only vaguely interested. But it was Junko that he concentrated on. Her countenance was as blank as the swordsman’s, but there was a calmness about her that was absent from Seiichiro. A tension the others held themselves with that she did not. She met his gaze head on, with no trace of judgment or displeasure. No trace of anything, actually. But he couldn’t look away.

 “Sesshoumaru-sama,” When she spoke up in her soft, ethereal voice, the spell was broken and Inuyasha whipped around to stare at his brother warily. He had not yet released his arm and from the strength of his grip, he didn’t mean to anytime soon.



 “Lady?” Sesshoumaru questioned, when the demoness’ pause lasted longer than a few seconds.

“Perhaps, my lord, limited allowances can be made for adolescents who are distressed by too much knowledge over too little time? We all have different ways of dealing with anxiety, do we not? The child is untrained, as is evidenced by the number of tutors who are present. Perhaps, rather than condemn him, his teachers ought to begin teaching him.”

Sesshoumaru seemed to mull that over for a moment. His claws bit into Inuyasha’s arm briefly, before he released it. The hanyou rubbed the spot sulkily.

“I apologize, my lady. You are correct, as always. My behavior is inexcusable,” Inuyasha—and there was no other word for it—gawked. He didn’t think his brother had it in him to be humble. “Otouto--” Sesshoumaru began with the patient lecturer voice Inuyasha had become accustomed to over the past two days.

“Cousin, please. Allow me?” the male twin piped up. Sesshoumaru looked irritated at yet another interruption, but he waved his hand at the youkai to proceed.

“Inuyasha-san, you must understand—we are etiquette tutors, my sister and I. It is the occupation we took to alleviate the boredom of our immortal life. It is what we do­­. We teach all the Inuyoukai pups, at the Central Castle and East Keep, when they are of an age. We honestly intended no slight, but when you stormed in here like, well, like some wild boar, no offence, we were…” he seemed to flail about for words that wouldn’t irritate Inuyasha further.

“We were horrified,” his sister cut in unapologetically, ignoring the strangled noise her brother made. “Our…displeasure was not directed at you particularly, we simply… we simply assumed you would know the very basics of manners. Your mother seemed gracious enough when I saw her at court. Tell me, little cousin, did she teach you nothing?”

Had it been said with any trace of censure, Inuyasha wouldn’t have answered, and would probably have left the castle immediately, honor and inheritance be damned. But he detected none, only curiosity. There was perhaps some disbelief, but he could perceive no insult to his beloved mother in the question.

Already subdued by embarrassment from the scene he'd caused, Inuyasha answered with minimal attitude. “She did a little. But we moved around a lot, and I was pretty young when she…died. After that, I was too busy trying to stay alive to worry about stupid stuff like that. It wasn’t like I thought I’d ever have a use for it,” he grumbled. The ache had dulled through time and living, but he still got a twinge every time he was forced to talk about his mother. He missed her, even a century later..



 

There was an uncomfortable silence which was shattered by the servants bringing the food  in. They’d probably been listening for a lull in the conversation. Or for the furious aura to dissipate.

 

Inuyasha picked up the chopsticks and ate at a much more moderate pace than usual, eyeing the twins to make sure they noticed. He could use those ‘manners’ thingies if he wanted. He caught Shinmaru smirking at him and glared. The healer made a noise suspiciously like a guffaw, but covered it with a polite cough and returned to his meal. Much like the midday meal, the evening one passed in silence.

When he was finished he rose to excuse himself, but before he could get the words out, Junko was at his side. “It is time for our lesson, child. Excuse us,” she said to the rest of the table and took the hanyou’s arm in a light, yet firm, grip. Inuyasha had no choice but to follow her.

The elder youkai didn’t take him far—only to her room, which was on the same hall as his. She closed the shouji and lit several torches—natural light was becoming scarce. She motioned for him to sit on one of the comfortable-looking feather stuffed mats on the floor. He did, stiffly, and she took the other. “Do relax, child. I’ll not assault you. There are only two things I want to speak with you about today, then you may take your leave,”

So Inuyasha relaxed. Slightly. Junko smiled at him indulgently, and reached over to her side, where several scrolls were piled neatly.

