InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dominating the Indomitable ❯ Tactical Maneuvers ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

“We had a deal; I bring him to you and you give me the men to take over Kouga’s battalion,” Kamylla snarled, her steely blue eyes flashing in anger.

“You have not yet turned enough of Kouga’s men against him,” the hooded figure rasped and dismissively waved a hand.  From his comfortable chair that appeared to be more of a throne, no part of the man’s features were visible; even his hands were covered with gloves.  The low lighting also helped to disguise his form.

“They are loyal and stubborn.  Only the newest members could be swayed and that’s exactly why I need additional forces!”  Kamylla's voice echoed through the sparse chamber.

The man sighed and leaned his head on one of his hands.  “Even though I am anxious to build an army capable of taking down Lord Sesshoumaru, I cannot risk disloyalty to myself.  You must sway more to your side.”  Coughing interrupted the man’s firm orders and a gloved hand covered his mouth, only to come away splattered with blood.  “Enough!  Leave now before my patience reaches an end.”

“Yes, My Lord.”  Kamylla’s lips thinned and she spun around.  Marching from the room, she slammed the door behind her, the echo grating on the man's ears.

“Her arrogance will be her downfall,” the man grumbled as he carefully rose to his feet.  “It’s a good thing I have other resources.”

Within the ranks of Kouga’s tribe, carefully placed spies kept an eye on Kamylla’s progress.  Despite her efforts, and considering her disloyalty to Kouga, he knew she couldn’t be trusted.  Yes, she was strong and cunning, but outside of her willingness to whore herself out, that was about the only thing she had going for her.

The man shuffled his way to an electric wheelchair, an illegal luxury.  Gently settling his gaunt figure into the contraption, he set out for the medical facility. Few knew of his predicament, and that’s exactly how he liked it.  A leader had to be strong, but after the ambush by humans with their new weapons, he knew his time was limited…unless the hanyou proved to be powerful enough to offer a cure, or continued to be available for treatments.

White, sterile halls seemed to stretch out forever as his chair puttered along.  His first stop was a large window that gave him a perfect view of the hanyou that could prove to be his salvation.  The constant feed of precious drugs kept the young male unconscious.  It was a good thing, too.  The demonic hanyou had killed a couple of his best research spies while they had tended him at Sesshoumaru’s medical facility.  Only the mysterious blood of the creature had kept the man alive for so long.

“He’s deteriorating.  If we don’t find him a mate soon, the blood will be of no use.”  He hadn’t even heard the physician approaching from behind.  

“Do you have any candidates?”

The physician sighed and stepped up beside him.  A non-descript, black-haired human had the audacity to place a hand on his shoulder.  He winced in pain.

“For this one, the power of a mate must be strong.  A weak mate would do no good,” the idiot human prattled.

“I’m hearing a ‘no’.  Not good enough,” the figure rasped and jerked back his hood.  Veins trailed the paper-thin skin of his face and bald head.  The white of his eyes were splotched with blood and a pale film was beginning to encroach on his blue irises.  The only thing left to signify his youkai heritage was the blackening tips of his pointed ears, his exact species hidden from those who worked under him.

“I-I understand, Master, but so far, the only eligible candidates are Sesshoumaru and Kouga,” the doctor stammered then hurriedly added in order to distract the frustrated man, “We have drawn enough blood for the first transfusion."

The man gave a short nod and followed the doctor to the laboratory.  Mating the hanyou to his half brother was inconceivable.  The wretched Daiyoukai had banished him, leading to the attack that threatened to kill him.  One way or another, he would have his revenge.  In fact, forcing a mating with the wolf just might hurt the bastard Daiyoukai more than anything else.  He hadn't missed the compassionate care given to the hanyou.  His brother truly cared...perhaps even loved the unworthy creature.  The youkai smirked, confident in his ability to cause harm to the one he most despised.

'Not the best route,' Kouga thought with irritation.  Taking to the roads had been a bad idea.  Between its pocked and broken condition, and the traps laid by humans, he'd been significantly delayed.  That didn't include the skirmish with a small band of humans.  Too bad he hadn't had the troops or equipment to bring them in for transportation to the camps.  It was inconsequential, though.  He'd know where to return and capture them.  Fortunately, the delays had given him time to consider his situation.  

