InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Youkai and A Hanyou Walk Into A Bar ❯ Beloved ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine; I just play with them.
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Originally posted at inucomedy on LiveJournal, 08/22/05
 
 
Beloved

“You're looking tired these days. Are you sure you're getting enough rest?”

“Yes, Grandmother.” The youkai didn't bother to look up from the land treaty he was reading. Perhaps if he feigned preoccupation with other matters, she would take the hint and leave.

No such luck. “Lady Mayu and Lord Suichi paid a visit the other day,” his grandmother continued, settling her graceful frame more comfortably into the cushions. “They brought their daughter with them. Do you remember Satsuki? Such an enchanting little thing; she's grown up to be quite the lovely young lady. And she's still unattached, which I find most surprising. I would have thought some ambitious lord would have snatched her up by now.”

Acknowledging that his grandmother was in one of her moods, Sesshomaru tossed the treaty aside in resignation. He'd get no work done until she was finished, and that obviously wasn't going to be anytime soon. “Satsuki is a loathsome, simpering twit,” Sesshomaru said evenly, knowing where this conversation was headed. “I feel nothing but pity for the fool who would choose her for a mate.”

“She'd produce beautiful offspring, though,” his grandmother sighed. “Such a pretty face, and those eyes of hers!”

“Any children born of that union would doubtless be as lacking in intelligence as Satsuki is. That family is far too inbred,” Sesshomaru predicted. “Give up the idea, Grandmother; I refuse to consider the prospect of taking Satsuki as a bride. What have I told you about matchmaking? When the time comes to have a mate, it will be one of my own choosing.”

“But, Sesshomaru,” his grandmother pouted, “when? You're far past the age of maturity! And the other lords and ladies are beginning to talk. They're whispering the most awful things behind your back, saying it's unnatural for a handsome youkai such as yourself to be without companionship!”

“I have companions,” Sesshomaru retorted. “They keep me suitably entertained.”

His grandmother made a delicate sound that in someone less refined would have been classified as a snort. “That toadying minion and that human pet of yours hardly qualify as
companions,” she said. “I mean adult companions.” She stared at him for a moment longer, a horrified expression crossing her face. “Sesshomaru - you're not - with either of those two?”

His normal mask of indifference altered into a look of disgust. “Rin is a
child, Grandmother. It's bad enough that you're accusing me of expressing a sexual interest in Jaken, but at least acquit me of the charge of molesting the youth.”

“You can't blame me for wondering,” his grandmother said, obviously relieved. “Why do you keep that human child, anyway? You take her everywhere with you! Why haven't you left her at some village? Shouldn't she be living with her own kind?”

“Rin belongs to me, and therefore I must protect her,” he answered, realizing this wasn't a very good explanation. Mind you, he hadn't come up with a better response, in spite of having asked himself this very question a number of times. “She is best left under my care.”

To his surprise, his grandmother gave him a fond smile. “Just like your father,” she said happily. “He was the same way, wanting to protect and care for everything. I lost track of the strays he'd bring home, and I never had the heart to tell him he couldn't keep them...”

“Like Izayoi?” Sesshomaru muttered.

His grandmother shot him a glare. “At least your father was male enough to produce some sons! You, however, seem content to let the family line wither away into nothing!” she snapped.

It promised to be a long evening.

......

“Does My Lord have need of my services tonight?” his personal guard asked.

“No,” Sesshomaru answered as he prepared to leave the fortress. “I'll be away tonight on a small business matter. Expect my return in the morning.”

“Yes, My Lord,” the guard saluted.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Sesshomaru paused. “If my grandmother should inquire as to my whereabouts, you haven't seen me.”

......

The night had been unseasonably warm when Sesshomaru left the fortress, but now a faint breeze had picked up. The cool breath of air wafted across the beauty draped across his lap. Reaching over to where he'd discarded his haori, Sesshomaru settled it across her chilled form.

“Better?” he murmured softly, lightly tracing a pattern of circles across the smooth surface of her back with the dull side of his claws.

She didn't respond, which was typical of her. She was content to always be there for him physically, but so often her spirit left him cold and alone. Sesshomaru gave a sigh of resignation and cradled her against his chest. “I'm sorry I was so late tonight,” he said after a few minutes, lazily pressing his lips to her. “I was beginning to think I'd never get away from there. My grandmother,” he leaned his back against the tree, “she means well, but she will never understand.”

His love was silent, but her accusing voice rang in his ears.

“You're still upset because I haven't told them, aren't you?” Sesshomaru brushed a finger against her face. “I expected as much. I suppose I ask too much of you, hoping you will forgive the way I treated you. I was foolish; holding hatred in my heart for that which I had been raised to believe was inferior. I was blind, my love, never seeing the true beauty beneath your surface.”

Sesshomaru found he could not gaze upon her as he spoke; his guilt was simply overwhelming. He did not deserve her loyalty, her love, her faith. He was unworthy. “You saved my life, yet I did not appreciate your efforts, choosing instead to take another. And even when her bloodthirsty nature shocked and frightened me, I kept her by my side, forsaking she who loved me best. You should have deserted me then, but you did not. And when she left me, as you must have known she would, you remained, comforting my soul.”

There had been many times when Sesshomaru regretted the loss of his arm, and this was yet another. He wanted to embrace her, pull her tightly against him and never let go. He was forced to encircle her with his one good arm instead, resting his cheek against her silvery length.

He was the youkai who showed no emotion, but with her, he bared his soul. “Tenseiga,” he murmured brokenly. “You are mine, and I will never let you go.”

......

A/N:
Oh, come on. You know he's really into that sword, especially since Toto-sai pimped her up.

Yeah, it's been done before. Now I've gone and done it, too.