 

 “Do you know how to read?”

 

 “Keh! ‘Course I do.”



“Very good. That shall make much of this easier.  Sesshoumaru has asked me to teach you the geography of the Western Lands, and the history of the Inuyoukai clan, primarily. And I will, but you seem like a sharp sort so I expect you’ll pick those up rather quickly. However, your older brother is neglecting something else, something far more important.”

 

“What?”  Inuyasha asked, leaning forward. Junko had a way of speaking that drew him in. He’d never found it so difficult to sulk in the presence of someone, which was what he had intended to do. It had been a hellish day so far, and he just wanted to go to bed. Or he had. First he wanted to know what this mysterious subject was that his brother had apparently forgotten about

 

“Your confidence,”

 

Inuyasha reeled back defensively. “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with my confidence!” he protested. “I’ve taken out tons of demons! I’m a good fighter and I know it!”

 

“Be calm, child. I was not attacking your fighting prowess. I am certain you are more than adequate at what you do. But I have seen inside you—you are not confident in yourself as anything more than a protector. As a guard-dog, more accurately.”

 

“That’s bullshit,” the hanyou denied, standing up. He didn’t need to deal with this old hag either. She and all the rest could kiss his ass for all he cared.

 

“Then who is this Kagome who so dominates your thoughts?” she asked gently.

Inuyasha froze. How on earth did she know about Kagome? Surely Sesshoumaru wouldn’t have said anything about her. Why would he have? She barely seemed to register to him on all their confrontations. “How do you know that name?”

 

“I saw it in your thoughts of course. Don’t fret, I didn’t look beyond the surface—I didn’t look at all in fact. You were thinking about her so loudly at luncheon and dinner, it was difficult to ignore. I sense great pain associated with this name. Will you tell me about her? I would wager a guess to say she is at least partially responsible for all this ill will you bear toward yourself,”

 

Inuyasha sat heavily. “Why should I tell you anything? How do I know you won’t use it against me?” ‘Or against her?’ he thought privately.

 

“Do not fear. I have long outgrown the silly power games you younglings like to play with one another. And as for the girl…please do not take this wrongly, but I have little interest in humans. Dreadfully violent, fickle creatures in my experience. No, my only interest is in her, and more particularly, how she is linked to the horrible rosary at your neck.”

Inuyasha inhaled sharply and brought his hand up reflexively. Even through the cloth he could feel the spark of warning the spiritual artifact released. It had been hidden under his clothes all day. How did she know it was there? “How did you…?” he began



“I can see its aura as plain as the red of your clothing. I do not suppose you know that the spell is deeply entwined with your youki? Nor that its energy feeds directly from yours? Did the person who gave you this ‘gift’ tell you that it would continue to weaken you until it was removed? Or until your youki is completely drained.”

Junko watched closely for her student’s reaction. He looked stricken, stunned even. His mouth gaped, rather like a fish, but she didn’t think it polite to tell him so. After all, she was not his etiquette teacher.

“That’s not true. Kaede wouldn’t have done that. Not if she...not if she knew.” Inuyasha said, but Junko heard the hesitation. He was not as confident of his words as the words themselves would imply.

 

“You do not seem so certain.”

 

“Keh. Kaede’s a good woman. ‘Sides I was trying to kill Kagome at the time. S’not like she had a lot of options. And anyway, Kagome has to take it off,” Inuyasha revealed guiltily.

So it was not the priestess Inuyasha doubted. “And this Kagome girl, do you still wish to kill her?”

 

“No.”

 

“Does she know you do not wish to harm her?”

 

“She oughtta! She should know I’d never…”

 

Junko was intrigued. “Do you love her, young one?”

 

“That’s none of your business!” Inuyasha snapped.