'Sesshoumaru's right.  Inuyasha wouldn't admit he's ill—much less agree to a mating.  Stubborn mutt!  No matter how much I hate doing this to him, it's for his own good.'

It wasn't as though Kouga regretted what he was about to do.  Other than Kagome, there had never been anyone who could motivate him to mate.  Were it not for this situation, he probably never would have.  There were benefits.  Power hungry low-lifes would no longer come after him for a mating in order to move up the ladder.  On top of that, saving Inuyasha was a worthy cause, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.  Aside from Sesshoumaru, he’d never met a more powerful being.  Imagining Inuyasha tied to Sesshoumaru gave him the creeps.  That would have been an awful circumstance for Inuyasha, and he was grateful for the chance to eliminate that possibility.  Besides, he deserved Inuyasha more than that uptight prick.  Imagining Inuyasha with anyone else was simply impossible.  He couldn’t say that he loved Inuyasha, but he wanted him.

‘Well, Inuyasha.  It looks like your ass is mine now.’  

And what a delectable ass it was.  

Kouga poured on the speed, anxious to put his plan into motion.  Even the coming fight to make Inuyasha his would be exhilarating.

Sesshoumaru drummed his claws against the metal table top and studied the beady-eyed mole youkai sitting across from him.  ‘Let him sweat a little,’ he thought to himself.  It was an old, but effective tactic.  He could smell the mole’s nervousness and was pleased when it shifted toward fear when he opened the folder that sat next to a vial and two bags of blood. Silently, he began rifling through the papers.

“Doctor Li,” Sesshoumaru began and was pleased to hear a tiny squeak.  “Your name appears on file as my brother’s primary physician.  Is this correct?”

“Ye..Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru,” the mole stuttered.  Why would someone of such high stature questioning him…unless the DaiYoukai had discovered something amiss.

“Yet, nowhere in this file do I find mention of the scars that littered my brother’s body.  Explain this oversight,” Sesshoumaru nearly snarled as he narrowed fiery golden eyes on the suspect, and was pleased when the physician began to sweat.

“I didn’t see any scars on my patient.”  The little youkai’s voice wavered.

Sesshoumaru discreetly sniffed the air.  ‘Lies.’

“Hm, your file does note the wounds garnered from the fits of his full demon.  It also documents the time that it took for them to heal.  Now…”  Sesshoumaru steepled his fingers over the papers.  “I know that moles have poor eyesight and I see that you wear corrective lenses.  Tell me how you could make such a close inspection of his wounds and not notice scars in areas that he could not possibly have reached.”

“Th…the orderlies and assistants took care of the cleanup and measurements during those times.  They recorded their findings in the chart.  I merely checked the patient’s progress through blood samples and routine checkups.”

The mole was practically squirming now.  

‘More lies.’  Sesshoumaru shoved the folder toward the mole and watched him jump.  “Read the case file number.”

Sesshoumaru gave him a moment while he slid the sample and bags of blood to the center of the table.  “Note that the same number is on these samples and they all are recorded as having been drawn the same day.”  Sesshoumaru watched as the moles pink ears went pale.

“Yes?”

“Now, a tube of blood is reasonable.  However, there is absolutely no reason for these,” Sesshoumaru casually commented while poking the quart-sized bags.  “Tell me, doctor, what specifically did you plan to do with these?”

“Well, uh, you’re brother’s unusual resistance to the normal effects of his exposure was extraordinary and we tested the blood on other patients to see if it would help them.”  The response was too quick, too rehearsed.

Sesshoumaru nearly rolled his eyes, becoming tired of the game.  “You are lying.”  He openly sniffed in the mole’s direction and watched the mole’s eyes widen.  “There are no cross-referenced files.  I personally checked all the records.  There is no record of this blood being taken.  There is no record of your supposed experiments on other patients.  What is your purpose, mole?”

Doctor Li started to pant and shifted in his seat.  Had it been anyone other than a canine youkai, he could have gotten away with his cover story, but a dog DaiYoukai?  He was so screwed.

“I…uh…”

“Don’ ;t even bother, you worthless piece of trash.  Who are you working for?  Are they human?  Youkai?” Sesshoumaru demanded.  Without sparing the mole a second to respond, his hand darted across the table and wrapped around the doctor’s throat.  Claws dug into weak flesh.  ‘I’d kill him now if I didn’t need his cooperation.’

The mole whined as tears gathered in his eyes.