 

“Why then, do you not insist she remove these awful things?” Junko reached out to touch the beads, but they began sparking before her hand got half a foot away and she dropped it. “If this girl no longer believes herself in danger from you—indeed, if she professes to be your ‘friend’—why does she leave them there, when it must hurt you? This spell is horrible and demeaning, and was never meant for a demon of your status in the first place…it should never have been allowed to linger so long. Do you know the purpose of these beads, young one?”

Junko was still staring, mesmerized, at the glowing blue strings that both fascinated and repulsed her, but she heard the hanyou’s response. “Yeah, it’s a spell of subjugation. Ain’t it kinda self-explanatory?”



“Ah, but that is its function. Its purpose is punishment. It was meant as both collar and whip, in order to tame enslaved demons. The girl uses this, does she not? Often. I can see it in the rate at which the spell is draining your youki,”

 

Inuyasha nodded mutely. “Is that really what it’s for? To—to tame me?” he asked in a small voice.

 

“I cannot say if that was its original purpose as applies to you. But yes, that is what it was created for. And because this girl has continued to use it, even when you are not a danger to her…I can only surmise her aim is to control you. Can you think of another? Inuyasha?” she spoke softly. He was no longer looking at her, but when those beautiful amber eyes finally lifted she was startled by the lost expression in them.

 

“No,” he said, so quietly even Junko almost did not hear. He seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. “Can I go now?” he asked impatiently.

She nodded, and when he had gone she let her face morph into a worried frown. No, the young one could not think of another reason. In fact, Junko was certain he knew there was not. Had known for a long time, actually, and had ignored it.

 

Or accepted it. Which was far more disturbing. Inuyasha was an Inuyoukai of the very highest class. The son of one Inu no Taisho and the brother of another, for the love of the gods! If nothing else, pride should have demanded his full outrage at being tethered against his will in such a way.  



Unless he had so little pride left that it didn’t matter to him. He’d seemed negligibly concerned until she’d mentioned it being a way to control him. Even then he hadn’t seemed very angry. More resigned than anything, and perhaps disappointed. No, the information hadn’t surprised him when he’d thought about it—it was as if it had lived up to his worst expectations. 

She was very glad that she’d already come up with a tentative solution to the problem—at least, the problem of the rosary. It was odd, this desire to help the boy. Few individuals had called out to her the way that one did.

 

She was still pondering, planning, and going over the entire conversation in her head when Hanoka entered the chambers. She made herself push thoughts of the hanyou away so she could smile at her mate. It was still relatively new, that word. Mate. She had been on this earth for so long that she had given up the hope of finding the other half of her soul, before she’d met the young, impetuous warrior four hundred years ago. She had been on a prolonged holiday on the continent, and had come back to find several hundred years had passed. Time tended to get away without one quite realizing it when one was as old as she. Alas, Hana had pursued her relentlessly, and when she’d finally given in, Junko had found the demoness made her happier than she’d been in a very long time.

 

“How was the rest of the evening?”

 

“It was alright. The General asked me to accompany him to the council room after the meal, and we discussed protection strategies for a while. He has a sharp mind, our Inu no Taisho.” Hanoka said fondly.

 

Junko knew first hand that her mate had had misgivings when Sesshoumaru first took up the position when his father died. There had been few Inu no Taisho who had managed to rule successfully from such a young age. The young lord had surpassed everyone’s expectations, however, and other than a few ambitious, resentful types cloistered up at Central Castle, the Inuyoukai were quite pleased with their sovereign.

 

“What about you? Is the little brother as unpleasant as he seems?” Hanoka questioned, wrinkling her nose a bit.

 

“On the contrary. I find him quite fascinating. He has managed to come out quite well for having very little or no training. At the very least, he is able to learn, as he demonstrated at the table. The youngling has been deeply hurt.”

 

“Hmm,” Hana knew better than to ask for details about what Junko saw in others’ minds. She would be content with what the elder demoness chose to tell her.

 

Hanoka leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her mate’s lips. Junko felt the same dizzy, giddy feeling she always did, like she was a youngling in the throes of her first passion. She never stopped thanking whatever luck had brought them together. And she swore she never would, as long as she lived.

 

“Let’s go to bed,” Hana said mischievously. “What’s the point in having this great, soft bed if we don’t use it properly?”

 

Junko had absolutely no arguments against that.

 

()()()()()()()()()()

 

He’d agreed more easily that he normally would have because he wanted her to leave. Not that there was anything wrong with the pretty hyou demon—he kind of liked her, except for all the ‘sama’ crap, but he was still stung from the scolding at dinner and the conversation that had followed.

 

So he lied there and thought. He’d always known it wasn’t fair that Kagome could suppress him with a word for any reason that took her fancy. It had particularly hurt after they had become friends, and he’d vowed to protect her.

 

Was it a matter of trust, like he’d first thought? Or was it that she did want to control him? And which was worse? Try as he might, he couldn’t think of another reason to leave the beads on him. Either way he was betrayed. He had trusted her with information about himself he’d never told another soul. Not even Kikyou knew many of the things he’d confided in Kagome.  



Inuyasha huffed, rolling on his stomach. All this thinking was both depressing him and giving him a monstrous headache. Whatever. He had just under six months mull it over. Besides, he was confident that if he told Kagome what the rosary was doing to his youki she would be horrified and remove it right away.



Whatever Kagome’s faults, he knew she cared about him and would never want to really harm him.

 

He was deep in thought when there was a tiny knock on the door. He called for the person to come in and the shouji was pushed aside, admitting Rin who was looking a little shy. Inuyasha sat up.

 

“Oi, brat. What’ve you been up to? Where’ve you been at meal times?” he asked with a smile. The little girl didn’t grate on his nerves nearly as much as Shippou. Of course, every other word out of her mouth wasn’t a whine, either. That might have something to do with it.



The girl’s eyes lit up, as if she had been expecting rejection. “Rin takes her meals with Jaken-sama. Sesshoumaru-sama says Rin is too young to eat at the table with adults, but Jaken-sama says it’s because Rin is a human.”

 

“Huh. Well I wouldn’t listen to a freakish little kappa if I were you. So d’you just hang out with the toad all day?”

 

She hesitated, then came over to sit lightly on the bed. “No. Rin took Ah and Un to graze in the fields in the back, and picked wildflowers, and waded in the stream. Then it was time for lessons, and Rin learned six new symbols today! And how to subtract numbers over one-hundred!”



Inuyasha’s smile became less wan as Rin continued recounting her day. Something about the girl’s determinedly cheerful attitude eased the roiling cacophony of thoughts in his head. She never seemed to run out of things to say.

He lay down again, and Rin scooted back to lean against his stomach.

He nodded once in a while, but his eyes began to droop and soon he was lulled to sleep as he was—on his side with his elbow bent and his head propped on a fist.

He didn’t see Rin finally notice he was unconscious and smile. She got up and carefully rolled him onto his back. Inuyasha didn’t stir, exhausted as he was.

The next two weeks past peacefully, if busily.

Inuyasha woke up, and more often than not had to run ten or so laps around the outer wall before joining Seiichiro. They’d each usually have a yuzu for breakfast—which were remarkably sweet in The Valley—then they would commence with training. Seiichiro was exacting, thorough, but also taught at a swift pace. Thankfully Inuyasha was a quick learner and kept up reasonably well, considering he’d had no formal instruction.



Most of the laps he was assigned as punishment were, predictably, a direct result of swearing. It was habit he found frustratingly hard to break. Sometimes Seiichiro would become so angry he went harder than was strictly necessary and it ended up being necessary for the hanyou to seek attention from Shinmaru. Or rather, it became necessary for Seiichiro to drag Inuyasha to the healer and stand over him menacingly while Shinmaru looked on in barely-stifled amusement.



It went without saying that this was usually when Inuyasha earned the most laps.

 

He would then bathe (with that wonderful ‘shikakai’ which he was quickly becoming addicted to) and Dayita would help him dress in fancy kimonos. He turned down her offers to wash his hair anymore, because the bathtub was far more revealing than the hot springs were. He still let her comb it, though.

(He’d got another set of bruises and even more laps the day Sesshoumaru had brought in several seamstresses to tailor him a few outfits of his own. He was convinced they’d pricked him with their damn needles on purpose!)



Retsuhi and Atsuihi had decided table manners were the first things Inuyasha needed to work on, so they had commissioned a very small version of the dining table in the great hall and put it in one of the larger upstairs rooms so he could practice. It was needless to say that ‘etiquette’ was turning out to be his least favorite subject.



The twins were perfectly synchronized in everything, he learned. At first it was, well, kinda cool, but it quickly got on his nerves. They adjusted, spoke, criticized, and nagged in complete harmony. They never bumped into or interrupted one another, which Inuyasha found frankly amazing, because they were always moving and always, always talking. Usually right over his head.

“No, it must be done this way.”

 

“No, no, you’re elbow must be tilted just so and held at just such an angle.”

 

“And make certain your back is straight as you do it. Fetch me a book Atsuihi,”

 

“I already have, dear sister.”

 

He’d gotten quite comfortable with the feel of a heavy weight on his head, thought it had taken practice at first. Especially when they’d begun lessons on how to walk properly. He’d been both annoyed and secretly proud when they’d graduated him to eating with everyone else. The same when he’d seen the surprised and grudging recognition on his brother’s eyes. Sesshoumaru hadn’t said anything, merely nodded at his tutors. Atsuihi had preened, but Retsuhi had simply nodded back.



That was another thing. The twins were in complete accord when they were teaching, yet they possessed completely different personalities. Retsuhi was cool, cold even, and very reserved. She only said what needed to be said, and rarely anything else. She never seemed to get angry or show happiness. In that respect, she reminded Inuyasha a lot of Sesshoumaru. In his experience, she didn’t act like a pregnant female at all. Atsuihi, on the other hand, was quite open, even personable, and had a formidable temper when provoked. Twice or so he’d had to go to Shinmaru for reasons other than Seiichiro. It had embarrassed the hanyou to have been thrashed so thoroughly by someone so girly looking, and when he’d said as much Shinmaru had laughed uproariously.

 

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, Inuyasha-sama?”

 

Inuyasha had only glared.

 

He was usually even more exhausted when the twins were finished with him than he was after Seiichiro’s training sessions. So it was a relief to have a nice hot meal, then a soothing session with Junko. After their first meeting, she hadn’t asked anymore uncomfortable questions. They usually started with maps of the Western Lands, and Inuyasha would memorize and recite the locations of each place. Later on, she began telling him what was located in the areas. It was mild, non-taxing work, but never tedious because Junko made everything so interesting. He learned her very favorite subject was history, and she was content to give him detailed historical accounts of most of the places and people they talked about.

Sometimes, about halfway through their sessions, Junko would put the scrolls and maps aside, and speak with him a bit about his life. When she decided to do this, she absolutely insisted on it, but she always left the subject up to him. She told him to pick one thing and talk about it, as much as he felt he could.

He found he liked to talk to her about his life after his mother died. She was the first person he’d met who seemed interested in what he’d gone through without holding him in contempt for it or pitying him for it. Even Kagome was guilty of the latter. So he spoke about it, and she listened, and it was all very comfortable.

He rarely saw Sesshoumaru, who seemed to be cloistered in with Junko's mate a lot of the time. Even though there were far more people around than he was used to, Inuyasha eventually became accustomed to it. Even the many youkai he could only guess were guards of some sort. They were all over the perimeter of the Valley, but Inuyasha wouldn't even have known they were there except that he could smell them.



Rin was a delight to have around, and seemed delighted herself that he enjoyed her company. Since Sesshoumaru was so very busy, she'd taken to coming to his room before bed so she could recount her day to him. He found the nightly ritual soothing. He still could not figure out just what it was about her that had such an effect on him, but he wasn't going to question it. It was nice to have a friend around in all the strangeness.

 

All in all, it was a pleasant few weeks.

 

He didn't even realize it was time for the new moon until it was nearly upon him.